With the self-assessment deadline looming on January 31 a Liverpool accountancy firm is warning businesses and the self-employed to be aware of changes to rules on how you can pay. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool accountancy firm BWM is warning people who have not yet paid their self-assessment tax bill that HMRC is withdrawing the option to pay using a personal credit card within days.

Overall deadline for submitting your return and paying what you owe is midnight on Wednesday, January 31, and, if this deadline is missed, you will incur a fine of £100.

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And now HMRC says it will not accept payments via personal credit cards after Saturday, January 13. It will continue to accept payment from business credit cards after this date, although higher transaction fees will apply.

Withdrawing this method of payment builds on the EU’s payment services directive, which bans companies – including HMRC – from charging customers extra to pay with their credit cards.

The revenue will continue to charge taxpayers a fee, ranging from 0.374% to 2.406%, until the cut-off date. Last year, around 454,000 people used their personal credit card to pay their tax return, netting the revenue £12m.

BWM managing partner, Peter Taaffe, said: “With the self-assessment deadline now looming people need to be aware of exactly when the deadlines are and the methods with which they can use to pay.

“Some people do find the whole process of self-assessment confusing and, in such cases, we are always here to help.”

Other ways you can pay, include:

• Over the phone (have your national insurance number to hand)
• Using CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System)
• At your bank or building society
• Via direct debit or cheque

10.39 million self-assessment tax returns were filed ahead of January 31, 2017, with the figure set to rise again in line with an increase in the number of individuals registering as self-employed.