Research and analysis

ITSA customers’ views on flexible models of timely payment

HMRC commissioned IFF Research to explore Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) customers’ views on potential flexible models of timely payment for income tax

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 29 May 2025

Documents

ITSA customers’ views on flexible models of timely payment: Executive Summary

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ITSA customers’ views on flexible models of timely payment: Full Report

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Details

Customers in Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) experience unique challenges, some of which are exacerbated by the time delay between the point of taxable income or profit arising and the payment of any taxes due (which can be up to 22 months). This can create uncertainty for ITSA customers around their current tax position and lead to large tax bills and challenges with budgeting. Timely payment policy looks to address these challenges.

This mixed methods research, carried out between September 2022 and June 2023, provides insight from ITSA customers to help inform the design of any future timely payment approach for ITSA. The specific objectives were to provide insight on their:

• current experience of gathering and submitting information through a Self Assessment tax return to facilitate tax calculation and paying tax
• appetite for and views on three potential options for a timely payment model (including anticipated impacts, benefits and challenges)

Published 29 May 2025