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Thinking beyond
the filing deadline.

Plain-English guidance for business owners, written by the people who do the work, not by a marketing department.

01

Deadlines & important news

What is due, when, and what changes this year. Filing dates, payment dates and the rule changes that actually affect you.

  • Key dates calendar
  • Budget & Finance Act changes
  • HMRC penalty regime
Explore 02

MTD registration & set-up

Making Tax Digital in practical steps: who it applies to, when it starts for you, and how to be ready without a scramble.

  • MTD for VAT
  • MTD for Income Tax
  • Choosing and setting up software
Explore 03

Industry guides

Sector by sector. The reliefs, the traps and the treatments that are specific to how your industry actually works.

  • CIS for the trades
  • IR35 for agencies
  • Creative sector reliefs
Explore 04

Just starting out

Sole trader or limited company, registering for VAT, taking a salary, first payroll. The decisions of the first twelve months.

  • Company formation
  • Salary vs dividends
  • Your first year checklist
Explore 05

Financial literacy for owners

How to read your own numbers. Cash against profit, what a margin is telling you, and which figures are worth watching monthly.

  • Reading a P&L
  • Cash flow vs profit
  • Margins that matter
Explore
06

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Deadlines

Every date that matters,
in one place.

The fixed points of the tax year for owner-managed businesses. Your own year end moves some of these, so treat it as the shape of the year rather than your personal diary, and ask us if you want it mapped to your dates.

Self Assessment

  • 5 OctoberRegister for Self Assessment if you had untaxed income in the tax year just ended
  • 31 OctoberPaper returns close for the previous tax year
  • 31 JanuaryOnline return filed, balancing payment made, and first payment on account
  • 31 JulySecond payment on account

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

  • 7 AugustQuarter one, covering 6 April to 5 July
  • 7 NovemberQuarter two, covering 6 July to 5 October
  • 7 FebruaryQuarter three, covering 6 October to 5 January
  • 7 MayQuarter four, covering 6 January to 5 April

Payroll and benefits

  • On or before paydayFull Payment Submission to HMRC under RTI, every pay run
  • 22nd of the monthPAYE and National Insurance paid electronically; the 19th if paying by post
  • 6 JulyP11D and P11D(b) filed, and employees given their copy
  • 22 JulyClass 1A National Insurance paid electronically; the 19th by cheque

Side by side

Accounts and VAT run on the same clock.

Both work the same way. A period ends, and every date after it is counted from that one day. Worked through on a 31 December year end and a 31 March VAT quarter, so you can see the shape rather than memorise it.

VAT
Limited company
Deadline
One month and seven days after the VAT period ends, to file and to payQuarter ending 31 March 2027, filed by 7 May 2027
Accounts due at Companies House nine months after the year endYear ending 31 December 2026, filed by 30 September 2027
Payment
The same date. Under Making Tax Digital filing and paying are one deadline, though a direct debit is collected about three working days laterCleared funds by 7 May 2027
Corporation tax is payable nine months and one day after the period ends, which falls due before the return itselfYear ending 31 December 2026, paid by 1 October 2027
The return
Monthly, quarterly or annual, depending on your registration. The annual accounting scheme files two months after the scheme year with payments on account through itAnnual scheme year ending 31 March 2027, return by 31 May 2027
The CT600 is due twelve months after the end of the accounting period, three months after the tax on it was paidYear ending 31 December 2026, filed by 31 December 2027
Where it starts
Register within 30 days of the end of the month your rolling twelve month turnover passes £90,000. Registration then runs from the first day of the second month after you went overPassed £90,000 in the year to 31 May 2027, registered by 30 June 2027, live from 1 July 2027
A first set of accounts is due 21 months after incorporation, or three months after the accounting reference date if that is laterIncorporated 10 May 2026, first accounts by 10 February 2028

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Phasing in by income, not all at once.

Quarterly updates do not replace the tax return. The Self Assessment return is still due by 31 January, with the quarterly updates running alongside it.

  • April 2026 £50,000 Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000
  • April 2027 £30,000 The threshold drops to £30,000
  • April 2028 £20,000 The threshold drops again, to £20,000

The year at a glance

Twelve months,
ten fixed points.

The same deadlines as the list above, drawn as a year. Point at any marker and the centre tells you what falls due and what it covers. Gold is Self Assessment and the tax year itself, plum is a Making Tax Digital quarter.

J F M A M J J A S O N D 31 JANSelf Assessment 7 FEBMTD quarter three 5 APRTax year ends 7 MAYMTD quarter four 6 JULP11D and P11D(b) 31 JULPayment on account 7 AUGMTD quarter one 5 OCTRegister 31 OCTPaper returns close 7 NOVMTD quarter two THE COMPLIANCE YEAR Point at a date Self Assessment and the tax yearMaking Tax Digital quarters

Straight from the source

HMRC guidance,
without the search.

The pages worth bookmarking. All of them open on GOV.UK, so you are reading the rules rather than somebody's summary of them.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax The step-by-step collection, from who it applies to through to signing up GOV.UK Choosing MTD software HMRC's guidance on picking software that will actually do what you need GOV.UK Sign up for Making Tax Digital The sign-up route for sole traders and landlords GOV.UK Self Assessment deadlines Filing and payment dates straight from HMRC GOV.UK Expenses and benefits deadlines P11D, P11D(b) and Class 1A dates for employers GOV.UK Completing P11D and P11D(b) How to fill the forms in, box by box GOV.UK

Dates on this page were last checked against HMRC guidance in August 2026 and are general information rather than advice for your circumstances. If a deadline matters to you, speak to us and we will confirm it against your own year end.