Make Time To Pay Arrangements Online And Avoid Calling HMRC

If you are unable to pay your tax bill on time, then you can set up a Time to Pay arrangement with HMRC. There are a number of circumstances where this can be done for self-assessment and employers' PAYE ...

It's been possible to set up Time to Pay arrangements online for a number of years. The limit was increased from £10,000 to £30,000 in October 2020. Creating an online Time to Pay arrangement for employers' PAYE was introduced in December 2022.

"If you are outside the conditions of Time to Pay, you'll need to speak to HMRC directly!"

Though the £30,000 threshold applies to self-assessment, it's only £15,000 for employers' PAYE. Time to Pay arrangements must be set up within 60 days of the payment deadline for self-assessment and within 35 days for employers' PAYE.

There are limits on the timescales for repayment as well. For self-assessment, it's 12 months and with employers' PAYE it's six. All outstanding returns must have been filed before making an arrangement.

Obviously, interest is charged when payments are made outside the deadlines and HMRC offers a lot of guidance around this. It's also worth noting that no other payment plans or debts with HMRC must exist before a Time to Pay arrangement can be set up online.

And finally, all underpaid tax has a 5% penalty from the 28th of February 2023 so if you haven't been able to pay all you owe, get a Time to Pay arrangement set up as soon as you can.

If you feel inspired to find out more about anything I've said here, do call me on 01908 774320 or leave a comment below and I'll be in touch as soon as I can.