Struggling to pay HMRC – Corporation tax and cashflow

The end of January means businesses are faced with HMRC tax payments, corporation tax is due for the previous year’s accounts, but what do you do if you cannot afford to pay your HMRC corporation tax? Now firstly, it is important to speak to your accountant and an insolvency practitioner. The sooner you get advice on how to deal with your corporation tax bill the more options will be available to you. Your corporation tax bill is often a large lump sum, just after Christmas, if you are a retailer you may have a large contribution from Christmas sales, however B2B companies often find cash flow an issue at this time of year. There are many reasons why your company does not have the funds to pay such a lump sum, however not being able to pay this puts you at risk of becoming insolvent. It is always advisable that businesses set aside a percentage of their turnover into a separate account to keep this money for corporation tax. However, cashflow can make this difficult; late payments, salaries, training, investing in the company for marketing or growth, can all hit your cash flow hard. If you are struggling to pay your corporation tax you will find lots of options available to you depending on your particular situation. An insolvency practitioner can help advice you on your options and depending on your debt help you arrange a payment scheme with the HMRC. If the debt is too large and your business cannot prove it can make payments over 12 or 24 months then you may need to look at voluntary arrangements or liquidation. This is also a good time to look at the solvency of your business and ways in which you can improve profits. Do not ignore letters from the HMRC, it is much better to speak to someone who can help you make arrangements to pay. Don’t stick your head in the sand, get help today.