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If you file VAT, excise duties or other self-assessed taxes after the filing deadline, you must pay a late-filing penalty. If you file your return late, the late-filing penalty is imposed even if you do not have any tax to pay or if you report no activity.
The late-filing penalty is composed of a set daily charge and an additional charge based on the amount of tax. The amount of the tax filed late does not affect the amount of the daily charge included in the late-filing penalty.
The late-filing penalty is €3/day up to a maximum amount of €135.
Example: You file your tax return 35 days late. The late-filing penalty is €105 (35 days × €3 = €105).
If you are making corrections to details you have filed previously, you do not have to pay a late-filing penalty for the new return if you file it within 45 days from the original return’s filing deadline.
The late-filing penalty is €135 + 2% of the amount of the tax filed late. The maximum amount of penalty is €15,000 for each tax. You will also have to pay the 2% additional penalty if you make corrections to a return more than 45 days after its original filing deadline.
Example: You file your tax return 50 days late. The amount of tax to pay that you report on the return is €5,000. The late-filing penalty is €235 (45 days × €3 = €135; 2% of the tax amount is €100; €135 + €100 = €235).
Example: You file your tax return 50 days late. The return does not include any tax to pay. The late-filing penalty is €135 (45 days × €3 = €135). No additional charge based on the amount of tax to pay is imposed.
You do not have to pay a late-filing penalty for a replacement return if you file it within 45 days from the original return’s filing deadline.
If you make corrections to a return more than 45 days after the filing deadline, you will have to pay a late-filing penalty amounting to 2% of the payable amount of tax filed late, but no more than €15,000 per tax type.
If you do not file a tax return on self-assessed taxes by its due date, the Tax Administration sends you a reminder. The reminder also includes an estimate for the amount of tax to be paid.
If you file the return after receiving the reminder and the return you file is deemed reliable, the Tax Administration will not assess the tax by estimation. Because you file the return late, you will have to pay a late-filing penalty in addition to the amount of tax you report.
If you disregard the reminder and still do not file the return, or if the return you file cannot be considered reliable, the Tax Administration will assess the tax by estimation. In addition, you will have to pay a punitive tax increase. You will receive a separate decision on the tax and the increase.
If you file the missing tax return after the Tax Administration has imposed tax by estimation, the Tax Administration may cancel the assessment by estimation and the punitive tax increase. In this case, the return you have filed is treated as a return filed late. You will therefore have to pay a late-filing penalty in addition to the amount of tax you report. Your summary of tax payment status will then indicate that an assessment by estimation and a punitive tax increase were cancelled and that a late-filing penalty was imposed.
Example: You have not filed your tax return by its filing deadline. You receive a letter from the Tax Administration in which it is estimated that you have €10,000 of tax to pay. You file the missing tax return after the Tax Administration has assessed the tax by estimation and imposed a punitive tax increase. In the return, you report that you have €6,000 of tax to pay. If the Tax Administration considers your return to be reliable, it will cancel the assessment by estimation and the punitive tax increase. In this case, your tax return is treated as a return filed late. You will therefore have to pay a late-filing penalty.
You cannot get more time for filing self-assessed tax returns. If you file your return after the filing deadline, you will have to pay a late-filing penalty.
Depending on the situation, you can either request the non-recovery of your late-filing penalty or claim an adjustment.
Request non-recovery or make a claim for adjustment in MyTax: click All adjustment matters in the Claims for adjustment section under Tax matters. Click the link Claim for adjustment to the Assessment Adjustment Board. Alternatively, you can submit a free-form written request. In this case, use the cover page 4015e. In your claim, explain the reasons why you think the late-filing penalty should be adjusted.
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