Time to Pay Your Tax!
Newsletter issue - January 2010.
January is the month when those big bills become due for payment, and that includes your tax bills...
- The balancing payment of income tax for 2008/09 is due by 31 January 2010 together with any Capital Gains Tax due for that year.
- The first instalment of income tax for 2009/10 is also due on that date.
- VAT for the quarter to 31 December 2009 must also be paid by 31 January, unless you file and pay your VAT return online, in which case you have another seven days to pay (ten if paying by direct debit).
- PAYE and NIC deductions for the month or quarter to 5 January 2010 must also be paid by 19th January, or by 22nd if you pay electronically.
If you do not have the funds to pay all the tax you owe in January, you should contact the HMRC Business Payment Support Service as soon as possible to arrange a payment plan. Their number is 0845 302 1435, they are open every day apart from bank holidays – Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat and Sun 8am to 4pm.
The tax officers that man this helpline can agree to spread the tax you owe over a period of up to six months, and suspend any surcharges for late payment that become due within that period, although interest will continue to be payable. However, you must set up a direct debit to pay regular instalments of the total debt. If you miss one of those instalments you will have to pay the surcharges due for late payment, and the balance of the debt will become payable immediately.
If you have a temporary funding difficulty in January you can pay a tax bill of up to £100,000 by debit or credit card through this website: https://www.billpayment.co.uk/hmrc/scripts/help1.asp This page is part of the HMRC website, but the billpay facility is run by Alliance and Leicester. Please note you will be charged a transaction fee of 1.25% when you pay your tax by this method, and you will also be charged interest by your credit card company at a much higher rate until you pay off the full amount owing.