References for Paying Taxes
Some tax reference numbers change each year or period, and others remain the same. So, find below a helpful guide to which references for which taxes will remain the same and which one’s you need to be aware may change:
1. Easy One’s First – Remains the Same:
Personal Tax:
This is always your UTR (Unique Taxpayer Number) with a K at the end
VAT:
This is always your VAT number
2. Changes Each Time:
Corporation Tax:
This changes slightly each year. The payment reference will always start with the company’s UTR number, followed by AXXXXXA and this reference changes for each corporation tax return that is filed. As long as you haven’t made any changes to the date of your accounting period, this will increase by one each time.
For example – year ended 31 March 2018 – payment reference was XXXXXXXXXXA00103A the reference for the year ended 31 March 2019 will be XXXXXXXXXXA00104A
PAYE:
You should only have to use the accounts office reference number (this is the format of 3 numbers, 2 letters and then 8 numbers. Some banks or payment types require an additional reference. This is based on the PAYE tax year and the PAYE month (so is an additional 4 digits).
The PAYE tax year runs from 6 April until the following 5 April (or April to March in general terms).
The reference year is the 2 digits relating to the end date. So, for example, the tax year 6 April 2019 until 5 April 2020 has the reference 20.
The PAYE month’s follow the same format – so April is month 01 and March is month 12.
So, a payment for March 2020 will have the 4-digit additional reference 2012.
As ever, if you are unsure which payment reference to use, please check with your usual contact.
