Payments on account calculator 2026/27
Enter last year's Self Assessment bill to see what HMRC will ask for on 31 January 2027 and 31 July 2027.
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Payments on account calculator
The tax bill is the income tax and Class 4 National Insurance due through your Self Assessment return, after anything PAYE already took; leave Class 2 NI and student loan out. Leave payments already made at 0 if 2025/26 is your first year with a bill of £1,000 or more. Pre-filled with a first-year sole trader on £40,000 profit.
Your payments
Payments on account are due: last year's bill was £1,000 or more and no more than 80% of your tax was collected at source.
| Balancing payment for 2025/26 | £7,131.80 |
|---|---|
| First payment on account for 2026/27 | £3,565.90 |
| Less your 2025/26 overpayment | −£0.00 |
| Total due 31 January 2027 | £10,697.70 |
The first-year double payment. With no payments on account made towards 2025/26, 31 January carries the whole 2025/26 bill plus half of it again for 2026/27. This is why the first bill is about 150% of one year's tax.
You paid £0.00 more on account than last year's bill, so there is no balancing payment. HMRC sets the overpayment against the 31 January payment and refunds anything left over if you ask.
Income tax and Class 4 National Insurance only. Any Class 2 NI, student loan repayment or capital gains tax for 2025/26 is added to the 31 January payment on top.
Who has to make payments on account
HMRC uses last year's Self Assessment bill to decide. You make payments on account unless one of two things is true:
- The £1,000 test. Your bill for the year (income tax and Class 4 National Insurance due through the return) was under £1,000.
- The 80% test. More than 80% of all the tax you owed for the year was collected at source, mostly through PAYE on a salary or pension. Someone with £8,000 taken through PAYE and a £1,500 Self Assessment bill had 84% collected at source, so pays no payments on account.
A sole trader with no other income falls outside both exemptions once profit passes roughly £16,500 at 2026/27 rates: nothing is collected at source, and the bill reaches £1,000.
How much each payment is
Each payment on account is exactly half of last year's bill, rounded down to the penny. What goes into that bill matters:
- Included: income tax and Class 4 National Insurance due through Self Assessment.
- Never included: Class 2 National Insurance, student loan repayments and capital gains tax. These are paid in full with the balancing payment on 31 January and do not roll forward into payments on account.
The 2026/27 payments on account are based on your 2025/26 bill, not on what you are earning now. If this year's profit is higher, the difference is settled in the balancing payment on 31 January 2028.
The first-year double payment
The year payments on account start is the year that catches people out. Take a sole trader whose 2025/26 profit was £40,000, their first year with a bill: £7,131.80 of income tax and Class 4 National Insurance.
| Date | What is due | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 31 January 2027 | The whole 2025/26 bill (balancing payment) plus the first 2026/27 payment on account | £7,131.80 + £3,565.90 = £10,697.70 |
| 31 July 2027 | Second 2026/27 payment on account | £3,565.90 |
That is £14,263.60 across six months on one year's profit of £40,000. If profit stays flat, the following January carries a balancing payment of roughly nil plus the next £3,565.90 payment on account, and the cycle settles into two equal payments a year.
Reducing payments on account
If you know this year's profit will be lower (a quiet year, parental leave, illness, a move into employment), you can ask HMRC to reduce the payments. Use form SA303, or the option to reduce payments on account in your HMRC online account.
Be careful with it. If you reduce them and the final bill turns out higher, HMRC charges interest on the difference from the original due dates. Paying slightly too much and getting the excess back is cheaper than paying too little.
Paying late
A late payment on account attracts interest from the due date, at the Bank of England base rate plus 4%. The 5% late-payment penalties apply to the balancing payment, not to payments on account. Every date is in our Self Assessment deadlines guide, along with the filing deadlines and penalties.
Put the January money aside as you get paid
Payments on account land on top of the year you are still earning in, so the cash has to come from this year's invoices. Invoice through this site and a live set-aside figure tracks the income tax and National Insurance on what you have been paid, on the same HMRC rates as this calculator.
- A set-aside figure that grows with every invoice marked paid, so 31 January is money already put by.
- Clean, numbered invoices in about a minute, with a PDF at the end.
- Every invoice, payment and due date in one place when the return is due.
No password and no card. Enter your email, click the link we send, and you are in.
Frequently asked questions
What are payments on account?
Payments on account are advance payments towards your next Self Assessment bill. HMRC asks for two, each half of last year's bill: the first on 31 January and the second on 31 July. For the 2026/27 tax year they are due on 31 January 2027 and 31 July 2027, and they are based on your 2025/26 bill.
Who has to make payments on account?
You make payments on account unless your last Self Assessment bill was under £1,000, or more than 80% of the year's tax was already collected at source, for example through PAYE on a salary. Most sole traders with a bill of £1,000 or more have to make them.
How much is each payment on account?
Each payment is half of last year's Self Assessment bill for income tax and Class 4 National Insurance. Class 2 National Insurance, student loan repayments and capital gains tax are never part of payments on account; they are paid with the balancing payment on 31 January.
Why is my first Self Assessment bill so high?
In your first year with a bill of £1,000 or more, nothing has been paid in advance, so the 31 January bill is the whole of last year's tax plus the first payment on account for the current year: about 150% of one year's tax. On £40,000 of profit that is £10,697.70 on 31 January 2027, then £3,565.90 on 31 July 2027.
Can I reduce my payments on account?
Yes, if you expect this year's bill to be lower than last year's. Use form SA303 or the reduce option in your HMRC online account. If you reduce them too far, HMRC charges interest on the shortfall from the original due dates, so only reduce them by what you can justify.
What happens if I paid too much on account?
If your payments on account come to more than the final bill for the year, there is no balancing payment. HMRC sets the overpayment against what you owe on 31 January, or refunds it if you ask.
Tools sole traders use
Accounting software that keeps your records ready for Self Assessment and Making Tax Digital.
- Xero - Online accounting with bank feeds and invoicing, widely used by UK accountants.
- QuickBooks - Bookkeeping and invoicing software with features for sole traders.
- Sage Accounting - UK accounting software for invoices, expenses and VAT returns.
Affiliate links: we may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.
Sources
Related guides
- Self Assessment deadlines 2026/27: every filing and payment date, MTD quarterly updates and the penalties.
- Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance: the NI half of the bill your payments on account are based on.
- Reduce your tax bill legally: a lower bill means lower payments on account next year.
- Allowable expenses: what you can deduct before the bill is worked out.
Or see the full bill for your profit: £30,000 self-employed, £50,000 self-employed, £75,000 self-employed, or browse all bracket pages.