If your last Self Assessment bill was £1,000 or more, HMRC usually asks you to pay towards next year’s bill in advance. These are payments on account.
How they work
- Each payment is half of last year’s bill
- The first is due on 31 January, the second on 31 July
- Any balance is paid the following 31 January, along with the first payment for the next year
When you don’t pay them
You do not make payments on account if your last bill was under £1,000, or if more than 80% of your tax was already collected at source, for example through PAYE.
Reducing them
If your income has fallen, you can ask HMRC to reduce the payments. Reduce them too far and you pay interest on the shortfall, so we check the figures before making a claim.
