The Self-Employed UK Tax Calendar

Every HMRC and Companies House deadline, month by month

UK self-employed people, sole traders, Ltd company directors and small employers face over 40 annual HMRC and Companies House deadlines. Missing the 31 January Self Assessment deadline triggers an immediate £100 penalty; missing payment deadlines adds 5% surcharges at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months plus interest at Bank of England base rate plus 2.5%. This calendar lists every deadline month by month with who it applies to and what happens if you miss it.

Last reviewed: 26 May 2026

Guidance, not advice. We explain the rules, we don't assess your situation. Always seek financial or tax advice from your accountant, or contact HMRC. Read our editorial scope →

How to use this calendar

Deadlines are grouped by month. Each row tells you the date, who it applies to, what it is, and what happens if you miss it. Most deadlines repeat every year on the same date; the ones that move with your accounting period (VAT returns, Corporation Tax, statutory accounts) carry an explanatory note. Bookmark this page and revisit it at the start of each month — most missed-deadline penalties are pure ignorance tax that a 30-second calendar check would have prevented.

April

The UK tax year starts on 6 April. April is the month for payroll year-end work and for finalising the prior year's bookkeeping before the long Self Assessment runway begins.

April deadlines

Date	Applies to	Deadline	Penalty for missing
5 April	Everyone	Tax year ends — last day to use this year's £20,000 ISA allowance, £3,600 JISA allowance, £60,000 pension annual allowance (subject to tapering and earnings)	Allowance lost permanently; no carry-forward for ISA / JISA
6 April	Everyone	New tax year begins — new ISA allowances, new pension annual allowance, updated Income Tax bands and NIC thresholds take effect	—
19 April	Employers (PAYE)	Final FPS for the prior tax year (or EPS if no FPS due); pay any outstanding PAYE / NIC by post for 2024/25	£100+ late-filing penalty (Sch 55 FA 2009)
22 April	Employers (PAYE)	Final electronic PAYE / NIC payment for prior tax year	5% surcharge after 30 days late (Sch 56 FA 2009)

May

May is dominated by P60 and P11D preparation — the employee-facing year-end forms.

Date	Applies to	Deadline	Penalty
31 May	Employers	Give every employee in post on 5 April a P60 for the prior tax year	£300 per failure (s.98 TMA 1970)

June

Quiet month for most. A good time to start gathering paperwork for the SA return rather than waiting until December.

July

July is the second-busiest deadline month after January — P11D filings for employee benefits, the second payment on account for Self Assessment, and the Tax-Free Childcare reconfirmation cycle for many families.

Date	Applies to	Deadline	Penalty
6 July	Employers	File P11D + P11D(b) for taxable benefits in kind provided in the prior tax year; provide a copy to each affected employee	£100/month per 50 employees (s.98 TMA 1970)
19 July	Employers	Pay Class 1A NIC on benefits in kind by post (or 22 July electronic)	5% surcharge after 30 days
31 July	Self Assessment	Second payment on account for current tax year (50% of last year's IT + Class 4 NIC liability)	5% surcharge at 30 days, again at 6 months, again at 12 months + interest
31 July	Tax credits (legacy)	Renewal deadline for any remaining tax credit claimants (most now migrated to Universal Credit)	Award stops + overpayment recovery

August

Quiet again. Use it to file your SA return if you haven't already — earlier filing means earlier visibility on the January bill.

September

First reminder month from HMRC for those who haven't yet notified them of self-employment.

October

October contains the most-missed deadline on the calendar: notifying HMRC that you became self-employed in the prior tax year. Missing 5 October exposes you to a Failure to Notify penalty under Sch 41 FA 2008 — 0% to 100% of the tax lost depending on behaviour band.

Date	Applies to	Deadline	Penalty
5 October	Newly self-employed	Notify HMRC of new SE / partnership / rental / dividend income from prior tax year via CWF1 / SA1 / online registration	Failure to Notify penalty (Sch 41 FA 2008), 0–100% of lost tax
31 October	Self Assessment (paper)	Paper Self Assessment return deadline (online filers have until 31 January)	£100 immediate penalty (Sch 55 FA 2009)

November

Last clean month before the January rush. Ideal time to commission an accountant if you're going to use one — January diary slots evaporate fast.

December

Earlier-bird month for online SA filers. File by 30 December to allow HMRC to collect tax (under £3,000) via your PAYE code in the following tax year, rather than as a lump sum on 31 January.

Date	Applies to	Deadline	Penalty
30 December	Self Assessment (online, PAYE)	Online filing deadline to allow tax under £3,000 to be coded out via PAYE the following year	Lose the coding-out option; still owe in January as lump sum

January

The triple deadline. Three obligations all fall on 31 January and the penalty regime is unforgiving.

Date	Applies to	Deadline	Penalty
31 January	Self Assessment	Online filing of prior tax year return	£100 immediate + £10/day after 3 months + 5% / £300 at 6 + 12 months (Sch 55 FA 2009)
31 January	Self Assessment	Balancing payment for prior tax year	5% surcharge at 30 days, 6 months, 12 months + interest at base + 2.5%
31 January	Self Assessment	First payment on account for current tax year	Same payment-penalty regime

February and March

The two months for tying off the tax year before 5 April. Use any unused pension annual allowance, ISA allowance, gift aid carry-back election, and run the rule over capital gains to use the £3,000 CGT annual exempt amount before it resets.

Date	Applies to	Deadline	Penalty
28 February	Self Assessment	First 5% late-payment surcharge falls due on unpaid 31 January tax (30-day point)	5% of unpaid + interest
5 April	Everyone	Tax year ends — last day to use ISA / pension / CGT annual exempt amount allowances	Allowances lost permanently

Rolling deadlines (set by your own accounting period)

Some deadlines move with your business's accounting period rather than the tax year. Diary these against your year-end, not against the calendar.

