Many businesses have deferred some VAT or other taxes over the last few months to help with cashflow. This took the pressure off for a period, but the current VAT and tax deadlines still keep coming.  

We want to help you to get organised and ensure you have considered how you will meet these due dates.

We are preparing Outgoings Timelines for our clients so that you can easily see when significant payments will become due over the next 18 months. These could be taxes, other deferred costs or loan repayments, or maybe you’ve had a rates holiday for 2020/21 and these payments will start again in April 2021.

Any deferred VAT from March-June 2020 which will be due by 31st March 2021 and Corporation Tax will be due as normal for limited companies 9 months (and 1 day) after your year end, with VAT and PAYE/NIC due on normal due dates, unless you have agreed a different arrangement with HMRC. 

Tax & VAT hotspots

There will be more pressure on cashflow at certain times of the year, depending upon your year-end and VAT periods

A business with a December 2019 year end and VAT quarter, for example, could have the following payments due soon:

  • VAT 31st July
  • Corporation Tax 1st October
  • VAT 31st October

And looking further ahead, a business with a March 2020 year end and VAT quarter could have the following payments due early next year:

  • Corporation Tax 1st January 2021
  • VAT 31st January 2021
  • (Deferred from March 2020 quarter) VAT 31st March 2021
  • VAT 30th April 2021

In the above example, February is the only month in the first four months of 2021 where there isn’t a significant payment due. 

Most businesses will have some real pinch points on the way, and we’d advise you to plan ahead, to ensure you can meet these payments when they are due, rather than find yourselves in a highly stressful situation, potentially at the last minute.

Ways to reduce the stress from cashflow uncertainty

  1. Better accounting information and tax data – up-to-date cloud accounting software, such as Xero, provides you with enhanced real-time data. This management information can then be used to understand historical tax costs, cashflow position and financial performance
  2. Talk to us – when we have regular contact with our clients, we are able to understand your post-lockdown challenges and increase your awareness of any significant cashflow challenges that are on the horizon
  3. Identifying the short-term funding gaps – with meaningful real-time data, you should be in a good position to spot when cashflow is slipping into a negative position and can then take steps to mitigate the impact over the short-term
  4. Improved control over cashflow – preparing regular cashflow projections provides further data to assess the future cash position and to tie this in with the predicted tax payments which you know are becoming due
  5. Take appropriate steps products to fill the gaps or smooth the cashflow – when cashflow cannot be managed in the short-term, it could be that an arrangement with HMRC is possible or an injection of external working capital could be more appropriate. There are various finance products which could fit.  Term loans, invoice finance, or VAT funding could provide access to the additional finance which is required. 

Finance options to smooth the cashflow impact of tax liabilities

There are potentially three routes which you can take to smooth the impact of significant costs on your working capital. We address the pros and cons of each below.

Pros Cons
Agree a Time to Pay Arrangement (TTP) with HMRC May be lower interest than other forms of debt finance

Won’t affect the business’ credit score with Experian, Equifax etc

Simple to administer as linked to particular taxes/amounts due and can also include some future taxes

Needs to be agreed in advance of due date

Interest likely to be payable

Need to demonstrate all other avenues have been explored first

May prevent other lenders offering facilities in the future

If payments missed, there could be swift & severe consequences and more difficult to renegotiate

Obtain external working capital facilities such as loans or invoice finance Can be used to settle any outgoings, not only tax liabilities

Facilities may be extended if the business is considered credit-worthy

Dependent upon the lender, can be very quick to obtain

Interest and fees are likely to be payable (though using the government schemes you may be eligible for 12 months cost and repayment free)

May also require additional security

Will affect the business’ credit score

Obtain a VAT Funding Facility to spread the VAT costs over 3 months Likely to be unsecured finance, but personally guaranteed.

Short-term commitment, typically 3 months, although can be repeated each quarter

Will incur interest and fees

Will affect the business’ credit score

Difficult to ‘pay off’ if it becomes a rolling requirement each quarter

 

Leave No Business Behind

There are various options for businesses struggling to meet tax liabilities or other cash outgoings, and by discussing your situation with us, we can help you assess which may be available and most suitable for you.

We have joined with the accounting community to ensure businesses are supported and clear about their ability to trade through this pandemic and get back to full business health, building strong and robust balance sheets for the future prosperity of your company.

If cashflow is a worry, we are connected to a growing ecosystem of finance providers and also have experts who can liaise with HMRC about future liabilities. 

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.