Can I Pay My Tax Bill With a Credit Card?
It is one of the most common questions we get asked, especially in the run-up to the Self Assessment deadline. You have filed your return, you know what you owe, and you are wondering whether you can simply put it on a credit card and deal with the cost later. The short answer is: it depends entirely on what type of card you hold. The rules changed several years ago, and they still catch a lot of business owners out.
This post takes a look at where you stand with HMRC, which cards are accepted, what fees apply, and what to do if you are paying by card because you are struggling with cash flow rather than as a matter of convenience.
The Short Answer: Personal Credit Cards Are Not Accepted
Since January 2018, HMRC has not accepted personal credit cards for any tax payment. This applies to Self Assessment, Corporation Tax, VAT, PAYE and every other liability you might owe.
The reason comes down to a change in the law. Regulations that came into force at the start of 2018 banned merchants, including HMRC, from passing card processing fees on to customers. HMRC was not willing to absorb those costs itself, so it removed the personal credit card option altogether rather than swallow the charge.
So if you were hoping to spread the cost of your tax bill using a 0% purchase card, or rack up reward points on your personal credit card, that route was closed off years ago and remains closed today.
What You Can Use: Corporate and Business Credit Cards
Here is the important distinction. While personal credit cards are off the table, HMRC does still accept corporate, business and commercial credit cards. The catch is that these come with a non-refundable fee.
The fee exists because HMRC is charged for processing the payment by the card provider, and it passes that cost on to you. Since the Fees for Payment of Taxes, etc. by Card Regulations 2020, HMRC no longer charges a single fixed percentage. Instead the fee is made up of the actual charges HMRC incurs on that transaction, being the merchant acquirer fee, the interchange fee and the scheme fee, so it varies depending on the card. HMRC shows you the exact non-refundable fee before you confirm the payment. On a large bill this can still add up to a meaningful sum, so it is worth checking the figure before you commit.
Note that HMRC does not accept American Express or Diners Club cards, and there is an upper limit on the amount you can pay in a single card transaction (currently £97,000). For very large liabilities you may need to use a bank transfer instead.
Which Cards Are Accepted, and What They Cost
To keep it simple, here is where each card type stands with HMRC as things currently stand:
- Personal debit card – Accepted. No fee.
- Corporate or business debit card – Accepted. A fee applies.
- Personal credit card – Not accepted. No workaround directly through HMRC.
- Corporate, business or commercial credit card – Accepted. A non-refundable fee applies.
You can pay by card through the relevant payment page on GOV.UK. The full official guidance sits at GOV.UK: Pay your Self Assessment tax bill, and for other taxes you will find equivalent pages, such as the Pay your PAYE bill guidance.
How Card Payments Work in Practice
Paying by card is one of the faster methods available. Card payments reach HMRC quickly, which makes them useful if you are up against a deadline. HMRC accepts your payment on the date you make it, even on bank holidays and weekends, rather than the date it reaches HMRC’s account. Unlike some bank transfer methods, a card payment does not need to allow for extra working days to clear.
Getting the reference right
Whatever method you use, the single most important thing is quoting the correct payment reference, or HMRC cannot match your money to your account. For Self Assessment this is your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) followed by the letter K. For PAYE it is your 13-character Accounts Office reference. For Corporation Tax it is your 17-character payment reference for the accounting period you are paying. Get this wrong and your payment can sit unallocated while penalties tick up against a bill you have technically already paid.
Timing and deadlines
The key Self Assessment dates remain unchanged. The balancing payment and any first payment on account for a tax year are due by 31 January, with the second payment on account due by 31 July. For the 2025/26 tax year, the 31 January 2027 deadline is the one to watch. If a deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, card payments and Faster Payments are the exception to the “reach HMRC by the last working day before” rule, because they process quickly.
