Tax Loans for Professional Services Firms
By Joshua Giles, Founder and Director · Reviewed by the CoreFi credit team
Last updated 20 July 2026
CoreFi is a broker, not a lender. We do not set rates and lenders make all credit decisions.
In short: £10k - £500k over 3 - 12 months. Professional services is one of the few sectors where a firm can be genuinely profitable and still face a cash-flow problem on the day tax falls due.
Professional services is one of the few sectors where a firm can be genuinely profitable and still face a cash-flow problem on the day tax falls due. Margins are strong, but working capital is tied up in WIP, lock-up, and partner capital accounts, so a £200k Corporation Tax demand lands at exactly the wrong moment.
A tax loan is straightforward. A lender pays HMRC the amount due, and you repay in monthly instalments over three to twelve months. There is no charge over property and no debenture. The lender's security is the tax liability itself, which already exists as a concrete, HMRC-assessed figure, and that makes underwriting faster than most people expect.
Partnerships and LLPs have an extra dimension. The firm's Corporation Tax (or income tax allocation in an LLP) can be funded at entity level, but individual partners also carry personal Self Assessment liabilities that are entirely separate. We have placed both in parallel, sometimes in the same transaction, to stop one large tax event stripping partner drawings.
Lender appetite for professional services practices is generally good. A firm with recurring fee income, sensible lock-up ratios, and a clean tax record tends to get offers. A firm with rolling unpaid HMRC debt or defaults on previous tax payment plans will struggle, and no broker can change that. We are a commercial finance broker, so we place the deal with the right lender rather than lending ourselves.
Key Benefits
- Individual partner tax loans can run alongside the firm's corporate tax facility, keeping personal and business obligations separate
- Repayments are usually structured to clear within the same accounting year, so there is no carry-over debt sitting on next year's balance sheet
- The lender underwrites against a known, HMRC-assessed liability, so decisions come back quicker than most unsecured facilities of comparable size
- Interest on a business tax loan is deductible against Corporation Tax, which lowers the effective cost of the facility
Frequently Asked Questions
Can partners take individual tax loans?
Yes, and it is worth structuring them separately from the firm's facility. A partner in an LLP takes a personal tax loan against their own Self Assessment bill, while the firm's loan funds the entity-level liability. Bundling the two into one facility creates complications if a partner leaves mid-repayment.
What about PAYE for large teams?
A PAYE spike in bonus months is a sound case for a tax loan, though lenders treat it differently from Corporation Tax. Some will fund PAYE as a standalone facility; others prefer to see it bundled with the main CT loan. We will tell you which route fits your firm before you apply.
How does it work with tax reserves?
If you have reserves set aside, a tax loan lets you keep that cash working in the business longer. Market pricing on these facilities typically sits in the high single digits annualised, though your actual rate depends on the lender and the firm. If your cash earns more than that in the business, or avoids a call on an overdraft that costs more, the facility can pay for itself. The arithmetic is worth doing on your own numbers.
Is it available for newly incorporated practices?
Not until the first tax bill exists. Corporation Tax is not due until nine months after the end of the first accounting period, so there is nothing to fund before that point. Once a liability is assessed and the firm has at least one filed set of accounts, lenders will consider it.
Related Funding Options
Tax Loans UK: Spread Corporation Tax, PAYE & Self Assessment
Spread Corporation Tax, PAYE, and Self Assessment liabilities over 3 to 12 months. Tax loans for UK businesses from £5k to £500k. The lender pays HMRC directly.
VAT Loans for Professional Services Firms
Professional services firms carry large net VAT liabilities because staff costs carry no input VAT to offset. We place VAT loans of £5k to £300k to cover the quarterly bill without touching working capital.
Unsecured Business Loans for Professional Services Firms
Unsecured business loans for UK consultancies, law firms, accountancy practices and IT companies. Capital priced on trading strength, not property. We place these deals.
Business finance by location
Lender appetite varies by city and region. If you would rather start from where your business is based, these local guides cover the same funding with the local picture.
Researching Tax Loans? Get the free guide
Plain-English, UK-specific. What it costs, who qualifies, and how to get the best terms, straight to your inbox.
- How tax loans works and what it really costs
- Eligibility and the documents lenders ask for
- How CoreFi matches you to the right lenders from our panel
Ready to Get Funded?
Submit your details and we'll match you with the right lenders from our panel. No obligation, no fees.
Get matched with lendersCoreFi is a trading name of JG Core Ltd (Company #16218779, England & Wales). CoreFi acts as a commercial finance broker and does not provide regulated financial advice. All products described are unregulated business-to-business finance. Information on this page is for general guidance only and does not constitute a formal offer of finance. Terms, rates, and availability are subject to lender criteria and may change without notice.