This article was last updated on 5th April 2022.

Getting to grips with small business accounting can be tricky at the best of times, especially when it comes to staying on top of your tax obligations.

With this in mind, we’ve put together 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.

In addition to remembering these dates, we’d also strongly recommend staying up to date with the latest developments in the government’s rollout of Making Tax Digital (MTD), its initiative to implement a fully digital tax system in the UK. Find out how MTD affects you and the timeline for all the upcoming changes.

Calendar of a typical small business tax year in the UK

Here’s how an average tax year for a UK-based small business might look. It’s important to bear in mind that the tax deadlines you have for your own business are unique to your circumstances, and your obligations to HMRC will depend on many factors. These include whether you have any employees or if you’re running your business as a ‘side hustle’ while in full-time employment.

For extra clarity on your tax obligations, we recommend working with an accountant if you’re not  doing so already.

January

1st - Corporation Tax payment deadline (if your limited company’s year end is 31st March)

31st - Self Assessment tax return filing deadline

31st - First payment on account deadline, balancing payment deadline

March

31st - Corporation Tax return filing deadline (if your limited company’s year end is 31st March)

April

6th - New tax year! The Chancellor’s planned updates to any tax rates, wage rates and minimum pension contributions (among other things) will come into effect today. 

May

31st - Deadline for issuing any employees with their annual P60s

July

6th - Deadline for filing P11D(b) and issuing P11Ds to any employees (if applicable)

22nd - Deadline for paying Class 1A National Insurance Contributions (you’ll only need to pay this on benefits you give to your employees, such as private medical insurance)

31st - Second Income Tax and National Insurance payment on account deadline

December

31st - The deadline for filing your company’s annual accounts if your company’s year end is 31st March (the most common year-end date).

A note on VAT return deadlines

The vast majority of small businesses will file a VAT return four times a year. Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT legislation requires all VAT-registered businesses to do this through MTD-compatible software like FreeAgent. The most common set of quarterly VAT return dates is:

• 1st January - 31st March
• 1st April - 30th June
• 1st July - 30th September
• 1st October - 31st December

Each VAT return is due for filing one month and seven days after the end of one of these quarterly periods. So for example, the VAT return that covers 1st January - 31st March needs to be filed to HMRC by 7th May.

A note on payments on account

If less than 80% of your income is paid at source and your tax bill is over £1,000, you’ll need to make payments on account. These are advance payments on your next year’s Self Assessment tax bill. Your payments on account are calculated by dividing the amount of your most recent Self Assessment tax return bill by two. You need to make the first payment by 31st January and the second payment by 31st July.

FreeAgent’s Tax Timeline to the rescue

If you use FreeAgent, you’ll notice that the deadlines that apply to you appear in the Tax Timeline on your Overview screen.

Keen to see FreeAgent’s unique Tax Timeline in action? Try our award-winning software for free with a 30-day trial today.