Businesses and self-employed individuals facing financial distress can actively seek support through HMRC’s Time to Pay service. This service allows them to include any unaffordable tax, duty, penalties, or surcharges in their arrangement.
You can use an online payment plan to set up instalment arrangements for self-assessment tax bills. Taxpayers qualifying for a Time to Pay arrangement, with liabilities up to £30,000, can use the self-serve Time to Pay facility online without needing to speak to an HMRC adviser. This service is available within 60 days of the payment deadline.
Taxpayers that want to use the online option must also meet the following requirements:
- Have no outstanding tax returns
- No other tax debts
- No other HMRC payment plans set up
HMRC will usually offer taxpayers the option of extra time to pay if they think they genuinely cannot pay in full now. It will only be offered if they think they will be able to pay in the future. If HMRC do not think that more time will help, then they can require immediate payment of a tax bill and start enforcement action if payment is not forthcoming.
