On 20th March 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, announced several measures to help businesses across the UK who will be affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus.
The situation is changing daily and there is scant detailed information coming from the government. We will be keeping our website up to date and ensuring we give you the latest information in a simple and easy to understand manner.
Covid-19 Income Tax – Self Assessment Deferral Scheme – 20 March 2020
For Income Tax Self-Assessment, payments due on the 31 July 2020 will be deferred until the 31 January 2021 and this applies to everyone who is self-employed.
This is an automatic offer with no applications required. The government has stated that no penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period.
HMRC have also scaled up their Time to Pay offer to all firms and individuals who are in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 and have existing outstanding tax liabilities.
Time to Pay Scheme – Existing liabilities and Liabilities coming due imminently
If you have missed a tax payment or you might miss your next payment due to COVID-19, please call HMRC’s dedicated helpline: 0800 0159 559.
When you call HMRC, have details of your self-assessment reference number, along with details of the liability that you wish to defer.
Time to Pay Scheme – Future liabilities
HMRC have said that you should call either when the existing liability is overdue, or is due imminently. If you have worried about July’s payment on account, this is now automatically deferred (see above), and if you are worried about the liability due in January 2021, HMRC will offer further support closer to the time.
Keep updated
The situation is changing rapidly. This was the third significant announcement by the Chancellor in 10 days. Subscribe to our Covid-19 newsletter below to keep yourself updated.
self-assessment