Tax deadlines
The deadlines that catch people out, and the ones that depend on your own year end. Worth a bookmark, whether or not you ever work with me.
Fixed dates
These fall on the same date regardless of your business, listed in tax-year order from January.
31 January
Sole traders, landlords, company directors
Online tax return for the tax year ending the previous 5 April, plus any balancing payment owed and the first payment on account for the current year. The one everybody knows, and the one that causes the most January panic.
5 April
Everyone
The last day of the tax year. Anything you were planning to do for this year's tax position needs to be done by now, not after.
6 April
Everyone
New rates, new allowances, and the point at which Making Tax Digital obligations take effect for anyone newly brought into scope.
31 May
Employers
Every employee on the payroll at 5 April must have their P60 by this date.
6 July
Employers providing benefits
Report expenses and benefits provided to employees for the tax year just ended.
22 July
Employers providing benefits
Payment of Class 1A NIC on benefits reported on the P11D(b), where paying electronically.
31 July
Sole traders and landlords in the payments-on-account system
The second instalment towards the current tax year. Catches people out because there is no return to file alongside it, so it arrives with no warning.
5 October
Anyone newly self-employed or with new untaxed income
If you started trading or began receiving untaxed income in the tax year that ended the previous April, you must tell HMRC by this date.
31 October
Anyone filing on paper
Three months earlier than the online deadline, which is one of several reasons almost everybody now files online.
Making Tax Digital 2026/27
These are quarterly updates, not tax returns. The tax return for 2026/27 is still due by 31 January 2028.
Quarter 1
7 August 2026
Quarter 2
7 November 2026
Quarter 3
7 February 2027
Quarter 4
7 May 2027
Depends on your year end
These are rules rather than dates. A fixed date here would be wrong for most businesses, because they are counted from your own period end.
1 month + 7 days
VAT-registered businesses
After the end of each VAT quarter. A quarter ending 31 March is due by 7 May. Other VAT schemes, including annual accounting, work to different dates. Under Making Tax Digital these must be filed from compatible software.
9 months
Private limited companies
After your accounting reference date. First accounts after incorporation work differently and are usually due 21 months after the incorporation date.
9 months + 1 day
Limited companies
After the end of your accounting period. Note that the tax is payable before the return itself is due, which surprises a lot of first-time directors.
12 months
Limited companies
After the end of your accounting period.
12 months + 14 days
Limited companies
Your review period runs for 12 months from the date of incorporation, or from your last statement, and you then have 14 days to file. It is a check that the register is still correct rather than an accounts filing.
19th or 22nd
Employers
Of the month following the tax month. The 19th if paying by post, the 22nd if paying electronically. RTI submissions themselves are due on or before each payday.
This is general information, not advice about your situation. Deadlines move occasionally, thresholds change most years, and plenty of businesses have obligations that are not on this list. If a date on this page matters to you, it is worth checking it against your own circumstances rather than taking a web page at its word, mine included.
That is most of what I do. Book a free 30-minute consultation and we can work out which of these dates actually apply to you.
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