A flock of escaped parrots and fox cubs have been blamed for a failure to meet the tax return deadline on time.
Having to look after the group of birds and animals was an excuse used by one person for missing the cut off point.
Barack Obama also got the blame from one person for not writing back to the taxman in time during an unsuccessful appeal to HMRC.
Also among the most bizarre reasons for failing to get forms returned by the 31 January deadline was having to travel the globe in order to escape from a foreign intelligence agency.
These were revealed today by HM Revenue and Customs, which published its list of ten of the most terrible excuses for missing the tax return.
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The penalties for late tax returns are an initial £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid
 on time, with additional penalties the longer it goes unpaid.
The excuses were all used in unsuccessful appeals against HMRC penalties for late filing and payment. They were:

1. My pet dog ate my tax return...and all the reminders.
2. I was up a mountain in Wales, and couldn't find a postbox or get an internet signal.
3. I fell in with the wrong crowd.
4. I've been travelling the world, trying to escape from a foreign intelligence agency.
5. Barack Obama is in charge of my finances.
6. I've been busy looking after a flock of escaped parrots and some fox cubs.
7. A work colleague borrowed my tax return, to photocopy it, and didn't give it back.
8. I live in a camper van in a supermarket car park.
9. My girlfriend's pregnant.
10. I was in Australia.

Ruth Owen, HMRC director general of personal tax, said: "People can have a genuine excuse for missing a tax deadline, but owning a pet with a taste for HMRC envelopes isn't one of them.
"You need to file your 2013/14 tax return online, and pay what you owe, by 31 January.
"But it's best to do it now, to allow plenty of time to sort out any issues with your return. That way, you'll avoid the busy period for our phone lines as the deadline approaches."
Around 11.2 million people are expected to fill out a tax return.  

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