United Kingdom
25 July 2011 - Self Assessment Payment on Account issues
HMRC has admitted that it will be unable to issue around 500,000 Self Assessment statements of account before the second payment on account for 2010/11 becomes due on 31 July 2011.
In a web posting, HMRC states that in case this results in late payment of tax by any taxpayers, it will defer charging interest until 30 days after the date of receipt of a statement of account.
Advisers should therefore ask clients to note when they receive their statements, as the date of receipt often differs considerably from the date shown on the statement.
The amount due can, of course, still be viewed online.
HMRC states that the problem has arisen because "the volumes on this occasion have risen out of all proportion to previous patterns".