Are You Able To Pay Your Tax In Full?
I suspect that many people and businesses are going to struggle to pay their tax on time in the next few months but, believe it or not, HMRC are willing to help through their Payment Support Service. This became particularly relevant in January 2021 when those affected by the pandemic were unable to pay their self assessment bills on time, but this service is available for other taxes too, such as Corporation Tax, VAT and PAYE.
In order to use this service you need to have filed a return so that HMRC know what tax is owed to them AND contact them before the due date for payment of the tax. They will ask questions about your (or your business) finances but for the past couple of years they have been accommodating in allowing 'time to pay'.
In previous years if a time to pay arrangement has been set up before the normal date for payment this has prevented late payment penalties arising, though interest is still charged because payment is being made late. But if you miss the payment deadline I still recommend that you contact HMRC because if you don't pay them in full and don't contact them they will engage debt collectors for what they are owed.
I also suggest that you take action as soon as possible, because the Payment Support Service has very long telephone wait times at peak times.