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Online filing of self assessment tax returns increased this year by 40%, according to statistics released today (2 February 2007) by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

According to HMRC, 150,000 self-assessment returns were filed in the 24 hour period running up to the midnight deadline on Wednesday 31st January. During the filing peak the HMRC website was processing more than 6,000 returns each hour - more than a hundred every minute, almost two per second - as almost 2.9 million (2,895,482) people chose to file their returns online this year. This compares with 1.9 million in 2006.

HMRC believe that this increase shows that the public have realised the benefits of filing online. The system is secure, and it is a quick and convenient way to file. Taxpayers also receive an immediate acknowledgement that their return has been submitted and repayments should be received faster.

Tax liability is automatically calculated when submitting tax returns online. Other benefits to the online service are that customers can view their liabilities and payments in an online Statement of Account and they can choose to receive reminders by secure email or text messages.

Paul Gray, Acting Chairman of HMRC said "This huge growth in online filing shows that our customers are welcoming the accessibility and reliability of our online services. All the work we have undertaken to increase the capacity and robustness of our IT systems has paid off.

"Over the past year we have also responded to customers' feedback to develop online services still further. This has resulted in the introduction on a new online attachments service, which allows agents to submit supporting information with the returns they file on behalf of their clients."

The total number of self assessment returns both on paper and electronically will not be known for several weeks, as paper returns are logged manually.

Over 9 million returns were issued in 2006/07.

Historical online filing statistics are as follows::

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HMRC online services