HMRC - Policy Guidance on collection of Debts

HMRC have just issued some fresh policy guidance, dated 13 August 2020, on their collection of debts. 

How HMRC treats customers who have a tax debt.

Note that HMRC says here that: 'There is no standard Time to Pay arrangement. We discuss a customer’s specific financial circumstances, look at what they can afford to pay, and then use that to work out how much time they need. There’s no upper limit on the amount of time that someone can have to pay, but we will look for customers to repay their debt as quickly as possible while maintaining affordable payments.'

How HMRC supports customers who have a tax debt

In it they say:

''We start by asking business customers about their company’s financial position. As with our individual customers, it’s really important that we have an open and honest conversation to understand what the business can afford to pay. Business finances are often complex, so we ask our business customers to calculate what they feel they can afford to pay and submit their best proposal to us for review. We then ask questions about their proposal, to make sure it’s affordable, while paying off the debt as quickly as possible. The length of the arrangement will depend upon how much the business owes and their financial circumstances. As with all our Time to Pay arrangements, this will be reviewed regularly and can be adjusted over time. They can be shortened where a business’ financial position improves, or lengthened if their financial position worsens but remains in a position to recover.''

The ICAEW have also issued some guidance on getting TTPs with HMRC: Click here.