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Original poster

How the fuck do I pay my tax bill?

143 replies

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 30/01/2021 11:55

Every year I go around in circles!!

Where is it?

Please help! I am logged in and it’s like a magic trick with no end 🤦🏻‍♀️

OP posts:
CityDweller · 31/01/2021 10:18

I am totally with you on this. I spent ages the other day trying to work out what I actually owed because it doesn’t take payment on account into account. The whole payment on account thing is stupid.

tara66 · 31/01/2021 10:18

Re - finding an accountant - it is not that easy. I actually approached 4 this year but they were either unsuitable, not taking new clients or were not keen to take a new client - one had actually removed his phone number from easy access.

gurglebelly · 31/01/2021 10:27

I just got a letter saying how to pay it, so just did it through online banking with the correct reference

78percentLindt · 31/01/2021 10:28

My chartered accountant son struggles with the HMRC website when I need to do my Tax return, if it helps. He does specialise in Audit though.
He did tell me to hold back on payments as I had made payment on account last year and the website will update with what I owed. I filed last week, it took 2 or 3 days to update.

fizzybootlace · 31/01/2021 10:28

Can I just add that the deadline for submitting your return has been extended but NOT the payment date, if you don't pay what you owe by today interest will start to accumulate!! It is so misleading, and you can only pay when you have done your return to know what you owe!!

This weeks BBC Money Box podcast explains it well.

Horizons83 · 31/01/2021 10:32

YOU DO NOT HAVE UNTIL 28 FEBRUARY TO PAY YOUR TAX

You have until 28 February to file the return but all payment must be made by today.

RedWelliesAreHot · 31/01/2021 10:32

Average fee from accts nr me is £400 ish.

I always do my own as they are simple, but colleagues tell me that an account usually saves them their fee by ensuring they are claiming all the expenses they are eligible for.

RedWelliesAreHot · 31/01/2021 10:33

@Horizons83

YOU DO NOT HAVE UNTIL 28 FEBRUARY TO PAY YOUR TAX

You have until 28 February to file the return but all payment must be made by today.

???

Nope.

How can you pay if your return is incomplete- because you need to complete it to know how much you owe!

LarsErickssong · 31/01/2021 10:33

@YeOldeTrout

How much would an accountant charge -- I imagine £1000 minimum.

DH hates me paying anything in advance, or I would have paid the bill the moment I worked out the amount (October). I kept many copies of the instructions and still had to hunt around with great stress to figure out find the right links and exact instructions, in early January.

At my firm we charge anything from £120+vat to £405+vat depending on complexity. That's just for the tax return but if you wanted sole trader/small ltd company's accounts too it would be somewhere between £1500-2500
Horizons83 · 31/01/2021 10:34

And OP, you are not wrong. My dad has been an accountant for 50 years and he agrees that the website is confusing and doesn’t take into account payments on account.

The statement updates a few days after submission of the return but even then it’s not totally clear what is due, I had to run my amount by him to check and I still got it wrong.

Original poster
GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 31/01/2021 10:34

@RedWelliesAreHot

Do you have payments already made on account? Have you just completed your tax return and looking to pay it immediately? If neither of these are true then that’s why you haven’t come across this scenario. I have been self employed for 12 years and am quite competent at completing my return without an accountant, the link to pay it however, could be clearer.

OP posts:
Morph2lcfc · 31/01/2021 10:37

@WantChewbaccaForGood

Can you ring hmrc, ask what you owe & pay over the phone?
Good luck with trying to do that on 31st jan you’d be on hold for about 3 hours before being cut off
PhilCornwall1 · 31/01/2021 10:37

Does anyone know if it’s too late to pay it by bank transfer today?

Online banking app you should be able to. There is a link to the details on their site. I used HMRC Cumbernauld. We did it in the branch, but could have done it online.

LarsErickssong · 31/01/2021 10:38

@RedWelliesAreHot lots of people will have a good idea of what they owe before actually finishing g their tax return, therefore if they couldn't submit today but know they would have tax to pay they could pay a larger amount today to be on the safe side

Original poster
GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 31/01/2021 10:39

And yes it does still need to be paid by today. Please don’t advise people to leave it. Filing can be extended to 28th February and you will not be fined as long as it’s paid by today.

OP posts:
RedWelliesAreHot · 31/01/2021 10:40

[quote LarsErickssong]@RedWelliesAreHot lots of people will have a good idea of what they owe before actually finishing g their tax return, therefore if they couldn't submit today but know they would have tax to pay they could pay a larger amount today to be on the safe side [/quote]
Really? Including the NI payment due?

Horizons83 · 31/01/2021 10:42

You have to estimate an amount if you are not sure how much you owed.

I knew what was owed by about August last year, just as per usual it took me until January 25th to submit it!

Morph2lcfc · 31/01/2021 10:43

As other posters has said tax is due today whether or not you have filed a return.

Technically the deadline for filing the return is still today but penalties are being automatically waived if filed by 28 Feb but the return will still count as being late for the purposes of tax enquiry window and compliance (for most people this won’t matter in practise).

If you do not pay by today interest is charged but it’s at 2.5% pa so it won’t amount to much if you are a few days late. If you do not pay by 3 march a flat rate penalty of 5% is charged

Horizons83 · 31/01/2021 10:43

The only thing that has changed is the £100 late filing penalty.

Interest on missing payments will start to accrue from tomorrow.

Tangledtresses · 31/01/2021 10:46

My tax ref and is on my bacs payees I just pay from that every year and it works well...

PhilCornwall1 · 31/01/2021 10:46

I knew what was owed by about August last year, just as per usual it took me until January 25th to submit it!

Same here, but the amount was a shocker. I had to do one because of child benefit. Hit the button to calculate the amount and promptly shouted "fuck off!!!".

As I worked from home for the 19/20 tax year, I put this in the return and it knocked over a hundred quid off the amount. It was still a fuck off moment though.

Tenorclef · 31/01/2021 10:51

The payment on account isn’t deducted from the total you get after filling in the return. That confused me too. You have to go right back to one of the first pages when you log in, and scroll down. There is a ‘you owe’ section, where the payment on account has been deducted.

Ringonrighthand · 31/01/2021 10:52

@tara66

Re - finding an accountant - it is not that easy. I actually approached 4 this year but they were either unsuitable, not taking new clients or were not keen to take a new client - one had actually removed his phone number from easy access.
Sorry to hear that @tara66 at my accountants we've taken people on all year. It's the year people have needed us most I have found!

As PP mentioned always use your UTR number, with a K on the end to reference your payment. Otherwise it falls into the black hole of unallocated payments in hmrc bank. If you don't know exactly what you owe at least pay something as they are more favourable to that. Calling them is dreadful at the moment, I was on hold for 1.5 hours for a client last week but you will get there in the end. Good luck!

Ch3rish · 31/01/2021 10:52

How can you pay if your return is incomplete- because you need to complete it to know how much you owe

Why is your return incomplete, what information takes right up to the deadline for you to get?

I totally understand procrastinating doing your tax return but why would you not be able to do it?

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