Most bizarre tax return excuses and expense claims revealed

Each year, HMRC receives some truly imaginative excuses and expense claims following the 31st January self-assessment deadline.

These are some of the most bizarre excuses and questionable expenses claims for items, in reverse order (all of which were unsuccessful):

• Caravan rental for the Easter weekend
• I was up a mountain in Wales and couldn’t find a post box or get an internet signal
• My dog ate the post… again
• Claiming £4.50 for sausage and chips meal expenses for 250 days
• My hamster ate my post
• I’ve been cruising round the world in my yacht and only picking up post when I’m on dry land
• A music subscription so I can listen to music while I work
• Pet food for a Shih Tzu ‘guard dog’
• A DJ was too busy with a party lifestyle – spinning the deck… in a bowls club
• My mother-in-law is a witch and put a curse on me.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC Director General of Customer Services, said, “Each year, we try to make it as easy and simple as possible for our customers to complete their tax returns and the majority make the effort to do theirs right and on time. But, we still come across some unusual excuses and expenses which range from problems with a mother-in-law to yachts set on fire.

“We always offer help to those who have a genuine excuse for not submitting their return on time. It is unfair to the majority of honest taxpayers when others make bogus claims.

“If you think you might miss the 31st January deadline, get in touch with us now – the earlier we’re contacted, the more we can help.”

The deadline for sending 2018-19 self-assessment tax returns to HMRC, and paying any tax owed, is 31st January 2020.

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