Self Assessment "current position" - do I only owe this?

DIYhelp76

Hello,

Hope someone can help.

I did my SA return. It showed me the amount I needed to pay. But then later I went into my "current position" statement and it only shows I need to make a balancing payment in July and does not state any payment to be made by 31 January.

I did have a credit balance, so I assume they applied that credit to what I owed in January and that is why I don't have to make a payment now. However, I cannot find any statement showing the application of that credit.

Is it safe to rely on that "current position" statement or should I make an overpayment now to be on safe side and claim it back later if necessary? Just don't want to end up with a fine for not paying if I should.

The site is very confusing!

Thx in advance.

Nearlyold

When you complete your on line tax return the tax due calculation you see at the end of the process does not take into account any payments you may have already made "on account".

HMRC will produce a "Self Assessment Statement" which will either be posted to you or available in your on line HMRC account around a week after completing your return depending on your preference settings. This shows what you need to pay & when and takes into account any payments already made. Is what you call a current position statement actually titled "Self Assessment Statement" with a Tax Reference (NI number). Date, & Issued by info in descending order on the top right of the page.

If it is indeed your Self Assessment statement then you can rely on it in terms of when and how much you need to pay.

DRS1

You might want to go into the Payments/Credits received part to see what has been applied. Or the Tax Years bit and click on 24/5 to get the amount of tax due for that year and then click through the payments bit to see what has been applied to paying the tax due or the 25/6 tax year (which may show payments on account due and amounts applied to that).

DIYhelp76

Many thanks for the helpful replies. I've logged in again but it's still very unclear.

The "statement of account" only gives info for up to June 2024

When I click on "View Statement" it automatically shows the "current position". And it is here that it only tells me the payment on account sum I need to pay in July 2026. But it doesn't say that I need to pay anything by 31 Jan.

Clicking on "payments/credits received" again only shows me the payments up to July 2025, but nothing after that date, and does not show me the old "credit balance" I had and how they applied this - because that credit amount now no longer shows anywhere.

It's really an unclear system to me

I'm now thinking I will have to just make a payment today to avoid the possibility of getting a fine…?! And then claim back any overpayment later. Will I be able to get a refund of any overpayment without delay?

DRS1

I don't know about the speed of repayments by HMRC - you get stories on here of it taking a long time but then people who get it in a day or so are hardly likely to be complaining about it.

It will take a few days before the payment appears on your personal tax account but when it does then if it is an overpayment you should see it with language like You have overpaid and then under that a link for you to claim a repayment.

I don't know why you can't see the monies applied to paying the payment on account due by 31 Jan but sometimes you find that the credits only appear after 31 Jan so if you log in in a weeks time things might be clearer.

polar_pig

I had a tax credit at the end of Jan 2025. I applied for a refund to my bank account and received an immediate acknowledgement. Their estimate for payment was March 2025. However I never received it or any other communication regarding it. The credit stayed on my online summary though and they also added interest in Jan 2026. After I submitted my SA a few weeks ago I noticed that the this credit (plus interest) was deducted from the payment due 31/1/26 (today) for 2024/25 on my online summary. This also agreed with their "current position" section. Consequently I never received my refund, but I knocked it off what I now owe.