The 31st July tax bill nobody remembers is coming
If you’re self-employed, a landlord, or in a partnership, there’s a decent chance HMRC wants a payment from you by 31st July, and it’s easy to miss because it doesn’t feel like “tax season.”
This is your second payment on account for the 2025/26 tax year. Here’s the short version: back in January, you paid two things at once, the balance for the year just gone, and the first half of an advance payment towards the year ahead. That advance is split in two. The second half falls due on 31st July.
If your last Self Assessment bill was over £1,000, and less than 80% of your tax gets collected automatically (through PAYE, for example), you’re almost certainly on the hook for this.
Why it catches people out
There’s sometimes no letter through the door reminding you in the way January’s deadline gets hammered home everywhere. It just sits quietly on your HMRC account. Miss it, and interest starts building from 1 August at 7.75%, which is where HMRC’s late payment rate has sat since January this year.
If your income’s dropped this year
You don’t always have to pay the full amount if you genuinely expect to earn less in 2025/26 than you did the year before. HMRC lets you apply to reduce the payment. The catch: if you reduce it too far and you’re wrong, you’ll pay interest on the shortfall. So this isn’t a guess, it needs a proper look at your numbers so get in touch with Tax Driven Accountants.
What to do now
Check your HMRC account or your Self Assessment statement to see what you actually owe. If the figure looks wrong, or you know this year’s income is down, get in touch before the deadline, not after. We can tell you quickly whether to pay in full, apply for a reduction, or if a Time to Pay arrangement makes more sense.
Worried about the 31st July deadline? Speak to our friendly team at Tax Driven Accountants before it lands. Contact us: 0800 999 1800 / info@taxdriven.co.uk
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