To keep you in HMRC’s good books, below is a timeline of the most important accounting dates in a standard year for the average small business owner or freelancer in the UK. Some dates will change a little from year to year but the deadlines always broadly fall at the same time, so its good practice to remember when they are.
Accounts
After the end of its financial year, your private limited company must prepare:
- Full (‘Statutory’) annual accounts
- A company Tax Return ( CT600)
File annual accounts with Companies House 9 Months after your company’s financial year ends.
For example if your company’s financial year end is 31st March 2020 – The annual accounts needs to be submitted to company’s house on 31st December 2020.
A company tax return deadline is 12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers, however there is a separate deadline to pay your corporation tax bill. It’s Usually 9 Months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period.
For example if your company’s financial year end is 31st March 2020. A company tax return need to be submitted by 31st March 2021 BUT payment for the bill needs to done by 1st January 2021.
VAT
The vast majority of small business that are VAT registered will file a VAT return four times a year. Whether through Government Gateway or through Making Tax Digital (MTD)
The most common set of quarterly VAT return dates is:
- 1st January – 31st March – Deadline for Submission and Payment – 7th May.
- 1st April – 30th June – Deadline for Submission and Payment – 7th Aug.
- 1st July – 30th September – Deadline for Submission and Payment – 7th Nov.
- 1st October – 31st December – Deadline for Submission and Payment – 7th Feb.
Each VAT return is due for filing 1 months and 7 days after the end of one of these quarterly periods.
PAYE
Every month you have to pay HMRC. PAYE and NI contributions must be received by:
Electronic Payment – Must be cleared by HMRC’s bank account by the 22nd of the following month (or the last working day before the 22nd of the following month).
Postal Payment – Must be received by HMRC by the 19th of the following month (or the last working day before the 19th of the following month).
P11D
The P11D form is used to report benefits in kind. These are items or services which you (or your employees) receive from your company in addition to your salary, such as private healthcare, interest-free loans (to pay for train season tickets, for example) and company cars. The annual P11D form allows you to report these items to HMRC on your annual Self Assessment return.
P11D must all be filed by 6th July following the tax year in questions.
For example the p11D for the tax year running 6th April 2019 to 5th April 2020 must be filed by 6th July 2020.
Self-Assessment
This is a standard tax return form. As a business owner, you will need to send a report of your annual earning to HMRC. This self-assessment tax return should also include the sources of your earnings
For example for the tax year 2018/ 2019 the below are your deadlines:
31st January 2020 – Midnight on this day is the deadline for getting all your online tax returns to HMRC. If you are submitting a paper tax return the deadline is midnight 31st October 2020.
The deadline for payment for any tax you owe for the previous year tax year (known as balancing payment) and your first payment on accounts is 31st January.
If your self-assessment bill is more than £1,000 you will need to make second payment on accounts by 31st July.
So remember…. Each payment is half your previous year’s tax bill. Payments are usually due by midnight on 31 January and 31 July.
