Wrong HMRC payment reference may fund a different tax bill

HMRC has changed what its payment guidance says happens when the payment reference is wrong. Two payment guides — Pay Insurance Premium Tax and Pay tax as a pension scheme administrator — previously said only that an incorrect reference number would delay allocation of the paymentGOVGOV. Both now say the payment may instead be used to pay a different tax bill the payer owesGOVGOV.

Both guides add the same remedy: where a payment has paid the wrong tax bill, the payer can contact the relevant HMRC enquiries team and ask for the payment to be movedGOVGOV. Insurance Premium Tax payers contact Insurance Premium Tax enquiries; pension scheme administrators contact Pension schemes general enquiries.

The mechanics each guide describes are otherwise unchanged. Insurance Premium Tax payers still need their 15-character reference number starting with X, found on the registration certificate, the notice to file, or other HMRC correspondence. Pension scheme administrators still need their 14-character reference number starting with X, found on the online receipt for returns submitted through the pension schemes online service or in the 'payments and charges' screen for each return submitted through the managing pension schemes service.

Practically, the change matters for anyone paying under either regime who mistypes or reuses a reference: the consequence is no longer framed as delay alone, and there is now a stated route to recover a misallocated payment. For pension scheme administrators the stakes are concrete. They must submit their return or event report and pay any tax within 45 calendar days of the end of the tax period, and where a reportable event occurs within a tax year they must submit the event report by 31 January following the end of that tax year. A wound-up scheme faces the earlier of three months from the winding-up date and the 31 January deadline. If a deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the payment must reach HMRC by the end of the previous working day.

Payment method does not change the reference risk, but the guides set out the options each payer has. Pension scheme administrators can pay online by approving a payment through their bank account or by debit or corporate credit card, with a non-refundable fee for corporate cards and no personal credit cards accepted; a payment accepted online counts from the date it is made, not the date it reaches HMRC's account. Bank transfers go to sort code 08 32 10, account number 12001020 in the name HMRC Shipley for UK accounts, while Insurance Premium Tax payers use sort code 08 32 00, account number 11963163 in the name HMRC Insurance Premium Tax. Insurance Premium Tax payers can also set up a Direct Debit, allowing 10 working days for HMRC to set it up, but must pay another way for amounts over £20 million. Even where there is nothing to pay, an Insurance Premium Tax return must still be submitted.

The late-payment position is unchanged — missing the deadline can still mean a penalty, interest, or both.

Legal basis: HMRC guidance 'Pay Insurance Premium Tax' and 'Pay tax as a pension scheme administrator', 'What you need' sections.