If you are having difficulty paying your taxes, help is
at hand – provided you are a business. A new HM Revenue & Customs
(HMRC) support service allows businesses affected by the
current economic conditions to temporarily delay their tax
payments. Instalment arrangements will be tailored to individual
circumstances.
The service, which the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced
in his Pre-Budget Report in November, covers income and corporation
tax, national insurance, VAT and any other payments owed
to HMRC.
If you think you will not be able to make a payment, you
simply phone 0845 302 1435, provide your tax reference number,
details of the tax you are having trouble paying and basic
details of your business income and outgoings. HMRC says
it will normally give a decision within ten minutes.
Paying late under this arrangement you will still be charged
interest, currently at 5.5% for most taxes. However HMRC
will not charge late payment surcharges where they
would otherwise arise, for example where HMRC agrees to your
paying income tax for 2007/08 later than 28 February 2009.
Keep in contact
HMRC says the support line is only for new enquires and
that if you have already been chased for overdue tax you
should continue dealing with the office that originally
contacted you. However, it seems that you will be able to
discuss payment arrangements with that office, and even if
you have received a warning letter about court action, you
can contact the support line if you cannot get through to
the office that sent the letter.
There are, however, limits to HMRC’s newfound helpfulness.
If you have already paid your taxes and are now experiencing
cash flow problems, HMRC will not make repayments unless
your tax bill is reduced. So you need to plan ahead carefully.
Remember too that delaying your tax payments can never be
a solution to all your cash flow needs. We can help you manage
cash flow and explore ways in which you might be able to
obtain finance. And whether or not you are in financial difficulty,
we will ensure you have claimed all available tax reliefs
so that you are not paying more
tax than necessary.
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