And finally…men better than women at filing tax returns on time

The Taxman says that in the 2013-14 tax year some 294 out of every 10,000 tax returns submitted by men were late, while women had a higher late return rate of 303 for every 10,000.

The figures suggest that people are getting better at submitting their forms on time, as the number of late returns decreased in every region and among all age groups between 2014 and 2015.

HMRC also found that older people are also better at getting their returns in on time, the research, released ahead of the January 31 self-assessment deadline, found.

The over-65s had a late return rate of just 118 out of every 10,000 tax returns.

Whereas young people are worst at completing their self-assessment forms on time, with almost one in ten (949) of 18-20 year olds submitting their form late. HMRC said these young taxpayers were self-employed, contractors and those with extra income.

Looking across industries, the agriculture, fishing and forestry sectors came out top for getting their tax returns in on time, with just 71 in every 10,000 returns submitted late.

Those working in the administrative and support services were worst at getting their returns in on time, with a rate of 359 late returns for every 10,000.

Across the UK, people living in Northern Ireland are the most likely to complete their tax return without delay, with 223 for every 10,000 returns submitted late, followed by people in Wales, with 259 late returns for every 10,000.

Londoners were slowest with 402 out of 10,000 submitting a late return. People in the south west were the most likely to file on time in England.