The Government has put a number of emergency flood measures in place to help those affected by the recent devastating floods. This includes 100% council tax and business rates relief and emergency funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Affected taxpayers should also contact the Business Payment Support Service (BPSS) if they cannot make tax payments on time. The BPSS is available to all taxpayers (not just businesses).

If you are unable to pay some or all the tax you owe you need to be pro-active and contact HMRC as soon as possible. Avoiding the issue and hoping the problem will go away is only making things worse. You can contact HMRC to seek to make a payment plan and agree a way forward.

The services offered by the BPSS depend on individual circumstances but can include:

• agreeing instalment arrangements
• suspending any debt collection proceedings
• reviewing penalties for missing statutory deadlines
• reducing any payments on account
• agreeing to defer payments due to short-term cash flow difficulties

If you have missed a tax payment and have received a payment demand, like a tax bill or a letter threatening you with legal action, then you need to take immediate action. We can also help deal with this on your behalf.