HMRC to raid bank accounts for unpaid tax
HMRC is restarting the use of direct debt recovery for individuals and businesses who choose not to pay the tax they owe despite having the means to do so. Who’s in the firing line?
-
Can you beat the bonus tax trap?
A fellow director has asked whether his bonus payment can be delayed until after 5 April 2026 to reduce his personal tax bill. Does his plan work and, if so, how does it impact the company’s tax position?
-
HMRC publishes penalty guidance for MTD IT
HMRC has published guidance on how penalties will apply under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT). With mandation approaching from April 2026, what do you need to know about the new regime?
-
Company car calculator
Want to know the amount of the benefit you will be taxed on by taking a company car? Easily work that out with our tool, you can even see what difference making a contribution to the cost of the car will have.
Direct debt recovery (DRD) is nothing new, though its use was paused during the pandemic. It is now being relaunched to recover debts over £1,000, subject to various safeguarding rules. For example, it can only be used where the debtor has received a face-to-face visit from HMRC agents (having ignored previous correspondence), has not been identified as vulnerable, has sufficient money in the bank and still refuses to pay their debts.
Given the strict criteria it is expected that HMRC will use these powers sparingly, as it did prior to the pandemic. If you’re struggling to pay your tax bill, contact HMRC as soon as possible to ask about setting up a payment plan.
This website uses both its own and third-party cookies to analyze our services and navigation on our website in order to improve its contents (analytical purposes: measure visits and sources of web traffic). The legal basis is the consent of the user, except in the case of basic cookies, which are essential to navigate this website.