[Dave Willis]

Thinking of paying monthly. Those that do it - how is it done, does the tax office give you a figure, does your accountant do it? is it started in April or just after your latest paymemt on account?

[Walter Mitty]

Thinking of paying monthly. Those that do it - how is it done, does the tax office give you a figure, does your accountant do it? is it started in April or just after your latest paymemt on account?

Much depends on whether you want to do it in advance or in arrears.  For the latter, a bit of grovelling is sometimes required.
I am starting to get from a position of "in arrears" to "in advance".  I should be making that leap during the next month.  I intend to continue making my regular payment to HMRC even when my debt to them is cleared.
I do it by BACS.  I think that BACS is probably the best option for people who have fluctuating incomes and fluctuating outgoings.  That way, you can get further in front when you are flush and miss/reduce a payment if skint (not to be done if you are repaying debt).  I actually arranged to pay them weekly and they were even quite happy to receive odd amounts so long as it added up to that weekly amount.  At one point I was even paying my £100 a week as £20 a day and they were fine with that.
So I reckon BACS is best due to the flexibility.  Maybe contact HMRC to ensure that you have their correct bank details and also make doubly sure that you set it up with the correct tax reference number.  They will send you a statement through occasionally - usually when a half yearly payment is becoming due (or would be due if you hadn't already paid some instalments).  You can start doing this at any point.  They are a lot more flexible than they once were.  Even if you don't pay in full like this, just top it up as soon as you know what you owe them.  There will be some interest to pay if you are late with some of it.  The rates are reasonable though and linked to base rate + something.  It is my intention to have my July 31 bill paid by July 31 (for a change) by making advance instalments by BACS.

[Jim Waugh(Albright & Shiny)]

DIint realise you could pay monthly. My understanding was that once you got to a ear where you had to pay take on drawings. You had to pay that tax Bill and at the same time they screwed you for half of it again to cover then next 6 months and than at the 6 month they hit you for the next half.. .

[chris turner]

Been paying mine monthly for years. If you have an accountant they"ll set it up for you, if you don't have an accountant just log onto your government gateway account and do it there.
I just set my new payment plan this weekend to pay my 2nd lot of payments on account for the next tax year plus a bit extra as my turnover has risen.
I like doing it this way as by July I would of paid last year's bill plus most of next year's in advance.
Another benefit of overpaying is you can draw money back if you want if you overpay by a fair amount.

[Walter Mitty]

DIint realise you could pay monthly. My understanding was that once you got to a ear where you had to pay take on drawings. You had to pay that tax Bill and at the same time they screwed you for half of it again to cover then next 6 months and than at the 6 month they hit you for the next half.. .

You can pay what you like when you like - so long as you stay in front.
Many years ago, I even had a part-time PAYE job while window cleaning.  My employer wanted my tax code.  I told him to stop emergency tax (i.e. no personal allowance) so that it would reduce my tax bill when it became due.  That particular year it actually worked out that the taxman owed me money as I ended up overpaying.  I let them offset it against the following year.

[herbiefatboy]

you can also pay weekly which i do its great when tax bill comes in and you do not owe them any money just phone them up and tell how much you want to pay.works for me

[Window Lickers]

I pay £250 a week into national savings bonds. I much prefer taking the occasional win from ERNIE than pay it weekly or monthly to the Exchequer so it's never seen again. When it's due I withdraw it from my NIS account and give it to the chancellor.

Saying that I've just had a £5.5K rebate come through. That's going on various work projects lined up for the year.

[Dave Willis]

I've always paid on account, you know get that whacking great bill in January and the same again in July. I'm bang up to date and don't owe anything now until July. I have three bank accounts - two business accounts one being a reserve account.
Chatting to an electrician today and he paid either monthly or weekly I can't remember which and often got money back at the end of the year where he had overpaid. As the interest rate is so low there didn't seem any advantage in keeping a lump sum by for the twice a year robbery.

[PoleKing]

I've always paid on account, you know get that whacking great bill in January and the same again in July. I'm bang up to date and don't owe anything now until July. I have three bank accounts - two business accounts one being a reserve account.
Chatting to an electrician today and he paid either monthly or weekly I can't remember which and often got money back at the end of the year where he had overpaid. As the interest rate is so low there didn't seem any advantage in keeping a lump sum by for the twice a year robbery.

No interest to gain but it's there as a lump if you need it.
I transfer a monthly amount into a business savings account.
Then pay it when it's due.
As long as you don't dip into it, it's better as you're in more control.

[Tom-01]

I pay myself an allowance of £660 a month and then dividends 3 times a year. Then pay my corporation tax in a lump sum just before its due which is end of August.

[bobplum]

i pay weekly thru HMRC, based on last years bill.
I get my final figure for the tax bill around June so that way i can work out how much i will need to pay in January or just change the weekly payments to suit