The Business Payment Support Service (BPSS)

The BPSS and its dedicated Business Payment Support Line were set up by the government in November 2008.

Its role is to help businesses, the self-employed or self-assessment taxpayers in temporary financial difficulty to pay corporation tax, income tax, national insurance contributions, PAYE, VAT and other taxes to a timetable they can afford and without surcharges on payments involved.

The support line, which is intended for new enquiries only, can be contacted on 0845 303 1435 between 8am-8pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Key points for anyone wishing to use the service include:

• Don't wait until your tax payment is overdue to contact the support line. If payments are due now or in the near future, the sooner you get in touch, the better. If payments aren’t due yet, contact the support line once you know whether you can pay or not.
• To help advisers deal with your call efficiently, you will need to have to hand:
  • your tax reference number
  • details of the tax you are, or will have, trouble paying
  • basic details of your business’s or personal income and outgoings.
  • It will also help advisers if you have an idea of what sort of payment terms you can sensibly manage.
• In most cases, you will be given a decision within ten minutes. If the debt is particularly large or complex, the BPSS will call you back as soon as a decision has been made. This will happen within the region of four working days.
• HMRC says it will be flexible and agree arrangements to bring tax up-to-date on a case-by-case basis and on a timescale that is reasonable and appropriate.
• There are numerous ways to make payments to HMRC, including Bacs, cheque, debit card or credit card, direct debit and internet banking.
• There will be no late payment surcharges on payments included in time to pay arrangements, although interest will continue to be payable on those taxes where it applies.

To find out more about how we can help you, please contact us.