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Taxpayer’s turnover is less than £150,000 a year

A letter offering help and support is sent to the taxpayer the first time they pay late within any 12 month period.

A Surcharge Liability Notice is sent to the taxpayer if they pay late again within 12 months of their first default.

For example: Mr Jones pays the return for the 06/16 accounting period late and an automatic letter offering help and support is issued on 9 August 2016. A Surcharge Liability Notice will be issued to Mr Jones� if he pays late in respect of an accounting period ending between 9 August 2016 and 30 June 2017.

Taxpayer’s turnover is £150,000 or more a year

A Surcharge Liability Notice is sent to the taxpayer the first time they pay late within any 12 month period. This notice explains that the taxpayer may be liable to a surcharge if they default again during what is called the ‘surcharge period�. The surcharge period begins on the date of the notice and ends 12 months from the end of the accounting period in default.

For example:

Accounting period in default	Surcharge Liability Notice issued	Surcharge period
06/16	9 October 2016	9 October 2016 to 30 June 2017

Note: In the example the taxpayer cannot be surcharged if their 09/16 payment is late. This is because the accounting period end date for 09/16 is after the start of the surcharge period. The first accounting period that may be liable to a surcharge is 12/16.