With the next self assessment payment on account due at the end of July many tax payers are wondering if they can spread their tax payments.
HMRC say..
Contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as soon as possible if you can’t pay all your tax on time.
You may be able to either:
-
get more time to pay
-
pay your bill in instalments by direct debit
But HMRC are generally reluctant to agree time to pay unless there are exceptional circumstances.
So an alternative might to use interest free credit cards.
Here is some great advice from Martin Lewis
Do it right and credit cards are the cheapest way to borrow. You can get 0% for up to 27 months – yet get it wrong and you’ll be stuck in debt for years.
Done right, it’s possible to borrow at no cost.
- Make at LEAST the minimum repaymentsEnsure you set up a direct debit for at least the minimum repayment as soon as you are accepted. Even though you’re paying 0%, you still need to make repayments. If you miss one, you will lose your 0% deal, so the rate will jump and you’ll get a £12 charge.
However, don’t almost clear your card in full – clear it IN FULL if you can. For example, if you’ve £1,000 debt from spending on a credit card and pay off £999, the fact it’s not cleared IN FULL means you pay a month’s interest on the whole amount.
So if you can nearly clear your card, do what you can to totally clear it (even if it’s a 0% spending card it’s a good habit to get into).
- Clear the card within the 0% periodGo even one month beyond the promotional period and the rate rockets, so calculate the amount needed to clear the balance by then. For example, borrow £600 on a year’s 0% card, divide the spend by the number of months (£600 / 12) to get the monthly repayment – in this case £50 – and set up a direct debit to do that.
- Diarise the end datesIt’s incredibly vital you make a note of the 0% end dates (or use the Tart Alert) to make sure you pay off the debt in time, or be ready to switch to a new Best Balance Transfer deal. If you forget to switch when the deal ends, the interest cost will swiftly outweigh the card’s benefit.
You can see Martins full advice at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-0-credit-cards
steve@bicknells.net
