What to do if you paid tax to the wrong HMRC account

In the UK, it sometimes happens that a payment to HMRC is sent to the wrong account or with an incorrect reference. This is not a critical issue, but it should be corrected as soon as possible.

First of all, there is no need to panic — the money usually does not get lost, it is simply not allocated to the correct tax account and may be held by HMRC as an “unallocated payment” until it is clarified.

The next step is to contact HMRC or ask your accountant to submit a reallocation request, specifying the correct tax type and period. In most cases, the payment can be transferred without loss, but it may take some time to process.