Pay your Self Assessment tax bill
Through your tax code
You can pay your Self Assessment bill through your PAYE tax code as long as all these apply:
- you owe less than £3,000 on your tax bill (you cannot make a part payment to meet this threshold)
- you already pay tax through PAYE, for example you’re an employee or you get a company pension
- you submitted your paper tax return by 31 October or your online tax return online by 30 December
How it’s set up
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will automatically collect what you owe through your tax code if you meet all 3 conditions, unless you’ve specifically asked them not to (on your tax return).
If you’re not eligible, you will not be able to pay this way.
When you cannot pay through your tax code
You will not be able to pay your tax bill through your PAYE tax code if:
- you do not have enough PAYE income for HMRC to collect it
- you’d pay more than 50% of your PAYE income in tax
- you’d end up paying more than twice as much tax as you normally do
- you owed £3,000 or more but made a part payment to reduce the amount you owe to less than £3,000
If you’re self-employed you cannot pay Class 2 National Insurance through your tax code, unless it’s been due since before 6 April 2015. You must use one of the other ways to pay by the deadline instead.
How deductions are made
The tax you owe will be taken from your salary or pension in equal instalments over 12 months, along with your usual tax deductions.