SHARE THIS

Salary sacrifice & Taxable benefits | Randall & Payne Tax Accountants

Income Tax and VAT payment deferrals

Income tax

The deferral for income tax self assessment applies to the second payment on account for 2019/20 due on 31 July 2020 which is deferred until 31 January 2021.

You do not need to be self-employed to be eligible for the deferment.

Whilst deferment is optional, this is an automatic offer and no application is required. Very few taxpayers pay their self assessment liabilities by direct debit because the system requires a separate direct debit mandate to set up for each individual payment. Any taxpayer that qualifies for the deferral and has already set up a direct debit mandate for the payment on account due on 31 July 2020 should consider cancelling it.

Self assessment returns should still be filed by their due date and it may be advantageous to file the 2019/20 return as soon as possible after 5 April 2020. This might facilitate planning for the tax payment due in January 2021 and perhaps crystallise any refund due, including as a result of any loss relief available.

No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period.

 

VAT

The deferral for VAT payments applies from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020. All VAT registered traders are eligible. This will generally mean the deferral of one quarter’s VAT: the payment due on 7 April, 7 May or 7 June 2020 or the monthly payments due on each of these dates. This is an automatic offer and no application is required. Businesses will not need to make a VAT payment during this period.

Our industry body has asked HMRC to confirm whether it will automatically suspend collection of direct debit payments of VAT during this period and is awaiting a response. If HMRC does not automatically suspend direct debit payments businesses will need to cancel their direct debit mandate and will need to remember to set it up again in due course. Agents cannot set up direct debit mandates on behalf of taxpayers.

Taxpayers have until the end of the 2020/21 tax year to pay any liabilities that accumulate during the deferral period. VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by the government as normal.

Businesses should continue to file their VAT returns by the due date.

 

Contact the  Tax team on tax@randall-payne.co.uk or call 01242 776000 (calls are being answered and messages taken for a call back with the relevant person).