Below are the key dates for personal, employment and business tax including VAT and payroll.
Private Client
31 January – Standard filing deadline for online returns and payment of tax owed including first payment on account. Individuals, trusts and partnerships.
5 April – End of tax year. Individuals, trusts and partnerships.
6 April – Start of tax year. Individuals, trusts and partnerships.
31 July – Second payment on account (POA) due. Individuals, trusts and partnerships.
5 October – Deadline for notifying HMRC of chargeability/registering for Self Assessment individuals, trusts and partnerships.
31 October – Standard filing deadline for paper returns. Individuals, trusts and partnerships.
30 December – Filing deadline for online returns if HMRC are to collect owed tax automatically from wages and pension (you must be eligible for this). Individuals, trusts and partnerships.
Other
60 days from sale completion of UK property – Capital Gains Tax return due to HMRC (speak to the PEM Private Client team for more details)
Deadline to amend a previously filed return online – 31 January following the initial deadline i.e. 31 January 2026 for 2023/24 tax returns.
Deadline for making ‘scheme pays’ elections (where eligible) to request a pension scheme pays the annual allowance tax charge – the deadline for the 23/24 tax year is 31 July 2025*
*Note that the deadline is extended for those receiving a pension savings statement after 2 May 2025 (for example, if affected by the public service pensions remedy). Then the member must notify the scheme within 3 months of receiving the pension savings statement.
Claim for repayment claims and overpayment relief – 4 years following the end of the tax year i.e., 5 April 2026 for the tax year 2021/22
Trusts
All of the dates in the private clients list also apply to trusts except for the 30 December deadline for HMRC to collect tax through your tax code (this is not relevant for trusts).
In addition, trusts have:
31 January – For taxable trusts, this is the deadline for the annual update/confirmation of the details held on the HMRC Trust Register.
31 May – Deadline for Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) returns for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Other
90 days following the creation or change/update to a ‘trust’ arrangement to notify HMRC under the Trust Registration Service.
Business tax
The corporation tax filing deadline for a company is 12 months after the end of its accounting period. This could be any day of the year but would generally fall at the end of a month.
Corporation tax payments are due as follows:
- ‘Small’ companies – due 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period,
- ‘Large’ companies (profits > £1.5m) – first instalment due six months and 13 days after the first day of the accounting period. Quarterly thereafter.
- ‘Very large’ companies (profits > £20m) – first instalment two months and 13 days after the first day of the accounting period. Quarterly thereafter.
In determining whether a company should be considered large or very large for these purposes, the profit threshold should be divided by the total number of associated companies.
We also take care of corporate NRL returns, which are now within corporation tax and so subject to the same rules as above.
For the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED), an annual return is due by 30 April at the beginning of each year (running 1 April – 31 March). Companies who fall into the regime part way through a year must submit a return within 30 days of acquiring a relevant property (UK residential >£500,000), or within 90 days if the property is a new build. Payments are due by the same dates.
R&D advanced notification
A company is required to notify HMRC within 6m of its accounting period end if it intends to make an R&D claim for the period. Exceptions may apply where an R&D claim has previously been made within 3 years of the end of the claim notification window. Please contact PEM if you are intending to make an R&D claim for the first time.
VAT
Reporting periods
The reporting dates vary depending upon individual reporting cycles.
- Quarterly returns (staggered and so all three cycles available) are the norm with repayment traders often on monthly – the due date for filing quarterly and monthly returns/paying VAT is 1 month + 7 days after the end of the period. E.g. Due date for period ending 30 June is 7 August.
- Some taxpayers are on annual returns (all 12 cycles available) – the due date for filing annual returns is 2 months after end of the period. E.g. Due date for period ending 31 July is 30 September.
3 or 9 interim payments of fixed amounts as advised by HMRC need to be made on the last working day of the 4th and each successive month/quarter during the year. Any balancing payment needs to be paid by the due date for filing the return. (If the balancing adjustment is in favour of the taxpayer, this will be repaid in due course after submission of the return).
- Taxpayers within the payments on account regime (essentially large payers having an annual liability > £2.3 million) – the due date for filing quarterly returns is the end of the following month. E.g. Due date for period ending 30 June is 31 July.
8 interim payments of fixed amounts as advised by HMRC need to be paid by the end of months 1,2,4,5,7,8,10 and 11 during the year. Any balancing payments (if any) need to be paid taking into account months 3,6, 9 and 12 when filing the quarterly returns.
