With tens of thousands turning to online tax returns and new tax payment technology, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) intercepted a staggering 17,000 unjustified repayment claims this year.
According to the Government, HMRC caught sight of more than £96 million worth of either fraudulent or incorrect claims through their new data technology this tax year.
In total, HMRC’s data filtering system scanned some 3.4 million returns sent before the January 31st deadline for anomalies, representing a third of the total 10.39 million tax assessments filed.
Online submissions and traditional paper forms were both checked at random, but a record 89% of all people filling in tax returns this year did so online on HMRC’s website.
HMRC’s head of enforcement and compliance, Jennie Granger, said: “Our success in using cutting-edge technology to sift and sort through millions of pieces of data is stopping fraudulent repayments in their tracks,”
“Our highly skilled tax specialists are experts at reacting quickly to identify suspicious activity, protecting tax revenues that fund essential public services.”
Statistics show that 9.24 million people visited HMRC’s website to file their tax returns electronically, equivalent to 89% of all self-assessment users. This shows a significant decline in traditional paper submission, which was reduced to just 11%.
HMRC claim that 92% of filers even submitted their returns several days before the deadline, with the majority filing before the turn of New Year’s Day and avoiding automatic fines and late-filing fees. In fact, only 43% left the assessment to January 2016.
Ruth Owen, head of personal tax at HMRC, said: “We all know it’s easy to put off completing your self-assessment tax return, which is why it’s fantastic to see more customers than ever before completing theirs on time this year,”
“Each year we’re dedicated to making the self-assessment process easier and more intuitive.”