The popularity of online filing has increased again this year, with the number of taxpayers choosing to file their self-assessment tax returns online hitting a new record.

In the run-up to the 31 January online filing deadline, 6.5 million people had filed their returns via the internet, compared with 5.8 million last year.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) received the higher number of submissions between 4pm and 5pm on 29 January, when a total of 39,512 returns were filed.

Those who failed to meet the self-assessment deadline will face an automatic penalty of £100.

Meanwhile, HMRC has issued a warning regarding a recent upsurge in an email phishing scam, in which taxpayers are informed that they are due a tax refund and asked to submit their bank or credit card details via an online form.

HMRC has emphasised that it will only ever inform customers of a tax refund by post, and is urging people to forward any suspicious emails to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further investigation.

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