SAM61390 - Interest, penalties and surcharge: penalties: late payment penalty trigger date

The late payment penalty trigger date is the date after which a late payment penalty can be charged on tax and NIC liabilities (referred to throughout as tax) that are paid late.

There are three trigger dates and these are

• First late payment penalty - 30 days after the due date
• Second late payment penalty - 30 days and 5 months after the due date
• Third late payment penalty - 30 days and 11 months after the due date

Customers who make an acceptable time to pay (TTP) arrangement on, or before, a late payment trigger date, will avoid paying late payment penalties that would normally arise between the TTP start and end dates. This is as long as the arrangement is completed successfully, and on time.

The late payment trigger date is dependent on the type of charge. The different types of charge and their trigger dates for the first late payment penalty are as follows

Type of Charge	Penalty trigger date for first late payment penalty
Balancing Payment (includes any payments on account unpaid)	30 days after the balancing payment due date (normally 31 January). Note: The penalty is calculated on the balancing payment and any unpaid payment(s) on account for that year
Additional tax payable following an amendment to a self assessment	30 days after the statutory due date (SDD). The statutory due date is 30 days after the later of the date the amendment is created - plus an extra 7 days to allow for printing and dispatch, or the balancing payment due date
Revenue Determination	30 days after the statutory due date (31 January after the return year)
Discovery assessment	30 days after the statutory due date (SDD) the SDD is 30 days after the assessment is created plus an extra 6 days given to allow for delivery, or where the tax is informally stood over and appeal is settled after the original SDD, 30 days after the SDD of the determined amount. (The SDD is 30 days after the determined amount is notified to the customer)
Revenue amendment	30 days after the statutory due date (SDD). (The statutory due date is 30 days after the amendment is created plus an extra 7 days to allow for printing and dispatch)
Non-postponed amount (NPA)	Normally 30 days after the original statutory due date (SDD). If an in-time postponement application is made and decided by HMRC, the trigger date for the NPA is 30 days after the date of the letter notifying HMRC’s decision. But if the postponement application was late (see ARTG2500+) then the trigger date for the NPA remains 30 days after the original SDD.

The trigger dates for the second and third late payment penalties are 5 months and 11 months after the trigger date for the first late payment penalty.

Example

Balancing payment due date - 31 January 2012

Late payment penalty	Trigger date	Date on which penalty can be first charged
First	1 March 2012	2 March 2012
Second	1 August 2012	2 August 2012
Third	1 February 2013	2 February 2013

The penalties will be 5 per cent of the tax unpaid at the end of each trigger date.

From the 2015-2016 tax year, Class 2 NICs, where they are due, will form part of the balancing payment on which late payment penalties are charged. Note: Class 2 NICS are not included when calculating payments on account.