The first thing to make sure is when your tax return is due.
HMRC deadlines for paying your tax bill are usually:
31 January – for any tax you owe for the previous tax year (known as a balancing payment) and your first payment on account
31 July – for your second payment on account
Make sure you pay HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by the deadline. You’ll be charged interest and may have to pay a penalty if your payment is late.
Paying HMRC
With any amount which you pay towards your HMRC account for self-assessment, it’s important to reference your UTR number (Unique Tax Reference number), followed by the letter K. For example, if your UTR is 1234567890, the reference which you need to use will be 1234567890K. This is to ensure HMRC recognise who the payment is from and associate the payment with your HMRC account.
The time you need to allow depends on how you pay.
Here are some of your payment options
Same or next day
- through your online bank account
- online or telephone banking (Faster Payments)
- CHAPS
- by debit or corporate credit card online
- at your bank or building society
(You need a paying-in slip from HMRC to pay at a bank or building society.)
3 working days
- Bacs
- Direct Debit (if you’ve set one up with HMRC before)
- by cheque through the post
5 working days
- Direct Debit (if you have not set one up with HMRC before)
HMRC bank details to pay your Self-assessment tax bill into:
Note that it is no longer possible to pay at the Post Office.
HMRC account details to use
| Sort code | Account number | Account name |
| 08 32 10 | 12001039 | HMRC Self-Assessment Cumbernauld |
| 08 32 10 | 12001020 | HMRC Self-Assessment Shipley |
If your account is overseas
| Bank identifier code (BIC) | Account number (IBAN) | Account name |
| BARCGB22 | GB62BARC20114770297690 | HMRC Self-Assessment Cumbernauld |
| BARCGB22 | GB03BARC20114783977692 | HMRC Self-Assessment Shipley |
If the deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, make sure your payment reaches HMRC on the last working day before (unless you’re paying by Faster Payments or by debit or credit card).