Changes in MTD to how you see payments on account and other sums due in HMRC systems
Finding the amount due (spoiler - it's not easy)
If you log into your HMRC personal tax account and are in Making Tax Digital, then the amounts you owe HMRC no longer appear in one place.
Instead:
- Tax due for years before you started in MTD appears in your personal tax account as usual (including the balancing payment for your last year in the old self assessment system)
- Tax for years once you're in MTD, including payments on account for those years, shows in the MTD section.
You need to pay the tax that is showing in both of these sections.
You may also get a letter from HMRC. We are seeing that some taxpayers are finding this confusing because it just refers to the old self assessment amount.
If a payment on account was calculated before you started in MTD, it will show as "Transferred to Digital" ... it is still due, but is no longer being monitored as part of the old HMRC collection system that generated the letter.
HMRC are aware of this, though are limited by data being in different systems.
In due course you will be able to see the amount due under MTD in "untied". However this is currently in development at HMRC (we don't yet get all the data we need), so for the time being you have to log in to HMRC.
Due dates haven't changed
A reminder that Making Tax Digital doesn't change when tax is due. Even though you may be submitting quarterly updates, the key payment due dates remain:
- 31 January for balancing payments and the following year's first payment on account
- 31 July for the second payment on account
So for example based on the tax year 2025/26:
- tax year runs 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026
- 31 January 2027
- deadline for your end of year tax return for 2025/26
- deadline for for balancing payments for 2025/26 (ie the total amount due less whatever has been paid)
- deadline for the first payment on account for 2026/27 (generally half the total tax due for 2025/26)
- 31 July 2027
- deadline for the second payment on account or 2026/27 (generally half the total tax due for 2025/26)
But penalties have
Once you're in MTD, you move to HMRC's new penalty system which is points based, like driving penalties.
While this is generally more relaxed, one area that has tightened is around late payments - the penalties come in earlier and are overall greater. So don't risk paying late, and if you need to arrange a payment plan contact HMRC to do so.