An 89-year-old woman is unable to pay her tax bill because HMRC won’t let her set up an account without a valid ID.

Jan Cannons, 89, is worried she will be left with huge penalties from the taxman because she cannot complete a self-assessment without a driver’s licence or passport.

The pensioner, who suffers from the eye disease macular degeneration, recently sold the family home in Chilmark, Wiltshire, for £600,000 after the death of her husband.

She then opened a savings account to deposit proceeds from the sale.

HMRC states that you must complete a self-assessment if you have earned more than £10,000 in interest from savings and investments that year.

If the tax is unpaid, a penalty is added to the bill, starting at 2pc of the tax and increasing the longer it remains outstanding.

Ms Cannons’s son, Simon, said he is unable to set up a “Government Gateway” account to settle the bill due to her lack of ID. The family has until January 31 to complete the return.

He said the issue meant many pensioners “will be walking into this unknown”.

Mr Cannons told The Telegraph: “HMRC will be aware of how much interest my mother has received on the proceeds of her house sale and therefore will send her a bill for several thousands of pounds.” He estimates his mother will face a tax bill of around £4,800.

“I’m really concerned that if I don’t do a tax return for my mother, then HMRC will send her a large tax bill and possibly a fine for not completing a tax return.”

When he tried to set up an online account for her, he was asked for her Government Gateway account, which you can only set up with a driving licence or passport.

Like many pensioners, his mother no longer has either form of ID because she hasn’t driven for years due to her illness.

Mr Cannons said: “Once her macular degeneration had reached a certain point, we convinced her that she shouldn’t be driving anywhere and so she didn’t renew her licence.”

He added: “Renewing a passport isn’t that expensive but it is still an expense. We didn’t believe my mother would travel abroad anymore and so during the pandemic, we let it lapse.”

Mr Cannons has also tried to get a physical copy of the self-assessment, but in order to register for this, you need a Government Gateway account, meaning the same problem arises.

“I don’t know what I will do when we get to April,” he admitted.

Government research from 2021 found that around one in 10 UK citizens did not have a valid form of photo identification.

The issue disproportionately affects elderly people who are no longer able to drive due to health conditions and are less likely to travel abroad.

Last month, a 90-year-old pensioner complained he was “treated like a criminal” by Halifax when he attempted to withdraw money from his savings account to pay for his care fees.

David Drew, a retired shipping and cruise line worker, said it was a case of “security gone mad”.

According to HMRC, customers can verify their identity by providing two of the following: a passport, driving licence, details of a tax credit claim, details from a self-assessment or information on their credit record – such as loans or mortgages.

A HMRC spokesman said: “We’re contacting Ms Cannons to help her file her tax return.We’re continually working to help more people access our online services, while keeping their information secure. But before sharing any personal data with a customer, we’ve a duty to establish their identity is correct.”