Self Assessment taxpayers will not be charged a 5% late payment
penalty if they pay their tax or set up a payment plan by 1 April, HM
Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced.
The payment deadline for
Self Assessment is 31 January and interest is charged from 1 February
on any amounts outstanding. Normally, a 5% late payment penalty is also
charged on any unpaid tax that is still outstanding on 3 March. But this
year, because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, HMRC is giving
taxpayers more time to pay or set up a payment plan.
Taxpayers
can pay their tax bill or set up a monthly payment plan online at
GOV.UK. They need to do this by midnight on 1 April to prevent being
charged a late payment penalty.
The online Time to Pay facility
allows taxpayers to spread the cost of their Self Assessment tax bill
into monthly instalments until January 2022.
HMRC recognises the
pressure affecting taxpayers due to the pandemic, and encourages anyone
worried about paying their tax and unable to set up a payment plan
online to contact HMRC for help and support on 0300 200 3822.
More than 97,260 customers have set up a self-serve Time to Pay arrangement online, totalling more than £367 million.
Jim Harra, HMRC’s Chief Executive said:
“Anyone
worried about paying their tax can set up a payment plan to spread the
cost into monthly instalments. Support is available at GOV.UK to help
anyone struggling to meet their obligations.”
There are several
ways that taxpayers can pay their Self Assessment tax bill in full. They
can pay online, via their bank, or by post. More information on how to pay is at GOV.UK. Taxpayers should still pay in full if they can. This is the only way to stop interest accruing.
Self
Assessment taxpayers who are required to make Payments on Account, and
know their 2020 to 2021 tax bill is going to be lower than in 2019 to
2020 – for example due to loss of earnings because of COVID-19 – can
reduce their Payments on Account. Visit GOV.UK to find out more about Payments on Account and how to reduce them.
Self
Assessment taxpayers who have yet to file their 2019-20 tax return
should file by 28 February to prevent being charged a late filing
penalty of £100.
Be aware of copycat HMRC websites and phishing
scams. taxpayers should search ‘self assessment’ on GOV.UK to get the
correct link for their Self Assessment tax return online securely and
free of charge. They also need to be alert if someone calls, emails or
texts claiming to be from HMRC, saying that they can claim financial
help, are due a tax refund or owe tax. It might be a scam. Check GOV.UK for information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact.
Tax does have to be taxing.
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