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How do I pay my Corporation Tax?

If you have corporation tax due, there are 3 ways to make a payment:

  • Direct Debit - Set up and make changes to a Direct Debit through your company’s HMRC online Account 
  • Bank Transfer - You can pay HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by Faster Payments, CHAPS or Bacs.
  • By debit or corporate credit card online - Pay your Corporation Tax online

You can view the full steps on how to sign up for a HMRC account here

What is the 17-character payment reference number?

 

For all three payment methods, you'll need to provide a payment reference number. This ensures your payment is allocated to the correct company and accounting period. 

GetGround cannot provide the payment reference number — you'll need to obtain it directly from HMRC.

Where do I find my payment reference number?

  • on a payment reminder letter sent by HMRC, if this has been received by GetGround we would have uploaded it to the document section of the online portal.
  • in your company’s HMRC online account - choose ‘view Corporation Tax statement’, ‘accounting periods’, then select the correct period

Your payment reference number changes with each accounting period, so you’ll need to use a different one each time you pay.

The payment reference number consists of 17 characters and follows this format: '1234567890A00101A'. It is divided into four parts: 1234567890, A001, 01, and A.

  1. 1234567890 - the first ten digits are the company UTR number. This can be found in your GetGround accounts under - My Investments, select the company, then select the company tab.
  2. A001 - This is standard and will not change. 
  3. 01 - This relates to the accounting period you are making a payment for and will change each year, increasing by 1. For example, for the second accounting period, the number will be 02.
  4. A - This is standard and will not change.

Using the incorrect payment reference number could result in the payment being delayed or allocated to a different company.

What do I do if I can't locate the letter?

Therefore, if you can not obtain the payment reference via the HMRC online account or HMRC letter we would recommend you call HMRC to obtain the payment reference number, see the contact details below, please note you will need your company UTR number to hand. 

Telephone:
0300 200 3410

Outside UK:
+44 151 268 0571

Direct Debit 

To make payment via Direct Debit you will first need to set up an HMRC Online Account (Government Gateway Account) to do this please follow the instructions here.

Once your Government gateway account has been set up and you have added Corporation tax to the account you will then be able to set up the Direct Debit and make payment here.

Allow 5 days to process a Direct Debit initially. Subsequent payments take 3 days once authorised by HMRC.

Payments will appear on your bank statements as ‘HMRC NDDS’.

Bank Transfer 

To pay your corporation tax bill via bank transfer this can be done using the details provided by HMRC here

You'll need your Corporation Tax payment reference number to complete this transfer. See the '17-character payment reference' section above for how to obtain it.

Payments made by Faster Payments (online or telephone banking) will usually reach HMRC on the same or the next day, including weekends and bank holidays.

CHAPS payments usually reach HMRC on the same working day if you pay within your bank’s processing times. Bacs payments usually take 3 working days.

By debit or corporate credit card online

To make payment for your corporation tax online via debit or corporate credit card please follow the link here

You'll need your Corporation Tax payment reference number to complete this payment. See the '17-character payment reference' section above for how to obtain it.

Payments made online by debit or corporate credit card can take up to three working days to reach HMRC. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team at gethelp@getground.co.uk 

 

If you own property personally, don’t forget to get ready for Making Tax Digital for landlords using our free, HMRC‑recognised software.

Do I need to mark the corporation tax as "paid"? 

Marking the task as "Paid" does not mean your Corporation Tax has been paid to HMRC — you still need to make the payment separately. 

If you have paid your corporation tax or your corporation tax is 'NIL', you can mark it as paid to remove the task.