The BIG Guide to Tax Deadlines

Running a business means dealing with deadlines.

Some come round every month.
Some once a year.
Some depend on your year end.

Miss them, and HMRC or Companies House will usually respond with penalties, interest, awkward letters, or all three.

And because we’re now at the start of a new tax year, this is a good time to get the important dates straight before they start creeping up on you.

This guide pulls the main UK tax and compliance deadlines into one place, so you can see what matters, when it matters, and what is likely to apply to you over the months ahead.

It covers:

• Self Assessment

• Making Tax Digital

• VAT

• payroll and PAYE

• Corporation Tax

• Companies House

• employee benefits

• CIS

• workplace pensions

Think of it as your master tax calendar for the year ahead, so let's get into it.

Self Assessment deadlines

Self Assessment applies to people like sole traders, freelancers, landlords and others with untaxed income. Some directors also need to file, including where they receive dividends or other untaxed income, but not every director automatically has to submit a return just because they are a director.

5 October

Deadline to register for Self Assessment if you need to file for the first time.

So if you started trading during the 2025/26 tax year and now need to file a return, you would normally need to register by 5 October 2026.

31 October

Deadline for paper tax returns.

Most people file online now, but the paper deadline still exists.

31 January

This is the big one.

It is normally the deadline for:

• submitting the online tax return

• paying the tax owed

• making the first payment on account

So the 2025/26 online tax return is normally due by 31 January 2027.

31 July

Deadline for the second payment on account, where payments on account apply.

One extra date worth knowing: if you want HMRC to try to collect tax through your PAYE code, the online return usually needs to be in by 30 December instead.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

From 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 now have to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

The threshold then drops to £30,000 from 6 April 2027, and HMRC’s current timetable says it then drops to £20,000 from 6 April 2028.

So MTD for Income Tax is no longer something that is “coming soon” for the first group. It has now started.

Businesses within MTD need to:

• keep digital records

• send quarterly updates using compatible software

• complete the year-end filing through software as well

For businesses using the standard quarterly periods, the first deadlines are:

• 7 August 2026

• 7 November 2026

• 7 February 2027

• 7 May 2027

The year-end filing and payment deadline still lands on 31 January after the end of the tax year.

So the January deadline does not disappear. The quarterly reporting gets added, and the year-end filing moves into software.

VAT deadlines

VAT is usually reported quarterly.

The normal VAT Return deadline is one calendar month and 7 days after the end of the VAT period, and that is normally also the payment deadline.

So if a VAT quarter ends on 31 March, the deadline is usually 7 May.

If you are VAT registered, you still have to file a return even if there is nothing to pay or reclaim.

VAT registration

You normally have to register for VAT if:

• your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a rolling 12-month period, or

• you expect taxable turnover to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days

And yes, this is still one of the most common things people get caught on:

It is not based on the tax year.

Payroll and PAYE deadlines

If we run payroll for you, the important deadline is not just HMRC’s deadline. It is your deadline to get us the payroll information in good time before payday.

That means sending over things like:

• new starters

• leavers

• pay changes

• bonuses or commissions

• statutory pay changes

• anything else affecting wages

HMRC requires the FPS to be sent on or before payday, so the earlier we have the information, the smoother everything runs.

PAYE and National Insurance are normally due to HMRC by the 22nd of the following month if paying electronically, or the 19th if paying by post. Very small employers paying less than £1,500 a month may be allowed to pay quarterly instead.

If quarterly payment is allowed, the usual deadlines are:

• 22 July

• 22 October

• 22 January

• 22 April

Two payroll year-end dates are also worth keeping in the diary:

• your final payroll report for the year is sent on or before your employees’ last payday

• P60s must be given to employees by 31 May

P11D and employee benefit deadlines

If benefits are not payrolled, employers may still need to report them after the tax year ends.

By 6 July after the end of the tax year, employers normally need to:

• report expenses and benefits

• give employees a copy of the information

• report the total Class 1A NIC due

The Class 1A NIC itself is normally due by 22 July if paying electronically, or 19 July by cheque.

So this section is really about P11D and P11D(b) deadlines, not just P11Ds on their own.

Corporation Tax deadlines

For most private limited companies, Corporation Tax is normally due 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period.

The Company Tax Return is usually due 12 months after the end of the accounting period.

