When do you have to pay for taxes?

There are two things certain in life: death and taxes. 

But unlike the former, taxes have a fixed deadline. 

(Sorry if that’s a bit morbid, folks…)

Of course, it’s easy to get dates and deadlines muddled up, after all, we all have busy lives. If you’ve filed a Self Assessment tax return but missed the payment deadline, you might be wondering, when do you have to pay for taxes? Let’s break it down.

Self Assessment tax returns explained

Let’s refresh your memory real quick.

Self Assessment is basically the way that you declare and pay your taxes to HMRC. You tell them about your untaxed income and they’ll calculate the bill you owe. There are various reasons that you might have earned untaxed income, such as:

• You’re self-employed
• You earn more than £100,000
• You have a side gig alongside your full-time job
• You’re a landlord 
• You have capital gains from investments
• You make a profit from selling assets (e.g. a house)
• You’re claiming pension tax relief

Once you receive your bill from HMRC, the big question is: when do you have to pay for taxes? The answer is before the deadline. Otherwise, HMRC penalties kick in.

When is the deadline for tax returns?

There are two key deadlines that you need to know about for tax returns. 

1. If you’ve never done a tax return before, you’ll first need to register for Self Assessment. This is essentially how you tell HMRC that you’re earning untaxed income. The deadline to register for Self Assessment is the 5th of October in any given year. 

2. And when it comes to actually paying your tax return, the Self Assessment deadline is 31st January the year after the tax year you’re paying for. So, if you’re paying your 2024/2025 tax return, this should be paid before the 31st of January 2026.

But what happens if you miss these deadlines? Can you pay after the deadline?

Wondering if you can pay taxes after the deadline?

Technically, yes – if you miss the 31st January deadline, you can still pay your tax return bill after this date. 

However, paying late comes with consequences. HMRC have a deadline for a reason, you know?

Self-assessment penalties: how much will you pay if you’re late?

Failing to submit

There are two fines that HMRC can dish out if you’re late on the Self Assessment deadline. It may come as a surprise to hear that the penalty for forgetting to file for Self Assessment is just as strict.

Anyone who is required to file a return, but misses the deadline, will receive an automatic £100 penalty from HMRC – and this is imposed regardless of whether you owe tax or not! 

For every day you’re late, an additional fine will be added on top of that flat £100 penalty.

Paying late

How much will you pay in penalties if you’ve filed but just forgotten to pay your tax bill before 31st January?

On top of these fines, you’ll also pay interest on any late payments:

So the moral of the story? Don’t forget to pay your taxes before the deadline!

Avoid fines and pay your taxes on time with TaxScouts

So, when do you have to pay for taxes? Ideally, before the deadline to avoid fines and interest. At TaxScouts, we make filing your tax return hassle-free. Get in touch, and we’ll handle your taxes for you!