The dates
that actually matter.

The UK tax year runs 6 April to 5 April. Self Assessment is due online by 31 January after it ends, with payments on account due 31 January and 31 July. VAT returns are usually due one month and seven days after each quarter, and corporation tax nine months and a day after year end.

General guidance for UK businesses, not tax advice. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change — check gov.uk, or ask your accountant, before acting on anything here.

LAST REVIEWED 27 AUGUST 2026 · BIZZLE

The dates everyone needs

DateWhat is due
6 AprilNew tax year begins. Payroll rates and thresholds change from here.
31 MayP60s must be with employees for the tax year just ended.
6 JulyP11D benefits and expenses returns due for the year just ended.
31 JulySecond payment on account for Self Assessment.
5 OctoberDeadline to register for Self Assessment if you started trading in the tax year just ended.
31 OctoberPaper Self Assessment return deadline.
30 DecemberDeadline to file online if you want tax collected through your PAYE code.
31 JanuaryOnline Self Assessment return, balancing payment, and first payment on account.
5 AprilTax year ends.

Dates that depend on your own year end

  • VAT returns: usually one calendar month and seven days after the end of each VAT quarter.
  • Corporation tax payment: nine months and one day after the end of the accounting period.
  • Company tax return: twelve months after the end of the accounting period — later than the payment, which surprises people every year.
  • Company accounts to Companies House: generally nine months after the year end for a private company.
  • Confirmation statement: annually, on the anniversary of incorporation or the last statement.

Payroll dates, if you employ anyone

  • Full Payment Submission: on or before every payday, not afterwards.
  • PAYE and National Insurance payment: 22nd of the following month if paying electronically, 19th if by post.
  • Employer Payment Summary: by the 19th of the following month where one is needed.
  • P60s to employees by 31 May, P11Ds by 6 July.

What is changing

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax introduces quarterly updates for sole traders and landlords in scope, phased in by income level. That replaces one annual reconstruction with four smaller submissions, which is easier if your records are current and considerably worse if they are not.

Thresholds and start dates for that phasing have moved before. Check gov.uk for where you sit rather than relying on a date you read once.

TERMS USED ON THIS PAGE

VAT returnVATcorporation taxCompanies Houseyear endPAYEP60Making Tax Digital (MTD)sole traderAll terms →

COMMON QUESTIONS

Questions people ask.

What is a payment on account?

An advance payment towards next year's tax bill, due in two instalments on 31 January and 31 July, each normally half of last year's liability. It catches people in their second year of trading, when a tax bill arrives alongside an advance for the year ahead.

What happens if I file late?

An automatic penalty applies immediately for Self Assessment, and it escalates with time. VAT now uses a points-based system where repeated small slips accumulate into a penalty. Interest runs on late payment separately from penalties.

Do these dates change?

The structural ones — 6 April, 31 January — are stable. Rates, thresholds and Making Tax Digital timings change at Budgets, so treat any figure as needing a check against gov.uk before you act on it.

What if a deadline falls on a weekend?

For most of them the date is the date, and where a payment has to clear by it a weekend means paying on the Friday before. The PAYE payment deadline is the one that catches people: it moves earlier, to the last working day before the 22nd, not later.

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