SMEs are increasingly looking to spread the cost of their tax bills as they grapple with higher rates, new data from Premium Credit, a leading provider of finance, shows.
It saw a 20% rise in the number of companies it helps spread the cost of VAT, corporation tax and self-assessment tax payments last year and a 24% rise in total lending from the previous year as tax increases including Employers’ National Insurance hit SMEs.
Premium Credit is one of the leading funders of tax finance in the UK, providing flexible VAT, corporation tax and self-assessment solutions allowing clients to spread the cost of these tax liabilities for up to a year.
Around 40% of Premium Credit’s tax lending last year was for VAT bills with 60% of lending for corporation tax and self-assessment payments. Lending for VAT bills rose 23% last year while non-VAT lending grew by 25%.
Growth in 2025 builds on expansion in previous years – the number of customers has increased 58% since 2023 while total lending has also increased by 58%. Over the past two years non-VAT lending has increased by 61% while VAT lending has grown by 54%.
In 2025, the average size of loan to help pay VAT tax bills was £126,600 – up 17% on the previous year and 25% over two years – while for non-VAT tax bills it was £70,200 compared with nearly £70,000 in the previous year and £73,600 in 2023.
