You pay your Self Assessment tax to HMRC by 31 January after the end of the tax year, and by 31 July for any second payment on account. For 2025/26 the balancing payment, plus the first payment on account for 2026/27, is due by 11:59pm on 31 January 2027. Every payment needs your 11-character reference: your 10-digit UTR followed by the letter K. You can pay by bank transfer, through your online bank account, by personal debit card, by Direct Debit, by cheque, or through your PAYE tax code if you owe less than £3,000. Both 2027 deadlines fall at a weekend, which matters for some payment methods. Below are the methods, the timings and what to do if you cannot pay.
What you are paying and when
A Self Assessment bill can have up to three parts:
- Balancing payment. The tax still owed for the year just ended, due 31 January;
- First payment on account. An advance of half of last year's bill towards the current year, also due 31 January;
- Second payment on account. The other half, due 31 July.
Payments on account are required under section 59A of the Taxes Management Act 1970. They are not needed if last year's Self Assessment bill was under £1,000, or if more than 80% of last year's tax was collected at source, for example through PAYE. If this year's income has fallen, you can claim to reduce them. Our guide to payments on account covers how and when to do that safely.
Ways to pay and how long each takes
| Method | Time to reach HMRC | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Approve a payment through your online bank account | Usually instant | Start from HMRC's "Pay Self Assessment" page or the HMRC app |
| Faster Payments (online or telephone banking) | Same or next day, including weekends | Use your UTR + K as the reference |
| CHAPS | Same working day, within your bank's cut-off | One CHAPS payment for several bills needs HMRC's CHAPS enquiry form |
| Debit or corporate card online | Accepted on the date you pay | No personal credit cards; non-refundable fee on corporate cards |
| Bacs | 3 working days | Allow for the weekend |
| Direct Debit | 3 working days (5 if new) | Single payments must be set up for each due date |
| Cheque by post | Must arrive by the deadline | Payable to "HM Revenue and Customs only", to HMRC, Direct, BX5 5BD |
For a bank transfer, HMRC's Self Assessment accounts are sort code 08 32 10, account 12001039 (HMRC Cumbernauld) or account 12001020 (HMRC Shipley). Your bill tells you which to use; if you have no bill, either is accepted. Payment at the Post Office is no longer possible. Using the wrong reference can send the money to a different tax or delay it being allocated. Check the reference twice.
The weekend problem in 2027
31 January 2027 is a Sunday and 31 July 2027 is a Saturday. HMRC's rule is that when a deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, your payment must reach HMRC on the last working day before. The exceptions are Faster Payments and debit or credit card payments. In practice:
- Bacs, Direct Debit, CHAPS and cheques must reach HMRC by Friday 29 January 2027 and Friday 30 July 2027. Bacs takes 3 working days, so start it earlier in that week;
- Card payments are accepted on the date you make them, including weekends, so a card payment made on the Sunday or Saturday itself is on time. Faster Payments are not subject to the last-working-day rule, but HMRC says they usually arrive the same or next day, including weekends, so do not leave them to the deadline day itself;
- A new Direct Debit needs 5 working days, so set it up by the middle of the preceding week at the latest.
Paying through your tax code
If you are an employee or receive a workplace or personal pension, HMRC can collect the bill through your PAYE code over the following 12 months. All of these conditions must be met:
- You owe less than £3,000. You cannot make a part payment to bring a larger bill under the limit;
- You already pay tax through PAYE, with enough PAYE income for the collection to work;
- You filed on time for coding. That means filing online by 30 December 2026, or on paper by 31 October 2026, for the 2025/26 return.
HMRC applies coding out automatically when you qualify, unless you opt out on the return. Spreading the bill across the following year is a real cash-flow benefit, and a good reason to file before Christmas.
If you cannot pay in full
Contact HMRC before the deadline, not after. Options include:
- Budget Payment Plan. Weekly or monthly Direct Debits towards your next bill, if you are up to date with the current one. Payments can be paused for up to 6 months;
- Payment plan (Time to Pay). For a bill you cannot meet, HMRC will look at your income and spending. It typically expects around half of your monthly disposable income to go towards the debt, and expects savings and assets to be used first. Eligible taxpayers can set this up online. Interest still runs on the outstanding amount, so paying more each month costs less overall;
- Pay what you can now. Interest and percentage penalties are charged on the unpaid amount, so part payments reduce both.
Penalties and interest for paying late
Late payment interest runs from the due date at Bank of England base rate plus 4%. For the 2025/26 balancing payment, late payment penalties are 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, a further 5% at 6 months and another 5% at 12 months. These are on top of any late filing penalties. Taxpayers who joined Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 move to a new penalty regime from that year. HMRC confirms that the current penalties still apply to their 2025/26 return and payment due on 31 January 2027.
After you pay, the payment can take up to 7 days to appear in your HMRC online account. Keep your bank confirmation until it does. If you have not yet registered or filed, see our guide to registering for Self Assessment. Payment is due on 31 January regardless of when your return goes in.
Acumon's Self Assessment service prepares the return early enough to confirm the bill, claim any reduction in payments on account, and use coding out where available. Where a bill cannot be met, our tax dispute resolution team can negotiate a payment plan with HMRC.