Bigger penalties for those filing late tax returns appear to being having an effect after 1,548 people completed the forms online on December 25.

HM Revenue & Customs has reported a 40pc surge in the number of people filing tax returns on Christmas Day.

It said 1,548 people completed their self-assessment forms online on December 25, up from 1,100 the year before.

The build-up to the festive season saw an even larger increase with 14,330 filing returns, more than three-fold the figure of 4,115 for 2011. HMRC also said 73 of the forms were sent an hour before midnight. The figure was 4,685 for Boxing Day, up from 3,512 a year ago.