Covid-19 and paying your Self Assessment Tax bill

With the 31 January payment date just around the corner for self assessment tax payments, we would like to remind you of your options under the relaxed rules set out by HM Revenue & Customs for those in difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the government’s original Covid-19 relief package, you were able to defer payment of the 31 July 2020 instalment until 31 January 2021 with no interest charge or penalty arising. You can read more  about this in our COVID-19 support update. This extension was automatically given if no payment was made by 31 July 2020. If you allowed deferment this has now been added to your 2019/20 balancing payment and 2020/21 first instalment which needs to be paid by 31 January 2021.

If you are able to pay all outstanding tax by 31 January 2021 no interest or penalty will arise. If, however, you are unable to pay the tax due on 31 January 2021, including any deferred balance from 31 July 2020, you can contact HMRC to arrange a ‘Time to Pay’ settlement. This will allow you to pay the amount due over a 12-month period as long as this liability is less than £30,000 and you do not have any other payment plans or debts with HMRC.

We recommend you do this as soon as possible and not wait until the deadline. You can choose how much to pay straight away and how much you want to pay each month. You will have to  pay interest but no late payment penalties should arise.

To arrange this online, you should go to the GOV.Uk website and log into, or create, your Government Gateway account. Alternatively, you can call the Self-Assessment Payment helpline on 0300 200 3822 (Monday to Friday, 8am – 4pm).

If you wish to pay over a longer period, or your self-assessment liability is over £30,000 you may still be able to set up a Time to Pay arrangement by calling the Self-Assessment Payment  Helpline.