Business Payment Support Service
A new dedicated Business Support Service designed to meet the needs of businesses'
Since 24 November 2008 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) introduced a new, dedicated Business Support Service designed to meet the needs of businesses affected by the current economic conditions.
If you're worried about being able to meet tax, National Insurance or other payments owed to HMRC, or you anticipate that payments coming due will cause you problems, you can get in touch with them to discuss payment options to help you deal with temporary cashflow difficulties.
You can call the HMRC Business Payment Support Line on Tel 0845 302 1435. The helpline is open seven days a week.
HMRC staff will review your circumstances and discuss temporary options tailored to your business needs, such as arranging for you to make payments over a longer period. They will not charge additional late payment surcharges on payments included in the arrangement, although interest will continue to be payable on those taxes where it applies.
Getting in touch with HMRC
If you have payments due soon, please get in touch - the sooner you do so, the sooner HMRC will be able to see how they can help. In most cases they should be able to give you a decision in about ten minutes. For larger payment debts and those that are more complicated HMRC may need to have a longer, more detailed discussion with you and may need to call you back before finalising payment arrangements.
If your payment is not due yet, you can ring the Business Payment Support Line nearer the time and as soon as you are clear about whether you will be able to pay HMRC or not. But remember that you need to get in touch with them in advance. Don't wait until your payment is overdue.
HMRC Business Payment Support Line
Tel 0845 302 1435
Open Monday - Friday 8.00 to 20.00, Saturday and Sunday 8.00 – 16.00.
Please note - the Support Line is intended for new enquiries only. If HMRC has already contacted you about an overdue payment, or if you already have a payment arrangement with them please see below for what to do next.
Information HMRC will need
HMRC advisers will only ask for the information they need to make a decision.
To help them deal with your call as efficiently as possible, please have the following information to hand:
- your tax reference number
- details of the tax that you are or will have trouble paying
- basic details of your business' income and outgoings
If HMRC have already contacted you about an overdue payment or if you already have a payment arrangement with HMRC
If HMRC has already contacted you about an overdue payment it's important that you call the original office that contacted you. They will be ready to discuss payment arrangement options with you and explain how to avoid legal action being taken.
If you already have a payment arrangement with HMRC but have additional concerns about what you can pay, the office you've been dealing with will be able to discuss further options with you.
You'll find the contact details you need on the correspondence sent to you. If you can't find the number you need you can search for it online below.
Get contact details for HMRC Tax Offices on the HMRC website - Opens in a new window.
If you have received a warning letter about court action
If you've received a warning letter about court action and can't get through to the office that sent it, you can call the Business Payment Support Line on Tel 0845 302 1435 and advisers will try to help.
If HMRC are already taking court proceedings against you
HMRC is always ready to enter into realistic time to pay arrangements rather than go to court. But there will sometimes be cases where their assessment is that they should go ahead with court action, and in those circumstances they will explain why. Please get in touch with the office named on the correspondence HMRC has sent you to discuss your concerns.
If you have recently made a payment to HMRC and are now experiencing cashflow problems
HMRC cannot repay amounts that you have previously paid to them – unless your tax bill changes. You may however want to get in touch with the Business Payment Support Line on Tel 0845 302 1435 to discuss time to pay arrangements for any further payments when they are due.
If you are waiting for a repayment from HMRC and this is causing you cashflow problems
You should contact the office who advised you that a repayment was due. You will find the telephone number on the correspondence sent to you.
Organisations offering free advice on debt problems
There are a number of organisations providing free, confidential and independent advice on how to deal with debt problems. Follow the links below to find out more in our related guide.
Get help and advice about your debt problems.
Our guide includes links to the main advisory bodies, and provides assistance on who to go to and how to restructure debts.
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