What is the Self Assessment balancing payment deadline for the self-employed?

Full answer

The balancing payment is the final settlement figure in the Self Assessment system, and understanding how it interacts with payments on account helps avoid missing the correct amount or deadline. **What the balancing payment actually represents** Once your Self Assessment tax return for a tax year is completed and your actual total tax liability for that year is known, the balancing payment is the difference between that actual final liability and whatever you already paid towards that year through payments on account (made the previous 31 January and 31 July, based on estimates from the prior year's bill). **The deadline** The balancing payment for a tax year is due on 31 January following the end of that tax year -- for the 2026/27 tax year (running 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), the balancing payment is due by 31 January 2028, the same date your Self Assessment return itself must be filed online. **Worked example -- balancing payment owed** A self-employed person's payments on account for 2026/27 (based on their 2025/26 bill) totalled £5,000. When they complete their 2026/27 return, their actual tax and Class 4 NI liability for that year turns out to be £6,200, because profits were higher than the previous year. The balancing payment due by 31 January 2028 is £1,200 (£6,200 actual liability minus £5,000 already paid on account), plus the first payment on account for 2027/28 (half of £6,200, so £3,100), making a combined payment of £4,300 due on that date. **Worked example -- balancing payment refunded** If instead their actual 2026/27 liability turns out to be only £4,000 (profits fell), they have overpaid by £1,000 through payments on account -- this £1,000 is credited against the payment on account due for the following year, or can be requested as a refund, rather than being an amount they owe. **Interest and penalties for late payment** HMRC charges daily interest on any balancing payment (and payments on account) paid late, and a separate late payment penalty regime applies if tax remains unpaid a significant time after the deadline (in addition to a separate late filing penalty if the return itself is filed late) -- interest applies from the original due date regardless of whether you have a reasonable excuse for the delay, though penalties can sometimes be appealed with a valid reasonable excuse. **Filing early does not bring the payment deadline forward** Many self-employed people file their return well before January (even in the April or May immediately after the tax year ends) to know their balancing payment figure early and budget for it -- filing early does NOT move the payment deadline earlier, it remains 31 January regardless of when you file, but knowing the figure sooner gives more time to save the money or arrange a Time to Pay agreement with HMRC if needed. **Practical tip** File your return as soon as reasonably possible after the tax year ends (rather than waiting until January) purely so you know your exact balancing payment and next payment on account well in advance, giving maximum time to save, adjust payments on account if your income has genuinely changed, or arrange a payment plan with HMRC if you cannot pay the full amount by 31 January.

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