It is important that HMRC has the right information about you, so make sure that your personal details, including your current address, are up to date with HMRC. You don’t want them sending anything to the wrong address and getting a penalty for not responding.

Self-Assessment liabilities may include income tax, class 4 national insurance contributions and capital gains tax. The deadline for paying the tax due for 2024/25 is 31 January 2026.

HMRC will charge interest on any tax paid late. The rate of interest on underpaid tax is currently 8%. Any tax still outstanding after 30 days will attract a late payment penalty of 5%.

If you pay HMRC via an online or telephone bank transfer, you must use your ten-digit UTR with the letter K on the end (e.g., 1234567890K) as your payment reference to ensure it is correctly allocated.

You may also be required to make a payment on account for 2025/26 by 31 January 2026, and these are calculated based on your tax liability for the previous year.

If you are unable to pay the full amount due by the deadline, you should consider contacting HMRC to agree a time to pay arrangement, and in certain circumstances, this can be done online. Originally, these were hard to get, but these days HMRC are much more flexible. However, they are always more amenable to granting a TTP if you contact them before the due date.

A time to pay arrangement enables you to settle your tax liability in instalments over an agreed period of time. HMRC will still charge interest on any tax paid late, but penalties may be avoided if a payment plan is agreed in good time and is stuck to.