Late payment interest on Self Assessment

thenap80

Years ago I seem to have been issued with a late payment interest amount - only a few pounds at  the time. I have never paid my SA late so not sure why I was ever issued that. I always opted to not pay on account too. Now the accrued amount of 'fine' or 'interest' is over £100. 

Could it be that the late paymemt came from sending the tax off on the last day - 31st Jan - and it not arriving with HMRC until a day or two late? Would that be fair? Or could it be something else? The interest keeps going up and up but I am reluctant to pay as I feel I did nothing wrong. 

[Deleted User]

Are you sure that that is not a £100 penalty for 
late filing - even for a day late?

Hoenir

HMRC are unlikely to write this debt off. Will only continue to grow larger. 

eskbanker

thenap80 said:

Years ago I seem to have been issued with a late payment interest amount - only a few pounds at  the time. I have never paid my SA late so not sure why I was ever issued that. I always opted to not pay on account too. Now the accrued amount of 'fine' or 'interest' is over £100. 

Could it be that the late paymemt came from sending the tax off on the last day - 31st Jan - and it not arriving with HMRC until a day or two late? Would that be fair? Or could it be something else? The interest keeps going up and up but I am reluctant to pay as I feel I did nothing wrong. 

If 'sending the tax off on the last day' means posting a cheque then yes, that would indeed arrive too late to meet the deadline:

Allow 3 working days for your payment to reach HMRC

https://www.gov.uk/pay-self-assessment-tax-bill/by-post

However, all we can do is speculate and for the definitive answer you'd need to find out from HMRC what the basis of the charge was - if you can't work it out from the information on your online personal tax account then contact them and ask.  You might even find it worthwhile to submit a subject access request, but depending on how many years ago it was, they might not still hold the data....

sheramber

that. I always opted to not pay on account too. Now the accrued amount of 'fine' or 'interest' is over £100. 

If you reduced your POA s to nil but when you submitted your sa return  payments should have been made.’, then you would be charged interest  on these payments.