Nearly half a million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have missed tax deadlines in the past three years, according to research from Premium Credit.
Around 9% of the UK’s 5.487 million SMEs said they missed payment deadlines for corporation tax, VAT, or other taxes.
Of those, 19% said they missed five or more deadlines in the past 12 months.
Around 12% said they might use HMRC’s time to pay scheme in the next three years, which lets eligible businesses pay corporation tax arrears over three to six months.
Around 9% of SME owners and managers said they had worked at a firm that closed because it could not pay its tax bills.
About 380,000, or 7%, said there was a risk their current business could be forced to shut in the next five years over unpaid tax.
SME owners and managers were divided on whether HMRC had become tougher on tax arrears.
20% said it had, 23% thought it was more supportive, 30% said nothing had changed, and 27% did not express a view.
Last year, 18% thought HMRC had got tougher, 19% said it was more understanding, 32% saw no change, and 31% gave no view.
Jennie Hill, chief commercial officer at Premium Credit (specialist finance), said: “The number of SMEs missing tax deadlines is worrying and the fines they face will simply add to their problems by further restricting cashflow.
“Spreading the cost of tax bills over a year for a small fee can help companies to plan more efficiently and avoid any risk of fines or penalties which can be crippling for a business that is already struggling to meet its tax obligations.
“Being able to spread the cost of tax bills into convenient monthly payments helps businesses to manage cash flow and investing in themselves.”
