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IVA Annual Review – How You can Prepare for It with Tips

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Scott Nelson

Managing Director

MoneyNerd’s founder, Scott Nelson, has a decade of financial industry experience, including 6 years in FCA regulated loan and credit card companies. Troubled by a lack of conscience in the industry, he founded MoneyNerd to give genuine advice to those in debt and struggling financially.

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Janine
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Janine Marsh

Financial Expert

Janine Marsh is an award-winning presenter and a valuable member of the MoneyNerd team. With a wealth of experience as a financial expert, she's been featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Local Radio, and BBC Five Live, and is a regular on Co-op Radio.

Learn more about Janine
· Jan 16th, 2024
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IVA Annual Review

For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.

If you’re dealing with an IVA Annual Review, we’re here to help. This process checks if your IVA agreement still fits your needs. We’ll help you prepare and give you tips on what to do.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

  • What the IVA Annual Review is.
  • The way the review can change your IVA agreement.
  • What you need to do before your review.
  • How to ensure your IVA Annual Review goes smoothly.

We know that dealing with an IVA Annual Review can seem a bit scary, but don’t worry. Over 170,000 people visit our website to get guidance on debt solutions each month. We understand your concerns, and we’re here to help. Let’s dive in and learn more about how to prepare for your IVA Annual Review.

Could you legally write off some debt?

There are several debt solutions in the UK, choosing the right one for you could write off some of your unaffordable debt, but the wrong one may be expensive and drawn out.

Answer below to get started.

How much debt do you have?

This isn’t a full fact find. MoneyNerd doesn’t give advice. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options.

What Is the IVA Annual Review?

When you enter an Individual Voluntary Agreement, your IVA firm will conduct an IVA review every 12 months.

The IVA annual review tracks your debt management progress made in those 12 months and lays down a financial plan for the next year in accordance with your IVA terms.  

Usually, the items that are checked in your annual evaluation relate to:

  • The debt paid so far.
  • The remaining payments to the creditors.
  • Your expected income.
  • Your (planned) financial position in the upcoming months.

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Fill out the short debt form

Things to Look at Before Your Annual Review

It will speed up the IVA annual review process if you prepare the documents that you know you’ll need ahead of time. These documents are very important and will be kept secure throughout the process; the IVA firms are liable for the data protection of their clients. 

The documents needed include:

Bank Statements

Bank statements are a document provided by any banks you use regularly. It holds all the transactions that you have made through these banks, including all the funds transferred in and out of your account, payments, and charges – everything is listed in bank statements. 

Make sure you request bank statements from your bank when preparing your IVA annual evaluation

PaySlips

A payslip refers to a note that is provided by an employer to their employee. The document mentions your income, tax, and other relevant details. 

You need to provide payslips in an IVA evaluation to track and analyze your income

Income And Expenditure Report 

An income and expenditure export is not always required for an IVA evaluation. However, it is important that you have it and you make full use of it. 

The income and expense reports show all your expenses and income for a specific period of time. If you aren’t sure where to start with building this document, it is a good idea to contact an accountant or other relevant financial professional.  

P60 Tax Form 

The P60 Tax form shows the tax paid against your income, and it is commonly required during an IVA evaluation. The tax form helps to rebate tax if you have paid extra tax against your income. 

Make sure you have all these documents ready and give them to your agency in a timely manner. With the help of these documents, the financial conduct authority of the firm can analyze your IVA fairly. 

How a debt solution could help

Some debt solutions can:

  1. Stop nasty calls from creditors
  2. Freeze interest and charges
  3. Reduce your monthly payments

A few debt solutions can even result in writing off some of your debt.

Here’s an example:


Situation

Monthly income £2,504
Monthly expenses £2,345
Total debt £32,049

Monthly debt repayments

Before £587
After £158

£429 reduction in monthly payments

IVA Case Study - Comparison between £587 of average previous payments to £158 of new payments after an IVA is set up.

If you want to learn what debt solutions are available to you, click the button below to get started.

Get started

Tips for Ensuring Your IVA Annual Review Goes Smoothly:

Many people are worried before an annual review of their IVA. However, if you understand the purpose of the evaluation and have all the necessary documents ready, there is nothing to worry about. 

Throughout the rest of the year, it’s important to update your budget regularly, keep all of your financial documentation organised, and check your credit report every couple of months.

How Does the Annual Review Affect IVA Agreement Terms?

The IVA annual review is conducted to look at your financial standings for that current year, and the original terms may change if your financial position has changed significantly. 

There is also the possibility that you have achieved certain benchmarks or goals in repaying debt, and because of this, your agreement terms may change. 

If your financial position has changed, the IVA firm may be able to negotiate some terms and agreements with your creditors to keep the IVA viable. 

Should you let your IVA firm know about upcoming financial changes?

If you are planning some major financial moves in the near future, the terms could also be affected. This includes getting a mortgage. All of this is reviewed by your financial agency, and then through negotiations with the creditors. 

It is important to maintain a line of communication with your IVA firm throughout the year. This will ensure that any changes in your financial situation, both positive and negative, are documented and can help prevent any surprises during the annual review.

It is not always necessary that your terms will change after an IVA review. Even if your financial standing has changed, your consultancy firm might not change your terms. 

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FAQs

What is the Date for the Annual Review?
There is no specific date for the annual evaluation of your IVA agreement, the IVA evaluation will happen on the date you entered the IVA. If you want to request an IVA evaluation on your behalf, you can do it anytime, I will advise you to do a personal analysis of your agreement every 3 months.
Why Do the Terms and Conditions Change after the Review?
The terms and conditions change in accordance to provide a viable solution to your IVA plan. If the terms and conditions do not change while your financial circumstances drastically change, the IVA will not be viable for the parties involved. Hence, the terms have to change to provide a feasible agreement for everyone.
Is it Compulsory to Pay higher Monthly Payments after the Review?
No, you don’t need to pay higher monthly IVA payment after the evaluation. The change in payment will be determined by the firm as they see appropriate and at times there is a possibility that your payments actually will be decreased for the time being. That decrease might be temporary and to cover it up you may have to increase payments in the future to keep the IVA on track.
What Happens if My Income Has Decreased?
If your income has decreased your IVA debt payments might get affected. This will be reviewed in the annual evaluation of your IVA, in this case, the firm will decide the upcoming debt strategy and management for you. However, if you want personal debt advice in this situation, you can refer to your IP or some external debt advisor. A friendly tip, please don’t follow any debt advice that is not in accordance with the law. Companies that are authorised and regulated by the financial authorities, will always provide you safe advice.
Where to get your IVA Reviewed?
Usually, the IVA firm with whom you are working will evaluate your IVA at the end of your agreement year, you can also get it evaluated by a personal legal advisor and financial advisor. Stepchange IVA reviews is a good facility for a free evaluation of your agreement. You can check their website by clicking here.  Please make sure that you select a good IVA company that is authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority of the government.
Could you legally write off some debt?

Answer below to get started.

How much debt do you have?

This isn’t a full fact find. MoneyNerd doesn’t give advice. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options.

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The authors
Scott Nelson Profile Picture
Author
MoneyNerd’s founder, Scott Nelson, has a decade of financial industry experience, including 6 years in FCA regulated loan and credit card companies. Troubled by a lack of conscience in the industry, he founded MoneyNerd to give genuine advice to those in debt and struggling financially.
Janine Marsh Profile Picture
Debt Expert
Janine Marsh is an award-winning presenter and a valuable member of the MoneyNerd team. With a wealth of experience as a financial expert, she's been featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Local Radio, and BBC Five Live, and is a regular on Co-op Radio.