I have to work over 3 months for free to pay a tax bill of over £5500 from the previous year. First payment is £3900. As my average monthly income from freelance work is about £2000, around 3 months worth of my income goes to HMRC when you include the payment on account. How can it be right that 3 months' worth of my income every year goes to the taxman? 3 months of work for no personal enjoyment or benefit whatsoever. This is very unfair.