Tiktok’s latest craze ... filling in your tax return form

AS THE deadline for filing online tax returns looms ever closer, social media influencers have turned form filling into a Tiktok craze.

Taxpayers must file their self-assessments by Jan 31 to avoid paying penalties. And as the rush to submit returns before the deadline grows, videos with the hashtag #HMRC have racked up 56 million views, while more than 100 million users have watched clips tagged #selfassessment.

It comes as HMRC sends letters to thousands of social media stars and online sellers, urging them to work out how much tax they owe and complete a tax return.

Popular clips depict lifestyle vloggers picking out their most colourful stationery, preparing an iced latte and polishing laptop screens in a bid to encourage viewers to start selling.

Renaldo Haye, Rey Styles on social media, said his self-assessment guide was made with fellow influencers in mind as many do not realise they must pay income tax on their profits. He said: “A lot of my target audience are selfemployed and a lot of my content-creator friends don’t know the first thing about reporting their expenses.”

The former accountant, 28, said Tiktok’s short, engaging clips made it an ideal platform to educate the app’s primarily younger users about basic tax mechanisms.

“The younger generation will be using this more than Google to figure out how to navigate tax,” he added.