That gap matters, because the payment deadline arrives before the filing deadline.

So if your company year end is 31 March 2026, the Corporation Tax would usually be due by 1 January 2027, and the Company Tax Return would usually be due by 31 March 2027.

If profits are high enough for instalment rules to apply, Corporation Tax may need to be paid earlier and in instalments instead.

Companies House deadlines

For a private limited company, annual accounts are normally due 9 months after the financial year end.

First accounts work differently and are usually due 21 months after incorporation.

Confirmation statement

A confirmation statement must be filed at least once every 12 months, but the fuller rule is that it must be filed within 14 days of the end of the review period.

That still applies even if nothing has changed.

Companies House identity verification

This is one a lot of directors still have not sorted.

Identity verification became a legal requirement from 18 November 2025. But that date was not a one-day deadline for everyone. It marked the start of a 12-month transition period.

For new directors, identity verification is now part of the appointment process.

For existing directors, the timing usually links to the company’s next confirmation statement during the transition period, so this is not a single deadline that hit everyone on the same day.

The practical point is simple: if you still have not dealt with it, do not leave it until the last minute.

Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)

If you are a contractor under CIS, the monthly return is due by the 19th of each month following the end of the tax month.

For example, payments made in the tax month 6 May to 5 June must be reported by 19 June.

CIS deductions are also usually paid over with PAYE by the 22nd of the month if paying electronically, or the 19th if paying by post.

Workplace pension deadlines

Workplace pensions are not an HMRC deadline in the same way VAT or PAYE is, but they still matter.

Employers need to:

• enrol eligible staff

• keep records

• pay contributions

Once staff are in the scheme, contributions deducted from pay must usually reach the pension scheme by the 22nd day of the next month, or the 19th if paid by cheque or other non-electronic means.

So the practical rule is simple: once staff are enrolled, pension contributions need to be dealt with on time every payroll cycle, not “when someone remembers”.

The tax calendar most businesses actually need

Here is the simpler version most people care about, now that the 2026/27 tax year has started.

April

The new tax year begins.
Quarterly PAYE payment deadline for approved quarterly payers is 22 April.
And from 6 April 2026, the first MTD for Income Tax group is now live.

May

P60s must be given to employees by 31 May.
VAT returns are also often due around this time depending on the quarter end.

July

P11D and P11D(b) reporting deadline is 6 July.
Class 1A NIC is usually due by 22 July if paying electronically.
Second Self Assessment payment on account is due 31 July.
Quarterly PAYE payment deadline is 22 July.

August

For businesses in the first MTD mandation group using standard quarters, the first quarterly update is due on 7 August 2026.

October

If you need to register for Self Assessment for the first time for 2025/26, the deadline is 5 October 2026.
Quarterly PAYE payment deadline is 22 October.

November

For the first MTD mandation group using standard quarters, the second quarterly update is due on 7 November 2026.

January

This stays the big one.
Self Assessment online return deadline.
Self Assessment payment deadline.
First payment on account.
Quarterly PAYE payment deadline for approved quarterly payers is 22 January.

February

For the first MTD mandation group using standard quarters, the third quarterly update is due on 7 February 2027.

And throughout the year, the recurring rhythms are still the boring ones that matter most:

• payroll information to us in good time

• PAYE payments

• VAT returns

• pension contributions

• CIS returns

• Companies House filing dates

The simple way to stay organised

Looking at all these deadlines together can feel like a lot.

Most businesses make life easier by focusing on a few basic rhythms.

Monthly

• payroll information sent over in good time

• PAYE payments

• pension contributions

• CIS obligations, where relevant

Quarterly

• VAT returns

• MTD updates

• quarterly PAYE payments for approved small employers

Annually

• tax returns

• company accounts

• confirmation statements

• benefit reporting

Once the systems are in place, most of this becomes routine.

That is the boring truth. Good compliance is usually not about doing anything clever. It is about doing the basics on time, over and over again.

Final thought

Most tax problems are not caused by rules being impossibly complicated.

They are usually caused by dates being missed, information being sent late, and admin being left until it becomes urgent.

At the start of a new tax year, this is the ideal moment to get the deadlines in the diary, keep your records up to date, and make sure we get what we need in good time to file everything properly.

Not glamorous advice.

But very often the advice that saves the most money.