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TaxDebtResolution
Free · HMRC

IVA Eligibility Checker

Check whether an Individual Voluntary Arrangement could deal with tax you owe HMRC alongside other debts, and whether one creditor could block it.

In short: What is an IVA?

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is an agreement with your creditors to pay all or part of your debts. You make regular payments to an insolvency practitioner, who shares the money between your creditors. It can give you more control of your assets than bankruptcy.

Last reviewed against 2 official sources.

Try an example:

Your unsecured debts

What you could pay

Share of debt you'd repay

42%

£15,000 of £36,000 over 60 months, before fees

From monthly payments
£15,000
Left unpaid at the end
£21,000
HMRC's share of the debt
25%

An IVA could fit

  • No single creditor can block it and you have money to offer each month.

An IVA needs creditors holding 75% of your debt to agree. The insolvency practitioner's fees come out of your payments, so creditors receive less than shown.

Who holds the voting power

HMRC holds 25% of the debt. Any creditor with more than 25% can block approval alone.

Repaid against written off

About 42% of the debt is repaid over 60 months.

The link holds your numbers in the address. Nothing is sent to us.

What the checker looks at

  1. Can you make regular payments? An IVA is built on monthly contributions.
  2. Who holds the debt? Approval needs creditors holding 75% by value, so anyone owed more than 25% holds a veto.
  3. Could you just pay it? If your surplus clears everything in a reasonable time, a payment plan may be cheaper.

Worked example

Sam owes HMRC £9,000 and has £27,000 of other unsecured debt, with £250 a month to spare. Over an illustrative 60 months he pays £15,000, about 42% of the £36,000, before fees. HMRC holds exactly 25%, so no single creditor can block the vote on its own.

Limits

  • The length and payments are set with an insolvency practitioner; the figures here are illustrations.
  • Fees reduce what creditors receive.

Reading the charts

Each chart redraws as you change the inputs and uses the same calculation as the result above. Choose "Show data" for the exact figures as a table, or download them as a CSV. "Copy link" saves your numbers in the page address so you can come back to the result or share it; nothing is sent to us.

Official sources

Figures last reviewed .

Frequently asked questions

What is an IVA?

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is an agreement with your creditors to pay all or part of your debts. You make regular payments to an insolvency practitioner, who shares the money between your creditors. It can give you more control of your assets than bankruptcy.

How does an IVA get approved?

Your insolvency practitioner works out what you can afford and proposes it to your creditors. It starts if creditors holding 75% of your debts agree, and then applies to all of them, including those who voted against.

Can HMRC stop my IVA?

If HMRC is owed more than 25% of your total debt, the other creditors can't reach 75% without it, so HMRC's vote decides the outcome. The same applies to any single creditor holding more than a quarter of the debt.

How much of my debt will be written off?

There's no fixed percentage. It depends on what you can afford each month, any assets, the length agreed and the fees. The calculator shows the share you'd repay from your own figures.

What does an IVA cost?

There's usually a set-up fee and a handling fee each time you make a payment. Ask the insolvency practitioner for the total cost before they act for you.

What are the risks?

If you don't keep up the repayments the practitioner can cancel the IVA and make you bankrupt. Your IVA appears on the Individual Insolvency Register until 3 months after it ends. Get free debt advice from MoneyHelper before deciding.

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Disclaimer: This tool gives a general estimate based on what you enter and the published rules. It is not tax, legal or financial advice, and the tax authority makes the final decision. Speak to a qualified professional before acting. See our disclaimer.