What if I can’t afford to pay?
Undeclared income guide
6
After disclosing via your local tax office, you may not have the money to pay the tax, interest and penalties.
In the course of his enquiries the inspector will ask about your current assets and liabilities, and income and expenses. If you could not afford to pay all the tax, interest and penalties immediately, HM Revenue and Customs may accept an offer to pay it over a period of time, for example:
- within six months, if you are planning to sell your home to raise the necessary funds, or
- by monthly instalments, if you could pay it from your earnings over no more than a year or two.
If you have no valuable assets, and your income is not very high, the inspector may settle the case on a reduced number of years. Penalties may also be reduced. Once the enquiry is concluded, the case is passed to Debt Management and Banking to pursue payment of tax and interest in the same way as any other unpaid bill (see our Tax Debt Guide for advice about this process).
