Late Payment Interest Charge

[James1952]

Good Evening
I would be grateful for advice on two questions please. I am 73 years of age and work part time as a mobile food seller.

Firstly for the Year End 5th April 2024 my Income Tax due was £1860.60 and HMRC asked for that and two payments in advance to be made of £465.15 each by 31 January 2025 and 31 July 2025. At the time I was undergoing cancer treatment and did not want to forget so I paid the full amount of £2790.90 in October 2024 (several months before it was due)and received an online receipt for that amount from HMRC.

Today I checked my online HMRC account and it seems they have been charging me interest monthly from January 2025 on the allegedly unpaid advance payment of the January 2025 amount. I have tried ringing HMRC to no avail. My phone allows me up to one hour of call time free before there are extortionate charges and HMRC do not answer within that timescale. What can I do please?

Secondly I have submitted my Tax Return for Year Ending 5th April 2025 this week and my Tax Due is 1297.20. However HMRC have deducted from that the 2 x £465.15 payments in advance referred to above (thus admitting they have received them) and say my outstanding tax due for this year is just £366.90 therefore which I agree with. However HMRC are asking for an immediate payment of 50% of that before the end of July. Is this correct? I usually submit my accounts during September/October and pay before the January 31st deadline.

Any advice gratefully received. With thanks. James.

[bd6759]

If you can access you online account, it will tell you where the £2790.90 went, and why it wasn’t all used against your 2023-24 tax and 2024-25 POAs.

It seems you had some other tax to pay.

HMRC are not asking for half of the balancing charge as a POA. It will be half of the whole liability, and it will be due on 31 January.

I fear you are mixing up the figures you are looking at.