What happens if you don't pay Payments on Account?

[Paralytic]

If you POA is £1k and you don't pay, you will get fined. However you can speak to HMRC and have your POA reduced if you think its too high.

TL;DR do something rather than nothing

Agreed. In addition, if you get your POA lowered, and at the end of the year it turns out that you should have paid more, you'll pay interest on the difference. Similarly, if it turns out any POA you paid is higher than your actual end-of-year tax due, you earn interest on the difference.

[SimonMac]

I've been contracting through an Ltd for years, but for various reasons this tax year I've taken zero salary and zero dividends. I've finally just got another contract, which is inside IR35 and so paid through an umbrella (i.e. PAYE).

HMRC have calculated around £1k in payments on account based on my earnings last tax year. I just delayed the first payment thanks to the coronavirus extension, but it is now due by 31 January. I won't get anywhere near owing £1k in personal taxes, so applied online over 6 weeks to reduce the payments on account. Naively I took HMRC at there word that they would get back to me within 2 weeks.

Anyway, I now know with absolute certainty that I will incur £0 in extra personal taxes for the 2020/21 self assessment, and as money is quite tight for me right now I'd really rather not have to pay taxes I don't even owe.

I'm trying to get through calling HMRC, but predictably have been waiting on hold for quite some time.

tl;dr
So assuming I can't get through, and assuming I incur £0 in unpaid taxes, what happens if you just don't pay the payments on account?

If you POA is £1k and you don't pay, you will get fined. However you can speak to HMRC and have your POA reduced if you think its too high.

TL;DR do something rather than nothing

[TheNewGuy]

Okay so I clearly should have had a bit more patience.

Based on past experience I expected it to be very difficult getting through on the phone (especially at this time of year), but almost as soon as submitted that post I got through on the phone.

They sorted everything with no issues, so it turned out to be much easier than I expected! Including being on hold the call took about 40 mins, so wasn't even that long really.

[ladymuck]

You can change the payments on account to any value you like via your personal tax account.

Just log in, go to Self Assessment, then select 'reduce payments on account'. Set it to £0 and bob will be your veritable uncle.

[northernladuk]

Ring HMRC up and explain the situation and they'll correct it.

Just not paying is a stupid way of managing your taxes and end in a world of pain.

[TheNewGuy]

I've been contracting through an Ltd for years, but for various reasons this tax year I've taken zero salary and zero dividends. I've finally just got another contract, which is inside IR35 and so paid through an umbrella (i.e. PAYE).

HMRC have calculated around £1k in payments on account based on my earnings last tax year. I just delayed the first payment thanks to the coronavirus extension, but it is now due by 31 January. I won't get anywhere near owing £1k in personal taxes, so applied online over 6 weeks to reduce the payments on account. Naively I took HMRC at there word that they would get back to me within 2 weeks.

Anyway, I now know with absolute certainty that I will incur £0 in extra personal taxes for the 2020/21 self assessment, and as money is quite tight for me right now I'd really rather not have to pay taxes I don't even owe.

I'm trying to get through calling HMRC, but predictably have been waiting on hold for quite some time.

tl;dr
So assuming I can't get through, and assuming I incur £0 in unpaid taxes, what happens if you just don't pay the payments on account?

Resolution:
Got through on a phone a lot quicker than expected, it's was all sorted very easily. Next time I'll have more patience!