Tax return website crashes on D-Day

The Government’s online tax return system crashed today, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded and unable to file their tax returns on time.

The chaos could not have come at a worse time, with the system grinding to a halt on the day the deadline expired for people to file their returns.

So bad were the delays, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been forced to move the deadline by 24 hours.

Anyone filing – either by paper or over the internet – now has until midnight Friday to submit their paperwork without the £100 penalty.

HMRC insisted that the majority of taxpayers were successful today, with 104,000 managing to file their returns, but the computer meltdown is likely to have hit tens of thousands of people.