A record number of taxpayers filed their self-assessment tax returns online this year, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said yesterday.

A total of 6,429,899 people filed online by the 31 January deadline, making up three quarters of all returns submitted. This represents an increase of nearly 12 per cent on the 5.8 million who filed online by 31 January 2009.

Financial secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms welcomed the figures.

"More people than ever before are now filing their tax returns online. It’s easier, quicker and HMRC processes your return faster, so any money you are owed is repaid more quickly," he said.

"If you have not yet made the switch from paper to online, do so, and join the millions who are benefiting already."

On the busiest day for online returns, Friday 29 January, HMRC received 384,638 online self-assessment returns. Between 4pm and 5pm on that same day it received 39,512 returns.

Uptake of the system has been rapid over recent years. The 2009 figures themselves represented an increase of more than 50 per cent on the 3.8 million in 2008.

The online filing of returns saves an estimated £5m a year compared with the previous system of paper returns.

HMRC should widen the provision of online returns to other types of tax services, a National Audit Office (NAO) report said last year.