Struggling to pay your tax? Set up a time-to-pay agreement
Your self-assessment tax return for 2018/19 must be filed by midnight on 31 January 2020, and you must pay any tax still owed for 2018/19 by the same time, along with the first payment on account of the 2019/20 tax liability. If you are struggling to pay your tax bill, you should not ignore it in the hope it goes away. Rather, you could consider setting up a time-to-pay agreement, allowing you to spread your tax bill, over a number of months.
Pay your tax with a time-to-pay agreement
A time-to-pay agreement is simply a payment plan to allow you to pay a tax bill in instalments. Ideally, you should set it up before the date the payment is due. You can consider this for all taxes, not just those due under self-assessment.
How to set one up?
To set up a time-to-pay agreement, you will need to call HMRC’s Payment Support Service on 0300 200 3835.
Information you will need
When calling HMRC, you will need to tell them:
- Your 10-digit unique taxpayer reference
- The amount of the tax bill you are struggling to pay and why
- What action you have taken to try and get the money to pay the bill
- How much you can pay now and how long you will need to pay the balance; and
- Your bank account details
HMRC will usually ask for information about your income and expenditure, your assets and what you are planning to do to get your tax payments up to date.
Paying in instalments
HMRC will only allow payment to be made in instalments if they think you are genuinely unable to pay the bill on time, but will be able to do so in future. You must make payments under an instalment plan, by direct debit on agreed dates. You will be charged interest on tax paid, after the due date.
Missed the self-assessment deadline?
If you have already missed the self-assessment payment deadline, you should call HMRC’s Self Assessment Payment Helpline on 0300 200 3822, in the first instance, rather than the Payment Support Service.
