1 million tax penalties

One million taxpayers face a penalty of £100 for failing to submit their self-assessment tax returns on time.

But the figure is the lowest since they were allowed to file online, comparing to 1.4m last year and 1.6m the year before.

The tax office, HMRC, allowed an extra two days' grace beyond the 31st January deadline because of a strike, but the 1 million had still failed to file by midnight last night.

They will have to pay the £100 fine whether or not they have additional tax to pay unless they have a reasonable excuse, such as a serious illness, a bereavement or a loss of documents because of theft, fire or flood.

After three months additional fines of £10 a day will start to accrue.

Self-assessment tax forms have to be filled in by people with more complicated tax affairs - for instance the self-employed or those with a high income from savings. The latest forms were for the tax year which ended in April, 2011.

A record  9.45m forms arrived by last night and 7.65m were submitted online - another record.

4 million risk tax fines

Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs is warning that taxpayers who submit their self-assessment forms late could be fined as much as £1,600 if they continue to withhold the information.

4 million taxpayers, who still have to send in their online 2010-11 forms by 31st January, have been sent reminders.

Tax officers are concerned they may not have realised that a much more draconian system of fines applies this time around.

To add to the longstanding fixed penalty of £100 for late filing, fines of £10 a day kick in after three months, up to a maximum of £900.

A further £300 can be levied after 6 months and another £300 after twelve months, adding up to a potential £1,600 in fines.

That's a high price for taxpayers who can't be bothered to send in a form or hold back deliberately.

When the Revenue introduced the new system of fines last year, it said it took a disproportionate amount of time and effort to deal with a hard-core of late payers.