As recently announced in the Chancellor’s Winter Economy Plan, taxpayers experiencing financial difficulties would be given the option of deferring their self-assessment income tax payments due in January and spreading the cost over 12 months as an alternative.
Since the announcement, the scheme has now become available with further information and eligibility criteria being released. We have outlined everything we know so far below…
What does this new scheme look like?
This support comes in the form of an online payment plan / ‘time-to-pay’ arrangement, whereby self-assessment taxpayers can pay tax bills of up to £30,000 via direct debit in monthly instalments (12 months being the maximum). Any taxpayers who expect they’ll require longer than 12 months to pay their outstanding self-assessment tax liabilities are urged to contact HMRC in the usual way.
The option to utilise HMRC’s monthly payment plan builds on the ‘payment on account’ deferral in July 2020.
Eligibility criteria
Self-employed individuals and other self-assessment taxpayers who are due to make tax payments on 31 January 2021 qualify for the payment plan.
Those who wish to utilise this time-to-pay arrangement must not have any other outstanding tax returns, other tax debts or other HMRC payment plans set up.
The relevant tax owing must be between £32 and £30,000.
Interest will be charged on the instalment payments, starting to accrue from 1 February 2021.
The payment plan has to be set up by no later than 1 April 2021 and, in order to ensure you avoid late payment penalties, actually must be set up by 2 March 2021. We recommend that if you need to put a plan in place, you do so sooner rather than later.
How to access this support
Eligible taxpayers can apply online via HMRC’s self-serve online platform without needing to call HMRC. Please click here to access the platform and follow the steps for setting up your payment plan. Please note that, at present, HMRC require that taxpayers do this themselves. We cannot do it for you.
If your tax bill is more than £30,000 or you need to spread payments over more than 12 months, you can do so by telephoning HMRC’s Self Assessment Payment Helpline on 0300 200 3822.
For advice tailored to you, please contact your usual PM+M representative or get in touch on enquiries@pmm.co.uk and we’ll direct you to the right person.
This information is correct as of 9 October 2020. This blog is for general guidance only. Recipients should not act upon any of the information provided without seeking specific professional advice tailored to your circumstances, requirements or needs. Please contact PM+M before making any decisions based on any matters relating to this blog.
