With the online filing deadline now under four weeks away, HMRC has revealed some of the excuses used when appeals against late filing penalties are made.
Some of these cannot be serious!
- Blame it on the pet- Apparently pet dogs can develop a taste for tax paperwork as well as any reminders. 
- No signal?- A trip up a mountain long enough to avoid the internet or post. 
- I was tricked into ...- Falling in with a bad crowd can result in avoiding your responsibilities. 
- James Bond Double-Oh No?- Super-spies on worldwide missions can forget about tax 
- Mr President- Barack Obama is responsible for making sure my tax is up to date. 
- Animal Planet- Taking care of escaped parrots and fox cubs comes first. 
- Blame it on work- Colleague borrowed my tax return in order to photocopy it, but didn't return it 
- Homeless- Living in a camper van at a supermarket car park. 
- Pregnancy- The girlfriend though. 
- Abroad- I was in Australia.