Don’t forget! Tax deadlines loom
There’s two deadlines looming that HMRC are anxious local people do not forget. The first is your personal tax. It doesn’t apply to those who pay tax through PAYE only. But it does apply if you pay tax under self assessment (ie you’ve been asked to prepare a tax return). Tax payers have until 1 April to pay all tax due from their 2020/21 tax return. that is if you want to avoid a late payment penalty. If you are unable to pay in full, there is still time to set up an online payment plan. This can be agreed to help to spread the cost of your bill into manageable monthly instalments.
The Self Assessment deadline is usually the 31 January. However this year, HMRC gave extra time to file and pay their 2020/21 tax return and not face penalties.
You have to laugh, HMRC now refers to tax payers as “customers”. It is a nice idea. However the concept only works if HMRC treat people like customers. And I’m not sure that many tax payers have an experience that amounts to being treated like customers. Tell us if your experience is different.
Post Office card accounts
The second important deadline is for Post Office card account holders. These accounts are used to receive tax credits, Child Benefit or Guardian’s Allowance payments. HMRC believe around 6,800 people still have Post Office card accounts. So the next bit is really important. HMRC is stopping making payments to Post Office card accounts from 6 April. Customers must notify HMRC of an alternative account to have their payments paid into. It will not be possible to pay tax credits or Child Benefit until a valid account is provided.
Customers can choose to receive their benefit payments to a bank, building society or credit union account. If they already have an alternative account, they can contact HMRC now to update their details. If a customer misses the 5 April deadline, their payments will be paused. They cannot be resumed until the customer notifies HMRC of their new account details.
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“Customers” is a very good word. Don’t forget that “customers” can (normally!) choose where they spend their money (e.g. village shop, Tesco, ASDA). Unfortunately council tax, income tax, tax tax amongst others don’t fit with this concept.