HMRC is providing assistance to customers who may be experiencing difficulties with repayment of outstanding tax liabilities that might be due.
The Self-Serve Time to Pay has now been introduced to support customers with Simple Assessment debts. The arrangements offer customers the opportunity to set up a payment plan to pay off their debt by instalments if they have been unable to pay off the tax due by the payment deadline.
Tax payers will only receive a Simple Assessment letter if they:
- owe Income Tax that cannot be automatically taken out of your income
- owe HMRC £3,000 or more
- have to pay tax on their State Pension
Simple Assessment letters, providing detailed calculations for any tax owed for income received between April 2024 and April 2025 are being sent to customers over the next few months.
The Simple Assessment letter details exactly what customers need to do and includes information about:
- how much tax is owed
- when it needs to be paid (usually by the following 31 January)
- how to pay it, including what to do if they disagree with the assessment
When to pay
The time to pay period is based on when the Simple Assessment letter is sent out:
- before 31 October 2025 (for the 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025 tax year) – payment is due by 31 January 2026
- on or after 31 October 2025 (for the 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025 or any earlier tax year) – payment is due within 3 months of the date of the letter.
If you are acting as an Agent your clients may contact you for assistance many of whomwill have no previous knowledge of what a Simple Assessment is, how it’s calculated or why they have underpaid tax. Conversely, others will be familiar with the simple Assessment but the extended time to pay will be welcomed by many at this present time.
We want to support customers who receive a Simple Assessment letter to know what to do, how to pay or to query the calculation.
How to pay
Customers can pay
- Online - approving a payment through your online bank account - you’ll be asked to sign in to your online bank account
- Debit or corporate credit card -a processing fee will be added if using this method. Personal credit cards are not accepted.
- Personal Tax Accounts - You’ll be asked if you want to sign in to your Personal Tax Account when you use the online service. Signing in lets you see and pay tax you owe, but you can still pay without signing in. You’ll need the 14-character payment reference number starting with ‘X’ on your Simple Assessment letter.
- Bank transfer, using Faster Payments, CHAPS or Bacs
- Cheques – allow 3 working days for the payment to reach HMRC send it to:
HMRC
Direct
BX5 5BD
If any information in the letter is wrong, taxpayers must contact HMRC within 60 days.
