Ending self employment due to travelling, how do I avoid paying tax up front?

[proonjooce]

Hi,

I am self employed and have been for a couple years. I just filed my tax return for 15-16, this was my first year of being fully self employed. I noticed I not only have to pay the tax owed for that year, but also a payment towards the tax year 16-17, with the rest due at the end of July. I guess this is normal, and seems fine to me.

However, at the end of August this year, I will be going travelling for at least a year with my wife, where I expect to earn basically no income and will be ending my self employed business before I go. This leaves only the months April 2017 - August 2017 where I will be earning, which will almost certainly come underneath the taxable threshold, meaning I won't need to pay any tax for the 17-18 year.

However when I submit my tax return for 16-17, won't it try and make me pay towards an similar estimated amount for 17-18? Is there a way to say my tax for 17-18 will be basically 0 and not have to pay it up front? Do I need to prove this in some way?

Thanks for any help or advice!

[GasEngineer]

There is a section in the tax return section 6 where you can reduce payments on account, giving a brief reason.