A stand over can be used to postpone certain Self-Assessment payments due to HMRC. There are two types of stand over payments, a formal stand over and an informal stand over.

A formal stand over is used to stand over any Self-Assessment charge against which a postponement application may legally be made.

Formal stand overs may be made against SA charges arising from a:

• Revenue assessment
• Revenue amendment
• Jeopardy amendment

There is no legal right to formally postpone charges arising from

• Penalties
• Surcharge
• Interest

An informal stand over can be used to postpone collection of a charge in order to ensure that a payment is set against another charge on the taxpayer’s Self-Assessment record. An informal stand over should not be used if it is possible to formally stand over all or part of the charge. An informal stand over need not be accompanied by an appeal.