If your business is struggling to pay VAT, PAYE, or corporation tax on time due to genuinely short-term financial difficulties, HMRC’s Time To Pay (TTP) initiative may offer you a viable temporary solution.
Time to pay (TTP) is a legal agreement in which you propose and make an instalment plan to spread the money you owe HMRC into payments over an agreed timescale. Although each arrangement is judged by HMRC on its own merits, there are some typical elements:
An easy way to think about TTP arrangements is that they are meant to provide a one-off solution to a temporary situation, they are not a regular fix, or a means to keep a company solvent.
Essentially, you must be able to convince HMRC that your business is viable and profitable in the long-term but experiencing temporary cash flow problems in the short-term. You also need to be able to satisfy HMRC that you will be able to stick to the arrangement to repay the money you owe in full.
Three of the key elements that HMRC will look at are:
A good application for a TTP Arrangement will have:
One final thought – don’t over promise! HMRC is unlikely to give you another chance, so make sure whatever you are offering is affordable for the whole term.
If you have other debts or tax arrears, it is worth getting overall financial advice. You might find helpful information on these pages:
Or for more tailored advice, contact one of our business rescue experts directly.