HM Revenue and Customs has started a one-month countdown to the second Self Assessment payment on account deadline on 31 July 2026, affecting millions of taxpayers. The department's announcement is framed as a payment reminder, but the accompanying guidance does more than prompt a single transaction. It brings together the main administrative changes now sitting around Self Assessment, including payment plans, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and the first use of GOV.UK One Login for new HMRC digital users. For taxpayers, agents and small business owners, the timing matters because the July deadline arrives well before the final filing date for the 2025 to 2026 return. A person can therefore have a payment due in the summer even though the return itself does not need to be submitted until later. HMRC's wider aim appears to be to reduce confusion by setting out the main dates, routes to payment and digital changes in one place.
HMRC says payments on account are advance payments towards the next Self Assessment bill. In most cases they are split into two equal instalments, due by midnight on 31 January and 31 July, with each instalment based on half of the tax owed for the previous year. The balancing payment for the 2025 to 2026 tax year, together with the return itself, is due on 31 January 2027. Not every Self Assessment customer has to make these advance payments. According to HMRC, they do not usually apply where the previous year's tax bill was less than £1,000, or where more than 80% of the tax due was already collected outside Self Assessment, for example through a tax code or deductions on savings interest. Where income is expected to be lower than last year, HMRC says a customer can ask to reduce payments on account through GOV.UK.
HMRC is promoting its app as the fastest route to payment. The department says more than 110,000 Self Assessment payments have been made through the app since April 2026, and that nearly 2 million Self Assessment taxpayers have used it to make payments since the service was introduced in January 2022. The app also allows users to set reminders, track payments and view payment history. Other payment routes remain available through GOV.UK. The department is also placing weight on payment plans as a practical cash-flow tool. Customers can set up monthly or weekly arrangements, and HMRC says any amounts already paid under those plans will count towards the next Self Assessment bill. HMRC Chief Customer Officer Myrtle Lloyd said the department wanted customers to have both immediate payment and staged repayment options available, rather than facing the deadline without support.
One of the more technical points in HMRC's reminder is that payments on account can be made before a taxpayer files the underlying Self Assessment return. That distinction matters because it separates the July cash deadline from the formal filing deadline. HMRC is encouraging early filing on the basis that it gives customers an earlier view of what they owe and more time to plan for any balancing payment due by 31 January 2027. The department also says GOV.UK provides online help for people completing and filing the return. HMRC is using the same update to flag a change for people liable for the High Income Child Benefit Charge. From mid-July 2026, the department says around 300,000 online Self Assessment customers will see their own or their partner's Child Benefit payment information pre-populated in the return. The stated purpose is to make completion faster and improve accuracy for a group of taxpayers who often need to bring together information held across more than one household record.
Separate from the 31 July payment date, HMRC is drawing attention to a second deadline that follows almost immediately afterwards. Sole traders and landlords with annual turnover above £50,000 are now required to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which means keeping digital records and sending quarterly updates through compatible software. For those within scope, HMRC says the first quarterly submission deadline for the 2026 to 2027 tax year is 7 August 2026. The closeness of those dates is significant for compliance planning. A taxpayer or adviser may need to deal with a July payment on account, decide whether a reduction claim is appropriate, and then move straight into an August quarterly reporting cycle under a separate digital process. In that respect, HMRC's message is as much about software readiness and record-keeping discipline as it is about one summer payment date.
HMRC is also reminding customers that Self Assessment records do not update automatically when personal or business circumstances change. The department says taxpayers should report changes such as a new name or address, the end of self-employment, or the closure of a business, and should not assume that another organisation or adviser will do this on their behalf. Where a person no longer needs to file Self Assessment, HMRC expects them to tell the department directly. Alongside that administrative message, HMRC has confirmed that all new customers signing up to its digital services are now asked to create a GOV.UK One Login. Existing users do not need to change anything yet and should continue to use Government Gateway until HMRC contacts them. In practice, the shift to One Login is being introduced in stages rather than through a single compulsory switchover.
The final element of HMRC's update is a fraud warning. The department says criminals continue to impersonate the tax authority in an attempt to obtain money or personal data, particularly around filing and payment deadlines. The official advice is to pause before responding to unexpected contact, avoid clicking links in unsolicited messages, and never share HMRC sign-in credentials. Taken together, the summer 2026 reminder sets out four dates and milestones that matter over the next seven months: the 31 July 2026 payment on account deadline, the mid-July 2026 start of Child Benefit data pre-population, the 7 August 2026 first quarterly Making Tax Digital submission for those in scope, and the 31 January 2027 deadline to file the 2025 to 2026 return and pay any balance due. For advisers and taxpayers alike, the value of the notice lies less in the headline reminder and more in the concentration of digital and compliance changes now sitting around Self Assessment.