HMRC has announced as of January 2018, employers will no longer be able to use personal credit cards to settle outstanding PAYE overdue payment penalties, PAYE settlement agreements or Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) late filing penalties.
From January 13th 2018, not only will the use of personal credit cards to settle penalties be prohibited, but so will part payments made by debit or credit cards. This means employers will have to use an alternative method of payment if they cannot cover the full cost of the penalty by card.
Furthermore, the facility to pay penalties at the Post Office will also be withdrawn on 15th December 2017.
Despite these changes, there remains several alternative methods of payment. To illustrate, you may still pay by direct debit, online or by telephone, via BACS, CHAPS, online with a company credit card or debit card (the payment must be in full as part payments will no longer be accepted), at your bank or building society or by cheque in the post.
Each payment method has varying time scales in which the transaction will take to complete, so its pivotal you pay HMRC by the deadline shown on your ‘Notice to Pay’. Using the wrong reference number may delay your payment, potentially incurring further charges.
HMRC do, however, accept payment on the date the transaction was made, not the date the monies reach their account.
Click here for more information regarding payment of HMRC taxes, penalties or enquiry settlements. Alternatively, please feel free to get in touch with one of our tax experts to discuss any other tax related queries.