HMRC piles pressure on taxpayers behind on payments

A further increase on interest paid to HMRC for late payment of taxes will hit taxpayers who are not up-to-date, warns Blick Rothenberg

Nimesh Shah, CEO at the firm said: ‘Following another Bank of England base rate to 1.75%, HMRC has confirmed that it will raise its interest rates on late tax bills to 4.25% on 23 August – a level not seen since January 2009.’

He added: ‘Since the start of 2022, the HMRC’s interest rate has increased by 1.5% - that’s the equivalent of an extra ￡225 per annum on a ￡15,000 tax liability. On the same ￡15,000 tax liability, you would suffer almost ￡650 of interest per annum.

‘With continuing rising costs rising across the board, HMRC have hiked up interest on late tax payments at the latest opportunity. It sets a worrying trend for some taxpayers who are struggling to pay their outstanding taxes, against the backdrop of other rising costs.

The threat of further interest rate rises this autumn, coupled with rising inflation, will likely see further increases in HMRC rates.

Shah said: ‘The worst is yet to come on this front, with some economists projecting the Bank of England could decide to increase the base rate to 2.5% by the end of 2022 – this could see HMRC increasing their interest rate on late paid tax to 5% by the end of the year.

‘Taxpayers who have outstanding tax liabilities should be mindful to settle as much as they can afford before there are further rate rises.

‘HMRC have also finally increased the repayment supplement rate by 0.25% to 0.75% - the first increase in this rate in over a decade. It’s quite shocking that HMRC have quickly increased the rate on late paid tax by six times the amount the equivalent repayment interest rate has gone up by this year.

‘HMRC’s meagre 0.75% repayment supplement rate means there is not any great incentive for HMRC to release repayments. There continues to be one rule for money owed to HMRC and another for taxpayers who are due a refund. Many taxpayers have seen significant delays to repayments over the last 12 months, but HMRC can continue to drag their heels with little cost to the Treasury.’