Thousands of Britons are deciding to use personal loans as a means to settle tax bills, Sainsbury's Bank research has suggested.

With some bills proving to be more expensive than originally thought, people in the UK are taking out an average loan of £10,885 - all to be spent on paying tax bills.

During the first three months of this year, Sainsbury's Bank predicts that consumers in the UK will take out almost 450,000 personal loans which is a cumulative figure of £49.76 million.

Steven Baillie, loans manager at Sainsbury's Bank, remarked: "Some people can find themselves facing a tax bill that is considerably higher than they had been expecting and to help cover this, will take out a personal loan."

"With the 31st January deadline just around the corner, those doing this need to ensure that they have shopped around for a competitive rate, can get an instant decision and access to the funds as quickly as possible and whatever they do, don't incur the £100 late penalty," he added.

Brits were also found to be suffering financially in terms of getting their tax self-assessment form in on time last year with some 900,000 people missing the deadline and thus incurring a fine of £100 each.

Source: moneynews.co.uk