Quick question re self assessment tax return

[NigellaWannabe1]

How on earth do I pay? I have just submitted it and need to pay ££££. When I follow the payment options, it tells me I only need to pay £54 (and it's overdue?). Can I still follow the link and pay the full amount (I can click on "pay £54" or pay "a different amount"), or will the money be going elsewhere entirely and my tax bill will remain unpaid? Thanks.

Do it as a bank transfer.

Get HMRC bank details off their website. Set up a payment to that bank account in your online banking. Use your 10-digit UTR as reference, but add a K to the end of it, so 1234567890K.

Send payment. Job done.

Thanks! I guess if I pay that way, they will know what it is for...? Sorry, this is the first year I have to pay for my side hustle earnings, and I'm getting all confused.

The amount owed may update in the next couple of days, it takes a while to crunch the numbers so you need to check back again tomorrow. Ideally in future submit the return earlier to allow for this.

I prefer to use their direct payment via banking app system as there is less risk of making a mistake, that should be showing as an option.

If you go on to your Personal Tax Account in about 72 hours, it should confirm that the sum that you have paid has gone in (and that you don't owe anything).

Argh!!!!!! I've just paid and was so focused on typing the correct Unique Reference Number that I forgot to add the letter K. I just hope this won't mess things up too badly.

The stress of this is ridiculous!

And put a reminder in your calendar not to leave it to the last minute next year.

Seriously, nobody needs the stress of trying to do self-assessment on 30th and 31st January and trying to deal with any issues which come up. Learned this the hard way. Always try to get it done by Christmas.

Absolutely. Next time, I'll get it done in May.

Was your tax calculation £54? Just asking because I think as PP said it takes a few days for it to update your balance on the home screen. Check again in a couple of days just in case , but obviously if your tax bill was £54 then you're good!

No, my tax return was four figures. Thanks, everyone. I'm still worried about having used my UTR without the blooming K letter at the end... I hope that doesn't mess things up too much.

If anybody has any thoughts, please let me know.

@NigellaWannabe1 I wouldn't panic too much about the reference being wrong, if you wait and see what the balance updates to you should hopefully be able to see if they've taken that £54 off your bill.

Sorry if I've got the wrong end of the stick here, but if you know your bill is higher than what you've just paid, it's likely we'll have gone past the payment deadline by the time it updates. I did mine on Sunday, and I paid by card the amount that was on my calculation minus the credit that was showing on my home screen, I didn't want to wait for it to update in case I was fined for late payment. I don't know that they definitely would fine you but if you know what the full bill amount is you might as well pay it before the deadline to avoid it.

Your payment might go into an overpayment account until someone manually identifies it and matches the UTR to you.

They may send out reminders and warn of interest if this doesn't happen quickly.

Check your account in about a week as both return and payment should have updated by then.

If the payment isn't there, call the Accounts Office that you paid to (Cumbernauld or Shipley) They will need date of payment, amount you paid and your bank details. With this info they will allocate the payment to your account there and then.

The letter K doesn't matter. I did mine yesterday and couldn't add the k as the box only allowed numbers in the box.

Crikey, I'm glad I've seen this as it's reminded me just in time to complete mine!!

wilfully misses point of thread

bringincrazyback - you've made me feel better! Glad it's not just me procrastinating over this.

To clarify, I made a payment for the higher amount so I shouldn't go into . I then phoned HMRC, who said missing the K in the reference shouldn't be a big deal. They confirmed I did the right thing by paying the higher amount, as it will be sitting in my account until my self assessment submission is processed - this can take up to three days.

I'm never leaving things so late...!

I've just sent HMRC all my blood and my firstborn - and then realised that the amount they asked me for DID NOT INCLUDE THE PAYMENT ON ACCOUNT FROM LAST YEAR!
Honestly, HMRC, if you tell me what I owe, at least tell me WHAT I OWE in actuality, taking into account all the payments I made towards it last year!
Sometimes it feels as though they just pick an amount out of the air and expect me to do all the calculations myself.
And it won't even update my account for 72 hours.... I'm a bit cross about the whole thing, you may have gathered.

It says that it can take up to 72 hours for your self assessment to be processed, after submitting it online. So within that time, the tax amount that it thinks you own may change.

@VVroomfondleswaistcoat EVERY YEAR I forget about this, and I panic when it asks me to pay eighty million pounds, before I realise I only need to pay forty million pounds. I always forget. I don't understand why their calculation on the tax return can't just link up to the system that knows your balance! My aunt used to be a tax inspector and she also thinks it's utterly ridiculous and designed to get more money out of people 😬