A tightening in payment dates and penalties for PAYE has highlighted a crucial misconception regarding the payment process to HMRC.
It is not commonly known that HMRC bank accounts cannot receive the Faster Payment Service that the majority of other banks have now adopted.
You make an online payment, your bank says that it is being made under the faster payments system, and should be there same-day but unfortunately, this is not the case. The change to using Citibank for receiving tax payments now seems like a backward step as Citibank accounts, like some ex-building societies turned into banks, cannot accept faster payments. A cynic might argue that this is designed to enhance bank profits (the amount still leaves your account immediately, but does not arrive for 3 days), and also enable HMRC to charge fines and penalties for those payments being received a day or two late. (more…)