Last reviewed: 29 September 2026 · Reviewed by IFM's qualified accountant
A useful tax calendar separates fixed national dates from dates calculated from a year end, VAT quarter or payday. This guide does that for small UK businesses and their directors.
What should you know about april 2026: the tax year begins?
The 2026/27 tax year began on 6 April 2026. It is the first mandatory year of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for sole traders and landlords whose qualifying self-employment and property income is over £50,000, subject to the detailed eligibility and exemption rules.
Those using standard update periods keep digital records from 6 April. A person using calendar update periods for an accounting period ending 31 March keeps them from 1 April. The software setting matters because it determines the period covered by each update.
Employers also begin a new payroll year. Continue sending a Full Payment Submission on or before each payday and pay the resulting PAYE by the regular monthly or quarterly date.
What should you know about july 2026: benefits and Class 1A National Insurance?
For benefits provided in the tax year ended 5 April 2026, employers had to report expenses and benefits and give employees the relevant information by 6 July 2026. The P11D(b), where required, was due on the same date.
Class 1A National Insurance was due by 22 July 2026 for electronic payment, or by 19 July for payment by cheque. These annual dates recur after each tax year: for benefits in 2026/27, plan for reporting by 6 July 2027 and electronic payment by 22 July 2027.
Self Assessment payments on account also use July. The second payment on account towards the 2025/26 liability was due on 31 July 2026. The second payment on account for 2026/27 will normally fall on 31 July 2027 for people who are required to make one.
What should you know about august 2026: first MTD quarterly update?
The first standard MTD quarterly update for 2026/27 covered records from 6 April to 5 July and was due by 7 August 2026. The equivalent calendar update period ran from 1 April to 30 June with the same deadline.
HMRC’s current guidance says the updates are cumulative: each one covers from the start of the tax year to the end of that update period, not only the latest quarter. For the 2026/27 tax year, HMRC says it will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates, but all required updates still need to be sent before the tax return can be submitted.
What should you know about october and November 2026: Self Assessment and MTD?
Someone who needs to complete a Self Assessment return for 2025/26 and has not previously registered, or previously registered but did not need a return for 2024/25, generally needed to tell HMRC by 5 October 2026.
The paper Self Assessment return for 2025/26 must reach HMRC by 11:59pm on 31 October 2026. Filing online has a later deadline, but a person who cannot use the online route should not assume January applies to paper.
The second MTD quarterly update for 2026/27 is due on 7 November 2026. Under standard periods it covers 6 April to 5 October; under calendar periods it covers 1 April to 30 September.
What should you know about december 2026 and January 2027: Self Assessment choices and payment?
If a taxpayer wants HMRC to collect an eligible Self Assessment amount through their PAYE tax code, the 2025/26 online return needs to be submitted by 11:59pm on 30 December 2026. Conditions and limits apply; filing by that date does not guarantee coding is available in every case.
The main online Self Assessment return deadline is 11:59pm on 31 January 2027. The balancing payment for 2025/26 and the first payment on account for 2026/27, where required, are also due then.
The third MTD quarterly update follows one week later, on 7 February 2027. It covers records to 5 January under standard periods or 31 December under calendar periods.
What should you know about april and May 2027: close the year and send the fourth update?
The 2026/27 tax year ends on 5 April 2027. Employers move into year-end reporting and prepare benefit information where applicable. Sole traders and landlords within MTD complete the final update period.
The fourth MTD quarterly update is due by 7 May 2027. It covers the whole year from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 for standard periods, or 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 for calendar periods.
For people mandated into MTD from 2026/27, GOV.UK’s timetable gives 31 January 2028 as the date to prepare and submit the 2026/27 tax return through compatible software and pay the bill. The quarterly updates are not tax returns and do not replace that final process.
What should you know about recurring payroll dates?
Every payday creates an FPS deadline: send the submission on or before the date employees are paid. The PAYE bill is generally due by the 22nd of the next tax month when paid electronically. If paying by cheque through the post, it must reach HMRC by the 19th.
Approved quarterly payers use the 22nd after the quarter ends, such as 22 July for the quarter from 6 April to 5 July. The FPS remains linked to each payday even where payment to HMRC is quarterly.
Because the tax month runs from the 6th to the 5th, label payroll reminders with both the tax month and the payment month. That reduces the risk of using the right amount with the wrong payment reference suffix.
What should you know about recurring VAT dates?
Most VAT Returns cover three months and are due one calendar month and seven days after the period ends. The payment normally has the same deadline and must have cleared HMRC’s account.
There is no single national VAT quarter. A business with a quarter ending 30 June will usually have a 7 August deadline, while a quarter ending 31 July will usually have a 7 September deadline. Annual Accounting and Payments on Account use different timetables. Check the VAT online account for the actual period and date.
What should you know about company dates that move with the year end?
Private-company annual accounts are normally due nine months after the accounting reference period. Corporation Tax for companies below the instalment threshold is normally due nine months and one day after the end of the relevant Corporation Tax accounting period. The Company Tax Return is normally due 12 months after that period.
The confirmation statement has its own review period and is due within 14 days after that period ends. It is not tied to the tax year or necessarily to the accounts date.
Use the Deadline Finder for standard first accounts, first confirmation statement and Corporation Tax dates. For VAT, payroll, personal tax and other obligations, check the tax deadlines calendar and your official records.
For help coordinating those company obligations, see limited company accounts and tax support. Keep evidence of every filed return and cleared payment with the relevant period.
What should you read next?
Use the Deadline Finder for standard first accounts, first confirmation statement and Corporation Tax dates. For VAT, payroll, personal tax and other obligations, check the tax deadlines calendar and your official records.
What do people also ask about this topic?
What should you know about april 2026: the tax year begins?
The 2026/27 tax year began on 6 April 2026. It is the first mandatory year of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for sole traders and landlords whose qualifying self-employment and property income is over £50,000, subject to the detailed eligibility and exemption rules.
What should you know about july 2026: benefits and Class 1A National Insurance?
For benefits provided in the tax year ended 5 April 2026, employers had to report expenses and benefits and give employees the relevant information by 6 July 2026. The P11D(b), where required, was due on the same date.
What should you know about august 2026: first MTD quarterly update?
The first standard MTD quarterly update for 2026/27 covered records from 6 April to 5 July and was due by 7 August 2026. The equivalent calendar update period ran from 1 April to 30 June with the same deadline.
What should you know about october and November 2026: Self Assessment and MTD?
Someone who needs to complete a Self Assessment return for 2025/26 and has not previously registered, or previously registered but did not need a return for 2024/25, generally needed to tell HMRC by 5 October 2026.
Which official sources support this guide?
- https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines
- https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/before-you-use-this-guide
- https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/send-quarterly-updates
General guidance, not advice for your situation.
