It is very important that you pay your Self Assessment tax bill by the deadline because you’ll be charged interest and may have to pay a penalty if your payment is late. The deadlines for paying your tax bill are usually:
Here are the main payment methods that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) accepts:
Faster Payments (online or telephone banking)
Payments by online or telephone banking (Faster Payments) usually reach HMRC on the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays.
CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System)
CHAPS payments usually reach HMRC the same working day if you pay within your bank’s processing times. If you want to make a single CHAPS payment for multiple Self Assessment bills, send an online CHAPS enquiry form to:
Barclays Bank PLC
1 Churchill Place
London
United Kingdom
E14 5HP
Bacs (Bankers Automated Clearing Services)
Bacs payments usually take 3 working days.
Bank details for online or telephone banking, CHAPS, Bacs:
Please refer to your tax bill to know which account to pay in to. If you do not have a bill, or you’re not sure, use HMRC Cumbernauld.
Debit or corporate credit card online
If you will be paying your tax bill in full, you can use your personal debit card without any fee. Your corporate debit or credit card can also be used but there’s a fee and it is not refundable. Please note that you cannot pay by personal credit card.
HMRC will accept your payment on the date you make it, not the date it reaches their account – including on bank holidays and weekends.
At your bank or building society
You can only pay at your branch by cash or cheque if you still get paper statements from HMRC and you have the payment slip HMRC sent you.
If you are paying by cheque, make your cheque payable to ‘HM Revenue and Customs only’. Then write your 11-character payment reference on the back of the cheque. This is your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) followed by the letter ‘K’.
HMRC will accept your payment on the date you make it as long as you pay from Monday to Friday.
By cheque through the post
Allow 3 working days for your payment to reach HMRC if you will be paying by cheque through the post. You need to send the cheque together with the payment slip HMRC sent you. Do not fold the payment slip or cheque or fasten them together.
If you don’t have a payment slip, you can print your own payment slip. Please note that a printed payment slip can only be used if you are paying by post. You cannot use this at a bank.
Send the cheque and payment slip by post to:
HMRC
Direct
BX5 5BD
Direct Debit
If you will be paying by direct debit for the first time, make sure you allow 5 working days for the direct debit to be set up. It should take 3 working days the next time if you’re using the same bank details.
Note that you can no longer pay at the Post Office.
