The UK has been told it must pay an extra £1.7bn (€2.1bn) towards the European Union's budget because the economy has performed better than expected in recent years.
The payment follows new calculations by the EU that determine how much each member state should contribute.
It would add about a fifth to the UK's annual net contribution of £8.6bn.
A government source said the demand was "not acceptable" and one Tory MP said the UK should simply refuse to pay it.
End Quote Syed Kamall Leader of Conservative MEPsThis is outrageous and harms the EU's relationship with Britain"
It comes at a time of increased pressure on David Cameron over Europe, with the Rochester and Strood by-election next month likely to be dominated by the issues of immigration and the UK's relationship with the European Union.
The recent electoral success of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party - which is hoping to win the Rochester seat from the Conservatives - has prompted renewed calls for the prime minister to renegotiate the terms of the UK's relationship with Europe.
The BBC's political correspondent Ben Wright in Brussels says the demand for more cash - which the UK government only found out about last week - has infuriated the UK and will rile many backbench Tory MPs.
'Natural justice'Mr Cameron is currently meeting other EU leaders for a summit in Brussels.
The government source said: "It's not acceptable to just change the fees for previous years and demand them back at a moment's notice.
"The European Commission was not expecting this money and does not need this money and we will work with other countries similarly affected to do all we can to challenge this."
Conservative backbencher John Redwood said the surcharge "offended all our principles of natural justice and fair taxation".
He suggested the UK should simply refuse to pay the extra amount and that Parliament should be asked to pass a law declaring the payment illegal.
"It is a very large increase in tax on the British people charged retrospectively without their agreement," he told Radio 4's Today programme.
'Harms EU relationship'The additional payment was requested after the European Commission's statistics agency, Eurostat, reviewed the economic performances of member states since 1995, and readjusted the contributions made by each state over the past four years based on their pace of growth.
Under the new calculations, the UK and the Netherlands are both being asked to pay more, while France and Germany are both set to receive rebates.
The additional payment is due on 1 December.
Mr Cameron is meeting his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte to discuss how they might challenge the surcharges.
Analysis by Europe correspondent Chris Morris
For the prime minister, the timing could hardly be worse.
The European Commission has reviewed the economic performance of all member states since 1995, and revised its economic statistics to take greater account of things like income from the black economy.
The result is that the UK faces by far the largest extra payment. The Netherlands and Italy also have big bills to pay, and even a struggling country like Greece will see its contribution go up.
In contrast, both Germany and France will get rebates - €1bn for the French.
EU officials say it is a technical not a political decision, and it has been worked out under rules agreed by all member states.
But it will certainly add to political tensions about Europe in the UK, at a time when opinion polls say UKIP is on course to win its second parliamentary seat in Rochester and Strood next month.
Patrizio Fiorilli, a European Commission spokesman, said the additional request for funds "reflects an increase in wealth".
"Just as in Britain you pay more to the Inland Revenue if your earnings go up," he said.
But the leader of the Conservative MEPs, Syed Kamall, said the UK was being penalised for its austerity measures.
"The European Commission is penalising Britain for taking tough decisions, putting in place a long-term economic plan and for having the most successful economy in the EU, while actually rewarding France for being an economic basket case," he said.
"David Cameron is absolutely right to stand up to this attempted daylight robbery by the EU.
"This is outrageous and harms the EU's relationship with Britain. At times like this, the European Commission can be its own worst enemy."
UKIP budget spokesman Jonathan Arnott, a member of the budget committee in the European Parliament, said it was "astonishing" for the EU to demand the payment.
He told the Today programme it "puts the British government in a very difficult position".
While Mr Cameron is "likely to try to negotiate", the most he can hope to achieve is a "Pyrrhic victory", added Mr Arnott.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Business for Britain, which campaigns for fundamental EU reform, said: "It's staggering that the UK is being punished by Brussels for making the correct decisions, such as staying out of the the euro, that have allowed our economy to grow."
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