Time to Pay – Missing your payment to HMRC

Probably one of the first liabilities to be missed by a struggling Company is the tax. Why? In essence it’s probably because they won’t put your trade accounts on stop and by the time they’ve realised you’ve not paid and started any kind of proceedings against you, you’ll have turned your Company around and be in a position to clear them, right?

Wrong! If you are considering missing even one payment to HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”), stop and think about it. It might seem like a good idea at the time, but if you’re not able to make this payment, what makes you think you can make the next, that is likely to be double the amount you already owe?

 

It’s a spiral to a massive liability that ultimately you can’t pay, for the simple reasons, you will have ongoing liabilities and ever mounting arrears. If you genuinely can’t pay your tax liabilities on time, then the best thing to do is to speak to HMRC. They are well aware of the difficulties companies are facing in this current economic climate and it may be possible to enter a time to pay arrangement with them.

 

HMRC expects you to honour any agreement you make

That sounds great – I know, but you must make sure when you speak to HMRC and are negotiating a repayment plan that you can afford the repayments as well as maintain ongoing liabilities. Don’t forget, you still have a duty to pay them, together with your everyday trading expenses. Your repayments need to be realistic and affordable if you are to have any chance of successfully completing the arrangement.

 

If you find yourself in a similar position, but are not sure what you can afford to offer on a time to pay arrangement, or you need some additional advice on how to deal with HMRC liabilities, we can help. At Lines Henry our Licenced Insolvency Practitioners are able to assess your current financial position as well as providing sound advice on how to progress. The initial meeting is free, so won’t cost you anything to get the advice you need in moving forward. To arrange your free initial consultation call 0161 929 1905 and see how we can help you.