Is having spent tax money on bills a valid excuse for not paying tax on time?

Jeremy535897

If you are going to make little or no money in 2023/24, have you applied to reduce your payments on account for 2023/24, which you can easily do online? Then at least all you have to pay is your tax bill for 2022/23, and the best thing to do is set up a payment plan as others have suggested.

sheramber

The big advantage of submitting your tax reutn as soon as possible after 6 April each year meqns you will have 7/8 months notice of what you need to pay by 31 January, giving you time to manage your money to have the moey due.

You can even pay it over to HMRC  throughtout the year , to avoid being cuaght out at the last minute.

it is a common problem when income can fluctuate from one yer to next. So many assume they can pay last year's tax from this year's income. 

uknick

I know this is being very nosey OP, but as a ball park figure roughly how tax do you owe?

If it's a few hundred I see your point (and I'm sure HMRC will as well) in using it for food/utilities/heating, but if it's tens of thousands reflecting a sizeable profit in the previous year I'm not so sure.

ColonelCabbage

Thanks all especially @DeLaSole @InMyDreams @[Deleted User] @Jeremy535897 and @sheramber

@uknick: around £2k now that my PAO was removed after I applied.

@norsefox I can point you to a dozen reddit threads where super qualified IT developers complain they just can't get hired atm.

I submitted my tax return and called HMRC who invited me to call back later as they don't see it yet in their system. I asked the person whether I had a chance to get a payment plan and she was unsure because I have not earned any money for months - I survive with money from family while waiting for UC claim to process (not that it will suffice but it will help a bit). The idea that HMRC might refuse to financially help with a plan because a person is too poor sounds a bit odd to me.