There are many key dates for businesses and individuals when it comes to corporation tax, self-assessment, payroll, VAT and filing your accounts.
Some dates depend on your company year-end, how you account for VAT and whether or not you are self-employed.
Whatever your position, we recommend that you spend 5 minutes going through this guide and putting reminders in your calendar for all the dates which are applicable to you and your business so you don’t miss any deadlines.
There can be penalties for non-compliance and interest on late and overdue payments.
April 2026
1 April – National Minimum Wage increases for over 21s to £12.71 (4.1% increase) and for 18-20 year olds to £10.85 (8.5% increase). The rate for 16-17 year olds and apprentices rises 6% to £8
6 April – Start of the new tax year.
6 April – Making Tax Digital begins for those with income over £50,000
19 April – Deadline to submit your final Employer Payment Summary (EPS) for the previous tax year
May 2026
31 May – Deadline for P60s for employees who were on your payroll on the 5th of April 2026
July 2026
6 July – Deadline to submit P11Ds and P11D(b)s to HMRC, and for copies of P11Ds to be sent to employees
The deadline for filing the annual Employment Related Securities (ERS) return is also 6 July 2026 via the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) ERS online service
19 July – Payment deadline by cheque for Class 1A National Insurance owed on taxable expenses or benefits for the previous tax year
22 July – Online payment deadline for Class 1A National Insurance owed on taxable expenses or benefits for the previous tax year
31 July – Second Income Tax and National Insurance payment on account deadline
August 2026
7 August – Deadline for MTD Quarterly update 1
October 2026
5 October – Self-Assessment registration deadline for individuals who need to file a tax return for the 2025/26 tax year (e.g. new sole traders, new sources of income).
19 October – Payment deadline by cheque for all tax and Class 1B National Insurance owed, if you’ve a PAYE Settlement Agreement
22 October – Online payment deadline for all tax and Class 1B National Insurance owed, if you’ve a PAYE Settlement Agreement
31 October (midnight) – Deadline for paper Self-Assessment submissions for the 2025/26 tax year
November 2026
7 November – Deadline for MTD Quarterly update 2
December 2026
30 December – Online Self-Assessment filing deadline for taxpayers who want any tax due to be collected via their 2027/28 PAYE tax code.
January 2027
31 January (midnight) – Self Assessment deadline for the 2025/26 tax year
31 January (midnight) – Balancing payment of tax due for 2025/26 and first Payment on Account for Income Tax for 2026/27
VAT deadlines
Most businesses file a VAT return four times a year. Deadlines are governed by the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT legislation. The most common quarterly VAT return dates end on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December.
Each VAT return must be filed one month and seven days after the end of the corresponding quarterly period. For example, the VAT return that covers 1 January 2026 -31 March 2026 must be submitted to HMRC by 7 April 2026.
Companies House and HMRC deadlines
These deadlines depend on your year end. The most common year end dates are 31 December (to coincide with the end of the calendar year) and 31 March (to coincide with the end of the tax year).
The deadlines are:
| File first accounts with Companies House | 21 months after the date you registered with Companies House |
| File annual accounts with Companies House | 9 months after your company’s financial year ends |
| Pay Corporation Tax or tell HMRC that your limited company does not owe any | 9 months and 1 day after your ‘accounting period’ for Corporation Tax ends |
| File a Company Tax Return | 12 months after your accounting period for Corporation Tax ends |
If you need any advice get in touch at enquiries@cowgills.co.uk or via our website.
