HMRC have updated its payments on account (POA) guidance.

What are POA?

These are advance payments towards a business’s VAT bill. They are mandatory.

HMRC will notify a taxpayer to make POA if a business renders VAT returns quarterly, and it owes more than £2.3 million in any period of 12 months or less.

Under the POA arrangement, businesses make interim payments at the end of months two and three for each return quarter. The interim payment is intended to cover part of the overall VAT liability for the that quarter. The balancing payment for the return’s VAT liability will be settled when the business submits its VAT return payment. Quarterly VAT returns are filed online as normal.

POA calculation

HMRC will calculate POA based on a business’s annual VAT liability in the period that it goes over the threshold. The annual VAT liability in that period will be divided by 24 to arrive at an instalment amount.

A taxable person who has been in business for less than 12 months will have POA calculated by HMRC on a pro rata basis.

POA start date and annual cycle

The payments on account cycle starts in the first quarter after a business exceeds the £2.3 million threshold.

The payments will remain the same until the start of the next annual cycle.

The annual cycle begins in April, May or June depending on which VAT return ‘stagger’ a business is on. HMRC bases the amount of payments during the annual cycle on the liability in the period known as the ‘reference year’.

POA due dates

The due dates for POA are the last working day of the second and third months of every VAT quarter no matter what the period end date is. The seven-day extension for paying electronically does not apply to POA.

POA that are not paid on time will be subject to late payment interest.

Due dates for quarterly balancing payments

Balancing payments are due with the VAT return and must clear HMRC’s bank account by the last working day of the month if  standard period end dates are used.

Late payments

If a business does not make POA or the balancing payment in full and on time HMRC will:

• take immediate action to recover the debt
• charge late payment interest
• consider charging late payment penalties on amounts unpaid after the balancing payment due date
• consider transferring a business from quarterly to monthly returns

Removal from a POA arrangement

If a business’s VAT liability falls below £2.3 million in the reference year HMRC will remove it from the arrangement six months later.

Alternative to payments on account

If making POA and submitting quarterly VAT returns does not suit a business, it can choose to make VAT returns and payments monthly.

Commentary

As may be seen, it is important to recognise the POA limit and to make payments on time. There is an obvious cash flow impact and plans should be put in place if the VAT turnover is nearing the threshold.