31st July is financially important for two reasons. Firstly, many people will have a payment on account to settle by 31st July and secondly, it’s the deadline for tax credit renewal.
If either of these apply to you and you’re not completely sure what you’re doing, here’s a quick guide to HMRC’s guidance on paying your tax bill, and renewing tax credits.
Paying your self assessment tax bill
Need to pay your self assessment tax bill? No problem. HMRC is, unsurprisingly, keen to help you.
Like to learn by video? HMRC’s short YouTube videos ‘Paying your Self Assessment tax bill‘ and ‘Budgeting for your Self Assessment tax bill‘ should prove helpful.
Prefer a live webinar, where you can ask questions? Then choose a date and time to attend a live webinar on ‘How to pay your Self Assessment bill’, which explains how your bill is calculated, ways to pay your bill, paying National Insurance and budgeting for future bills, and gives you the chance to ask questions using the on-screen text box.
If you’d rather read the information, then take a look at HMRC’s online guide on ‘Starting your own business‘, which covers tax bills.
You can also visit the HMRC Online Customer Forum —if your question hasn’t already been asked and answered by someone previously, then experts will be on hand to answer them.
Read this Government guide on what to do if you can’t pay your tax bill online.
Renewing your tax credits
If you are eligible for tax credits, you must renew by 31 July or the payments will stop (and you may have to repay the money you’ve received since April 2019).
Luckily, you can renew online in minutes.
The HMRC app is available on the App Store or Google Play Store and it allows you to:
- Renew your tax credits;
- Check your tax credits payments schedule
- Find out how much they have earned for the year
You can also log into GOV.UK to check on the progress of your renewal.
You can get help by:
- Visiting the Tax Credits section on the Gov.UK site
- By tweeting @HMRCcustomers or posting on HMRC’s Facebook page (general queries only)
- Using the HMRC’s Online Customer Forum (click on ‘Tax Credits and You’)
- Using the HMRC’s webchat help service
- Calling the tax credits helpline: 0345 300 3900
Angela MacDonald, director general for Customer Services at HMRC, says renewing on time is vital to ensure that payments don’t stop.
“We know that our customers lead busy lives, which is why our online services are available day and night. “
There’s plenty of help available if you’re having a problem with either your tax bill or tax credits, so don’t leave it until the last minute, and risk losing money or paying a fine—get it sorted now!
