How to pay corporation tax

Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
Produced by Tolley in association with Anton Lane of Edge Tax
Corporation Tax
Guidance

How to pay corporation tax

Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
Produced by Tolley in association with Anton Lane of Edge Tax
Corporation Tax
Guidance
imgtext

Methods of paying corporation tax

All corporation tax must be paid electronically. There are several different methods of making electronic payments:

  1. •

    Direct Debit

  2. •

    internet, telephone or BACS direct credit

  3. •

    corporate debit or credit card

  4. •

    Bank Giro

  5. •

    CHAPs

Corporation tax payment reference number

Each form of payment requires the inclusion of a corporation tax payment reference. The ‘payment reference’ is different to the unique taxpayer reference (‘UTR’) and is a 17-character reference for the accounting period to which the payment relates.

The corporation tax reference is usually printed on the payslip and other HMRC correspondence and consists in part of the unique taxpayer reference (UTR) number. If the company does not know the corporation tax reference number, HMRC should be contacted to confirm this. Failure to quote the payment reference number when making a payment may cause acknowledgement of the payment to be delayed, returned or allocated to the wrong accounting period.

Payment by Direct Debit

In order to pay by Direct Debit, the company has to be registered with

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Anton Lane
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Managing Partner, Edge Tax LLP , Corporate Tax, OMB, Employment Tax, International Tax, Personal Tax, IHT Trusts and Estates

I started my career helping to sort out tax problems for high net worth individuals, corporations and high profile clients under investigation for suspected serious fraud at Ernst & Young. I specialised in anti avoidance legislation targeting offshore structures and held senior positions with large offshore fiduciary service providers. I established the Edge brand over a decade ago and in 2012 focused the main business on managing tax risks, handling suspected serious fraud cases and assisting clients and advisers with disclosures to HMRC.

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  • 01 Aug 2023 11:11

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