One week left to pay Self Assessment tax bill

Self Assessment customers have just one week left to pay their tax bill or set up a payment plan to avoid incurring a penalty, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has reminded.

Customers have until 1 April to pay all tax due from their 2020/21 tax return and not receive a late payment penalty. If they are unable to pay in full, there is still time to set up an online payment plan to spread the cost of their bill into manageable monthly instalments.

The online Time to Pay service is available for businesses and individuals who have filed their Self Assessment tax return and owe up to £30,000. They can set up a payment plan online at GOV.UK without speaking to HMRC.

If customers owe more than £30,000, or need longer to pay, they can call the Self Assessment payment helpline on 0300 200 3822.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “We understand some customers might be worrying about paying their Self Assessment bill this year, and we want to support them. There is still time to set up a payment plan – to see if you’re eligible go to GOV.UK and search ‘pay my Self Assessment’.”

The Self Assessment deadline was 31 January but, this year HMRC gave customers extra time to file and pay their 2020/21 tax return and not face penalties, though interest has been applied to all outstanding balances since 1 February.

The agency revealed that more than 11.3 million customers filed by 28 February, with one million of those taking advantage of the extra time by filing their tax return in February.

Customers can make secure Self Assessment payments through the HMRC app by either connecting to their bank to make their payments or paying by Direct Debit, personal debit card or corporate/commercial credit/debit card.

A 5 per cent late payment penalty will be charged if tax remains outstanding, and a payment plan has not been set up, by midnight on 1 April 2022. Further late payment penalties will be charged at the usual 6 and 12 month points (August 2022 and February 2023 respectively) on tax outstanding where a payment plan has not been set up.

HMRC has also urged customers to be alert if they are contacted out of the blue by someone asking for money or personal information, adding that it sees high numbers of fraudsters emailing, calling or texting people claiming to be from the department.

Customers are requested to always type in the full online address www.gov.uk/hmrc to get the correct link for filing their Self Assessment return online securely and free of charge and contact HMRC straight away if they are in doubt.