Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 959AP

Payment of preliminary tax by direct debit

Section 959AP sets out the rules for paying preliminary income tax by direct debit, including the conditions a taxpayer must meet and the deemed payment date.

• A chargeable person may authorise the Collector-General to collect preliminary income tax by direct debit from their bank account, provided they comply with such conditions as the Collector-General reasonably imposes.
• Finance Act 2025 removed the previous prescriptive requirements around the number and timing of monthly instalments, giving both taxpayers and the Collector-General greater flexibility in arranging payment schedules.
• The taxpayer is not regarded as having paid preliminary tax unless all agreed direct debit payments have been made as scheduled.
• Where preliminary tax is paid in accordance with this section, it is deemed to have been paid on 31 October in the tax year for the purposes of section 959AO.

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