HMRC tax debts

All individuals and businesses are expected to pay their tax liabilities to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) both on time and in full. For many businesses, particularly in the current economic climate, this is easier said than done.

Hundreds of thousands of businesses have requested time to pay arrangements from HMRC to help with their tax payments.

Struggling to Pay Tax on Time

Struggling to pay your tax debts on time is a problem for many businesses and finding the money to pay for tax liabilities can be difficult.
It’s advisable to look at all options to raise the necessary funds, including:

• Bank/Building Society Support. The bank or building society is often the first port of call for businesses needing to raise finance, and could be the necessary option to prevent your business from HMRC legal action.
• Income and Outgoings. Balancing income and outgoings is often neglected, with wasted finance a major cause of many businesses experiencing difficulties. It’s always advisable to conduct regular assessments of incoming funds and outgoing expenditures to see if cutting some non essential costs will help your company through a difficult time.
• Chase Invoice Debts. Chasing your debtors for money owed or just seeking faster payments is often a good way to raise money at difficult times.

Still Struggling to Find the Money to Pay Tax Debts

If you’re still struggling to raise the necessary funds to pay your HMRC tax debts, it’s advisable that you contact HMRC as soon as possible. Failure to contact HMRC before the due date of the payment request may result in a penalty or surcharge, plus interest charges.

Contacting HMRC

When you contact HMRC, you will need to:

• Explain why you cannot repay your tax debts.
• Explain how you have attempted to raise the money to pay for your debt.
• Tell HMRC how much you are able to pay instantly.
• Tell HMRC how much time you will need to pay the rest of the tax debt.

Following this conversation with HMRC, you may find that you can pay back the tax debt in full. If you can pay the debt in full, you will have to do so. It’s possible to pay your tax debt over the phone by Direct Debt, by debit or credit card, or by BACS payment. If you have been given chances to pay your debts off in the past, you may be given more pressing questions.