Period-driven deadlines

Deadline	Who	Driven by	Penalty
VAT return + payment	VAT-registered	1 month + 7 days after VAT period end	Points-based penalty regime since 1 Jan 2023 + 2% / 4% / 4%+ late-payment surcharge
Corporation Tax payment	Ltd Co	9 months + 1 day after accounting period end	Interest from due date; penalties for non-payment via debt management
Corporation Tax return (CT600)	Ltd Co	12 months after accounting period end	£100 immediate + escalating to £1,000 + tax-geared (FA 1998 Sch 18)
Statutory accounts (Companies House)	Ltd Co	9 months after accounting reference date (first accounts: 21 months)	£150 → £1,500 (CA 2006 s.453); doubled for second consecutive year
Confirmation statement	Ltd Co	Annually on 'made-up' date; 14 days to file	Company strike-off + director disqualification risk
MTD ITSA quarterly updates	SE / landlords with income > £50k from Apr 2026	1 month + 5 days after each calendar quarter (5 Aug / 5 Nov / 5 Feb / 5 May)	Points-based regime aligned with VAT

Corrections to common misconceptions

A handful of calendar-related claims circulate online that are simply wrong. The corrections matter because acting on the wrong version of the rule is itself a Failure to Take Reasonable Care under Sch 24 FA 2007.

'The 31 July deadline is just a reminder, not a payment date'

Wrong. 31 July is a hard payment deadline for the second payment on account. Missing it triggers interest from 1 August and the 5% surcharge applies after 30 days (Sch 56 FA 2009).

'If I owe under £100 I don't need to file'

Wrong. The filing obligation is independent of the amount owed. The £100 minimum penalty for late filing applies even when no tax is due.

'I have until the next working day if 31 January falls on a Sunday'

Wrong for HMRC. Filing deadlines do not extend across weekends or bank holidays. The position differs from some commercial contracts and from Companies House practice for posted documents — do not assume parity.

'I'll just register when I have to file'

Wrong, and the most expensive variant. The notify-by-5-October obligation is the trigger for the Failure to Notify penalty under Sch 41 FA 2008. Registering later or only at filing time does not retrospectively cure the breach.

Statute references: TMA 1970 ss.7, 8, 59A, 93; VATA 1994; FA 2008 Sch 41 (Failure to Notify); FA 2009 Schedules 55 + 56 (late filing + late payment); Companies Act 2006 ss.441–442, 453; Pensions Act 2008.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I miss the Self Assessment deadline?+

The Self Assessment deadline is 31 January (online filing) for the previous tax year. Miss it and HMRC apply an automatic £100 penalty. Beyond that: £10 per day from 3 months late (capped at £900), 5% of tax due at 6 months late, and another 5% at 12 months late, under Schedule 55 of the Taxes Management Act 1970. If you have a genuine reason (serious illness, bereavement, technical issue with HMRC's systems) you can appeal with evidence; HMRC accepts reasonable excuse appeals in most genuine cases.

Do I need an accountant or can I file Self Assessment myself?+

Legally you can file Self Assessment yourself via gov.uk for free, most simple sole-trader returns (single income source, basic expenses) are realistic to self-file. An accountant adds real value when: your trading profit is above £40,000 (extraction-strategy decisions matter), you have multiple income streams (PAYE + self-employment + property + dividends), you've crossed the £90,000 VAT threshold, you're considering incorporation, or you have an HMRC enquiry. Expect to pay £400-£1,500/year for a typical sole-trader accountant; the cost is itself a deductible expense.

How do payments on account work?+

When your Self Assessment tax bill exceeds £1,000 for the first time, HMRC requires payments on account toward NEXT year's tax. Half the current bill is due 31 January (alongside the current bill); the other half is due 31 July. So your first January after crossing the threshold can hit with a double-bill: last year's balance + first payment on account. Adjust via Form SA303 if you expect next year's income to drop substantially. Payments on account don't apply if more than 80% of your tax is collected via PAYE.

What is a payment on account?+

Payments on account are advance instalments toward next year's Self Assessment bill, payable on 31 January and 31 July. Each instalment is half of the previous tax year's total Income Tax + Class 4 NIC liability (excluding CGT and Student Loan). They are not triggered if last year's bill was under £1,000 or if 80%+ of last year's tax was collected at source (e.g. via PAYE). The mechanism is set out in TMA 1970 s.59A.

What if I cannot pay by the deadline?+

File the return on time even if you cannot pay — filing penalties (Sch 55 FA 2009) and payment penalties (Sch 56 FA 2009) are separate regimes. Then call the HMRC Business Payment Support Service on 0300 200 3835 to arrange a Time To Pay (TTP) instalment plan. TTP halts further surcharges as long as instalments are met, but interest continues to accrue at base rate plus 2.5%. No third-party 'TTP specialist' is needed — this is a direct taxpayer-HMRC process.

Can HMRC collect tax I owe via my PAYE code instead?+

Yes, for amounts under £3,000 owed on a Self Assessment return where you also have PAYE income, HMRC can code out the debt across the following tax year if you file your return online by 30 December (rather than the 31 January final deadline). This is set out in the PAYE Regulations 2003 and avoids a lump-sum January payment, but it does mean a higher in-year tax code.

Do Scottish or Welsh taxpayers face different deadlines?+

No — the filing and payment deadlines are identical across the UK. Scotland sets its own Income Tax bands and rates on non-savings, non-dividend income (Scotland Act 2016) and Wales has the Welsh Rate of Income Tax (Wales Act 2014), but both are administered by HMRC on the same calendar as rUK. Devolved property taxes (LBTT in Scotland, LTT in Wales) replace SDLT and have their own filing rhythms with Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority respectively.