There are few things in life more soul-destroying than completing a self-assessment tax return. And if you haven’t done it yet, you’ve got hours, not days to do so. Gulp.

And there are even fewer more frustrating than failing to hit the deadline and having to fork out £100 as a flat fine. A figure, it should be said, which can grow at an alarming rate if you opt to hope they forget about it (spoiler alert, they won’t).

But for many self-employed or sole traders, there is nothing more likely to sober them up from the excesses of Christmas than having to pull up their sleeves and start filling in the ins and outs of 12 months work by the end of January.

However successful you have been, however much you’ve budgeted for that tax bill, filling in a self-assessment form is rarely a highlight of the year.

If you’re one of the many millions who as the countdown entered its final week still hadn’t completed your form, then you have until midnight today (Wednesday) to get it sorted.

In fact, you haven’t really got time to be reading this if you’ve not done it yet.

The only comfort you can take if you’re racing against time to do so is that you’re far from alone.

As of last week, HMRC estimated some 3.8 million were still to file their return – the vast bulk of whom will have no doubt have spent a miserable weekend doing it when there were so many more interesting things to be doing. Like watching paint dry, for example.

Instead, you end up elbow-deep amid a sea of poorly filed receipts while telling yourself you won’t leave it until the last minute next year. As if, eh?

It is, however, human nature to cut things fine. It’s a bit like doing homework at school. Why let it spoil your holidays when you can try and cram it all in as the night draws in on the Sunday before term begins?

But just remember…if you do have to fill out a self-assessment form, this brief period of adding up your ins and outs is a small price to pay for the freedom you have. Your destiny is in your own hands. You are not tied to one employer. You can, unlike the rest of us wage slaves, sculpt your working week as you see fit.

That knowledge may not, however, help as you burn the midnight oil to get it filed tonight. Good luck.