How to appeal an HMRC penalty – what counts as a reasonable excuse, special circumstances, the 30-day time limit and late appeals – with appeal letters for late filing penalties, late payment penalties and Making Tax Digital penalty points, and an evidence checklist.
Letters to HMRC & personal tax
Penalty Appeal Letter – Reasonable Excuse for Late Filing, Late Payment or MTD Penalty Points
About this document
HMRC charges penalties for filing returns and paying tax late, and under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (from April 2026 for those within it) late submissions earn penalty points. If you had a reasonable excuse, you can appeal. A well-written appeal explains what happened, why it prevented you meeting the deadline, and that you put things right without unreasonable delay once the excuse ended.
The document is laid out in the sections below. Each one comes with a plain-English guidance note explaining what it does and what to change.
Our templates are professionally structured starting points for UK businesses, not legal advice. For anything complex, unusual or high-value, have your final version checked by a solicitor.
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Letters to HMRC & personal tax
for every document in this category
Editable Microsoft Word files
Guidance notes in every document
Written for UK businesses
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