- Taxpayers can agree special reporting periods with HMRC in certain rare situations.
Tax year
All taxpayers have a tax year which normally covers the year to 31 March, 30 April or 31 May (depending upon the reporting cycle). Different tax years can be agreed. Tax years do not count for much unless annual adjustments need be made under the partial exemption rules. Any adjustments because of partial exemption need to be made on the first VAT return of the following year or the final return of the year in question.
Registration
A UK-established person must register for VAT if its ‘taxable supplies’ exceed the registration threshold (currently £90,000 per annum) in any rolling 12-month period. Under this backward look rule, and by way of an example, the effective date of registration would be 1 May 2025 in a situation where the threshold was exceeded in the 12 months to 31 March 2025.
A VAT registration liability can also arise from the point at which a UK-established person expects that its ‘taxable supplies’ will exceed the registration threshold in the next 30 days. Under this forward look rule, the effective date of registration would be the day on which the expectation arose.
‘Taxable supplies’ are supplies made in the UK that are either standard rated, reduced rated or zero-rated including so called ‘reverse charge’ services received from overseas suppliers.
Voluntary VAT registration is also possible where ‘taxable supplies’ are intending to be made or are made but are not of sufficient size to warrant compulsory registration.
The UK VAT registration threshold does not apply to non-established taxable persons. Such organisations must register for VAT if any taxable supplies are made in the UK.
VAT registration
You must register for VAT once your turnover exceeds the turnover limit (currently £85,000 in any 12 month period). This means you don’t just look at your turnover annually, but you must look at your turnover at the end of EVERY month. Once you have exceeded the turnover limit you must register within 30 days of the end of the month you exceeded the threshold. This would ordinarily be the first day of the second month after you go over the threshold. .
Example
- You raise a sales invoice on 29 September 2023 which pushes your turnover to £85,500 for the months October 2022 – September 2023.
- You work out your rolling 12 month turnover on 3October 2023 and realise you have exceeded the threshold.
- You must register by 1 November 2023.
(Don’t forget, if you need to register for VAT you may be entitled to reclaim VAT on some assets and services you purchased before you were VAT registered.)
Employment tax
3 May – P46(car) paper submissions – company car changes in the period 6/1 – 5/4 .
31 May – Short Term Business Visitor reporting.
4 July – Deadline by which employees/directors must make good PAYE income tax arising in respect of employment related securities in the prior tax year before an s222 charge applies.
5 July – Deadline for agreeing PAYE Settlement Agreements.
6 July – P11D, Employment Related Securities returns filing deadline. Deadline for notification of grant of EMI options granted in prior tax year ending 5 April.
19/22 July – Deadline for payment of class 1A NIC (later date if paying electronically)
July/August – PAYE Settlement Agreement calculation deadline (specified in PAYE Settlement Agreement).
2 August – P46(car) – company car changes in the period 6/4 – 5/7.
19/22 October – Deadline for payment of Income Tax and class 1B NIC arising under PAYE Settlement Agreement (later date if paying electronically).
2 November – P46(car) – company car changes in the period 6/7 – 5/10.
2 February – P46(car) – company car changes in the period 6/10 – 5/1.
5 April – P46(car) electronic submissions – company car changes in the period 6/1 – 5/4. Last date to register with HMRC for voluntary payrolling of benefits in kind for 2026/27.
Payroll
19th of every month – Deadline for payment of PAYE & NICs etc to HMRC’s Accounts Office by non-electronic method. Last day for submitting a real time information employer payment summary to apply to tax month.
22nd of every month – Deadline for payment of PAYE and NICs etc to HMRC’s Accounts Office by electronic method. For employers who qualify for quarterly payments, the payment deadline is as above but for the month following the end of the quarter.
31 May – Employers must give a form P60 to each employee working for them at 5th April and for whom they have filed a FPS.
6 July – Filing deadline date for Expenses and Benefits forms P11D(b) and P11D to reach HMRC. Last date to give forms P11D to relevant employees.
31 July – PAYE settlement agreement submission date. Real Time Information submissions should be filed on or before pay day.
Learn more and get advice
If you’d like more information, or need help with any of the points raised in this article, please get in contact with our team.
Please note that this content is not intended to give specific technical advice. It is designed to highlight some of the key issues rather than provide an exhaustive explanation of the topics. Professional advice should always be sought before action is either taken or refrained from as a result of information contained herein.