Tax debt tends to come with a particular kind of worry, because HMRC has more ways to collect than most creditors. The letters are confusing, the figures change, and interest keeps building.
For most people it is one of a few things: a self assessment bill that could not be paid in full by the January or July deadline; underpaid tax through PAYE being collected after the event; tax credit overpayments being recovered; or, for the self-employed, VAT or PAYE for staff. Penalties are added for late filing and late payment, and interest runs on unpaid amounts.
HMRC normally starts with letters and calls. If a debt stays unpaid it can be passed to a debt collection agency acting for HMRC, taken through the county court, or collected through enforcement agents taking control of goods. In some circumstances HMRC can collect directly from wages or, for tax credit overpayments, through deductions from ongoing benefits. HMRC does operate arrangements that allow tax to be paid over time where someone genuinely cannot pay in full, and whether that or something else is suitable is exactly the kind of question a specialist can look at.
Because of the range of collection powers involved, tax debt is treated as a priority alongside things like council tax and rent. It usually needs to be considered before unsecured debts such as credit cards.
We are not tax advisers and we will not tell you what to do about your HMRC debt. We listen, take the details, and, with your consent, introduce you to a regulated debt specialist who can consider the tax debt alongside everything else and explain your options. No charge, no obligation.
Being upfront with you: Please Help My Debt is an introducer. We do not give debt advice or recommend debt solutions ourselves. Any advice comes from the regulated specialist we introduce you to, with your consent. Nothing on this page is advice about your own situation.
