A VAT bill is due one calendar month and 7 days after the end of the VAT period. For a quarter ending 30 September, that is 7 November. The payment must reach HMRC by that date, even if it falls on a weekend or bank holiday. To pay by bank transfer from a UK account, use sort code 08 32 00, account number 11963155, account name HMRC VAT. Use your 9-digit VAT registration number as the reference. If you pay by Direct Debit, HMRC collects the payment 3 working days after the deadline.
HMRC VAT payment details
| UK bank account | Overseas bank account | |
|---|---|---|
| Account name | HMRC VAT | HMRC VAT |
| Sort code / BIC | 08 32 00 | BARCGB22 |
| Account number / IBAN | 11963155 | GB36 BARC 2005 1773 1523 91 |
| Reference | Your 9-digit VAT registration number, with no spaces | |
Payments from overseas must be made in sterling. The bank is Barclays Bank PLC. To pay a penalty, use the 14-character reference beginning with X shown on the penalty notice, not your VAT number. The wrong reference is the most common reason a payment is not matched to the account and shows as late. Before setting up a new payee, check the details against HMRC's pay VAT page, and treat any email or message giving different bank details as suspect.
How to pay VAT online, and how long each method takes
The deadline is the date the money must reach HMRC, not the date you send it. HMRC's guidance gives these timings:
- Faster Payments (online or mobile banking): usually reach HMRC the same or next day, including weekends and bank holidays;
- CHAPS: usually the same working day;
- Bacs: usually 3 working days;
- Card, through your VAT online account: corporate credit cards, corporate debit cards and personal debit cards are accepted, but not personal credit cards. There is a fee for corporate cards and none for personal debit cards;
- Direct Debit: collected automatically 3 working days after the deadline. See below.
Weekends and bank holidays matter here. The deadline does not move when it falls on a non-working day. Faster Payments usually reach HMRC at weekends and on bank holidays, and HMRC accepts a card payment on the date you make it, even at a weekend. CHAPS and Bacs only move on working days. If 7 November is a Saturday and you pay by CHAPS, the money must arrive on the Friday. If you pay by Bacs, allow 3 working days before that.
Paying by Direct Debit
Direct Debit is the simplest way to avoid late payment, because HMRC takes the right amount at the right time. The rules:
- Set it up at least 3 working days before you submit the return. Otherwise that return's payment will not be collected by Direct Debit, and you must pay another way;
- Collection happens 3 working days after the payment deadline shown on the return, so you get a few extra days of cash flow;
- Not available for payments over £20 million, from overseas bank accounts, for insolvency practitioners, for businesses on payments on account, or for paper returns;
- Not used for penalties or surcharges. Pay those separately;
- Not used for repayments. HMRC pays refunds to the bank account held on your VAT online account, or by cheque if it has no account details.
Different deadlines for some businesses
- Annual Accounting Scheme. You make interim payments of either 10% of your estimated VAT bill each month, nine in all, or 25% each quarter, three in all. The annual return and the balancing payment are due 2 months after the end of the accounting year;
- Payments on account. If you file quarterly and owe more than £2.3 million in any 12-month period, HMRC will require monthly payments on account. These are due on the last working day of the second and third months of each VAT quarter. Each is initially 1/24 of your annual liability, with the balance paid with the return;
- Monthly returners keep the standard one month and 7 days rule.
What happens if you pay late
For VAT periods starting on or after 1 January 2023, late payment is dealt with by late payment penalties and interest:
- Days 1 to 15. No penalty if you pay in full, or ask for a Time to Pay arrangement, between days 1 and 15;
- Days 16 to 30. A first penalty of 3% of the VAT still owed at day 15;
- Day 31 onwards. The first penalty becomes 3% of what was owed at day 15 plus 3% of what is still owed at day 30. A second penalty also starts to accrue daily at 10% a year on the outstanding balance until it is paid;
- Interest. Late payment interest is charged from the first day the payment is overdue until it is paid in full, at the Bank of England base rate plus 4%.
These percentages took effect from 1 April 2025. Before that they were 2%, 2% and 4% a year. Our guides to VAT late payment penalties and HMRC interest rates cover the calculation and the current interest rate in more detail.
If you cannot pay in full
Contact HMRC before the deadline, or within the first 15 days. HMRC's guidance says that if it agrees a Time to Pay arrangement with you, it can mean lower or no late payment penalties. Interest still runs on the unpaid balance. File the return on time even if you cannot pay, because late filing is penalised separately through late submission penalty points.
Cash flow problems around VAT usually start when VAT collected is treated as working capital. A separate bank account for VAT, topped up as you invoice, solves most of them. If you are behind on VAT or need a payment plan negotiated, our VAT compliance team can prepare the returns and deal with HMRC. Our VAT returns service takes the quarterly deadline off your desk.