There are several methods you can use to pay your Self-Assessment (SA100) tax bill and these are detailed on the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website. It is perhaps the one thing they want you to do so it’s not surprising that they try and make it very easy! 

Remember – deadline day is 31st January.

Here’s the link

Pay your Self Assessment tax bill: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The payment methods are straight forward – remember to allow enough time for your funds to clear the banking system by the deadline else you are likely to be charged interest and have to pay a penalty if your payment is late. 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). 

To make a payment you will always need your Self-Assessment Unique Tax Reference. This is a 10 digit number followed by the ‘K’, for example 3452288971K. You can find it on tax returns and other letters about Self Assessment. It may also be called ‘reference’, ‘UTR’ or ‘official use’.

The time you need to allow for payment depends on how you pay 

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 (only if you still get paper statements from HMRC    and have the paying-in slip HMRC sent you)

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)

Remember the deadline for payment is the 31st January or the last working day of January unless you’re paying by Faster Payments or by debit or credit card.

 Pay your Self Assessment tax bill: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)