RSTP3010 - Penalties for failing to pay SLfT on time

In this page of guidance:

• all references to a table are to the table in RSTP3008;
• the ‘penalty date’ means the day after the day mentioned in column 5 of the table, in other words the day you first become liable to a penalty for failing to pay tax due as a result of an item in column 3 of the table.

If you fail to pay in full any SLfT due in relation to an item in column 3 of the table, and that failure continues after the date specified in column 5, you are liable to a penalty of 1% of the unpaid tax amount.

In addition, a penalty period begins to run from the penalty date for the payment of tax. This penalty period ends 12 months after the date specified in column 5 of the table, unless it is extended by the rules below.

If a penalty period has begun because you have failed to make a particular type of SLfT-related payment (‘payment A’) and, before the end of that period, you fail to make another same SLfT-related payment (‘payment B’) on or before the relevant date specified in column 5:

• you are still liable to a penalty of 1% of the unpaid tax amount for failing to make payment A;
• the penalty period that has begun in relation to payment A is extended so that it now ends 12 months after the date in column 5 for payment B; and
• you are liable to a penalty for failing to make payment B on or before the date specified in column 5. This penalty amount is determined by the number of defaults that you have made during the penalty period.

If the failure to make payment B is your first default during the penalty period, you are liable (at the time of the default) to a penalty of 2% of the amount of the default.

If the failure to make payment B is your second default during the penalty period, you are liable (at the time of the default) to a penalty of 3% of the amount of the default.

If the failure to make payment B is your third or subsequent default during the penalty period, you are liable (at the time of the default) to a penalty of 4% of the amount of the default.

For the purposes of above, a default occurs when you fail to pay an amount of tax in full on or before the date when it becomes due and payable (in other words, the date specified in column 4 of the table). The amount of the default is the amount which you fail to pay.

Each time you default on a new payment during the penalty period, the penalty period is extended so that it instead ends 12 months after the date specified in column 5 for the latest default during the penalty period.

If any amount of any required payment (whether payment A, payment B etc.) is still unpaid after six months from the penalty date, you are liable to a further penalty of 5% of that unpaid amount.

If any amount of any required payment (whether payment A, payment B etc.) is still unpaid after 12 months from the penalty date, you are liable to a further penalty of 5% of that unpaid amount.

RSTPA 2014 sections 170-173