Tax Payment Finance Guides
Funding options for each HMRC deadline, and, just as importantly, when borrowing is the wrong answer.
Tax deadlines rarely align with when the money arrives. Inheritance tax is due six months after death but probate routinely takes nine to eighteen months. Capital gains tax on a property sale is due within sixty days of completion. VAT on a commercial purchase must be funded at completion and is only reclaimed weeks later.
Compare against Time to Pay first
HMRC's Time to Pay arrangement currently charges 7.75% per annum with no arrangement fee. Bridging costs roughly 7.8% to 10.8% annualised plus fees. For a straightforward liability where HMRC will agree Time to Pay, Time to Pay is usually cheaper and you should take it.
Bridging becomes the right answer when HMRC declines Time to Pay, when a payment default would damage the business's credit file, or when the deadline is too close for a negotiation to conclude. The Time to Pay guide sets out the comparison honestly, including the cases where we would tell you not to borrow.
The deadlines
Each guide leads with the statutory deadline and the penalty for missing it, because that is usually the number that decides whether finance is worth arranging.
The VAT penalty regime changed on 1 April 2025 and now stacks three penalties on top of daily interest, which has materially changed the maths on VAT funding.
Frequently asked questions
Can I borrow to pay a tax bill?
Yes. Short-term lending secured against property is routinely used to clear VAT, corporation tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and self-assessment liabilities, from around 0.65% per month. Unsecured tax funding lines are also available to trading businesses against the liability itself.
Is HMRC Time to Pay cheaper than a bridging loan?
Usually, yes. Time to Pay runs at 7.75% per annum with no arrangement fee against roughly 7.8% to 10.8% annualised plus 1% to 2% in fees on a bridge. Where HMRC will agree it and the timetable allows, take it. Borrowing makes sense when they will not, or when there is no time to ask.
How do I pay inheritance tax before probate?
Either through HMRC's direct payment scheme from the deceased's own bank accounts, through the ten-year instalment option on qualifying property, or by borrowing against estate assets. Probate lending is secured on the estate and repaid from the distribution, which is what makes it work when the six-month deadline lands long before the grant.
What is the CGT 60-day rule?
Capital gains tax on a UK residential property disposal must be reported and paid within sixty days of completion, not at the next self-assessment deadline. Miss it and penalties plus interest start immediately. It catches people who have spent the proceeds on the onward purchase.
What are the VAT late payment penalties?
Since 1 April 2025, 3% of the outstanding VAT at day fifteen, a further 3% at day thirty, and then 10% per annum daily from day thirty-one, all on top of late payment interest at base rate plus 4%. The first fifteen days are the window in which funding is cheapest relative to the alternative.
Can I get tax finance without property security?
Yes, through unsecured tax funding lines assessed on trading performance, typically over six to twelve months and priced well above secured lending. Where property security is available, using it will usually halve the cost.
Beat the deadline
Send the liability, the deadline and what security is available, and we will come back the same working day, including telling you if Time to Pay is the better answer.