Self assessment tax payment dates

The self assessment tax payments dates are simply the 31st January and 31st July, but how much you have to pay can be complicated. Below, we explain how much you have to pay on the self assessment tax payment dates.

How the self assessment tax payment dates work

There are two self assessment tax payment dates you need to pay your tax by. The method of payment usually involves one balancing payment and two payments on account of your tax liability as follows…

one balancing payment on 31 January after the tax year
one 50% payment on account on 31 January during the tax year and
another 50% payment on account on 31 July after the tax year.

The payments on account are based on the net income tax and national insurance liability of the previous tax year. That’s your net tax payable after deductions for PAYE paid, but before any payments on account are deducted.

You can ignore capital gains tax of the previous year when calculating the payments on account. You pay all CGT as part of the final payment due on 31 January following the end of the tax year.

A final payment (or repayment) is due on 31 January following the tax year.

There is a 5% surcharge on any taxes that remain unpaid after 28 February, and a further 5% on taxes not paid after 31 July. For the most up to date details on self assessment tax payment penalties see here.

An example of self assessment tax payments…

If your net tax liabilities are the following:

2020/21 is £0
2021/22 is £2,000
2022/23 is £5,000
2023/24 is £800

… you will need to make the following payments by:

31/01/22: £0 (remaining balance of 2020/21 £0, no payment on account required)
31/07/22: £0 (no payment on account required)
31/01/23: £3,000 (remaining balance on 2021/22 £2,000, plus half of 2021/22 as a payment on account towards 2022/23)
31/07/23: £1,000 (half of 2021/22 as a payment on account towards 2022/23)
31/01/24: £5,500 (remaining balance of 2022/23 £3,000, plus half of 2022/23 as a payment on account towards 2023/24)
31/07/24: £2,500 (half of 2022/23 as a payment on account towards 2023/24)
31/01/25: refund of £4,200 (excess payments on account)
31/07/25: £0 (payment on account not required)

Can you avoid tax payments on account?

You don’t have to make payments on account if…

income tax and NIC liability for the previous year (net of tax deducted at source) is below £1,000 or
if your tax deducted at source (e.g. PAYE on your payslips) was more than 80% of the income tax and NIC liability for the previous year.

Reduce your tax payments on account

You can also apply to have the payments on account reduced if you expect your liability for a tax year to be less than the previous year.