Business Tax Deadlines for Limited Companies: Every 2026/27 Date in One Place

A UK limited company faces four main business tax deadlines each year: pay Corporation Tax 9 months and 1 day after your accounting period ends, file your Company Tax Return within 12 months, submit accounts to Companies House within 9 months, and file a confirmation statement every 12 months. Miss one and penalties start automatically.

Your Year at a Glance

Nearly every deadline counts forward from one date: the end of your accounting period. If your company’s year ends on 31 March, your diary looks like this:

If you have not set up yet, read our step-by-step guide on how to register a limited company in the UK first — your accounting dates start from your incorporation date, so it pays to know them from day one.

Corporation Tax: Pay First, File Later

This is the trap that catches the most new directors. Your Corporation Tax payment deadline comes before your filing deadline, not after it. For most small companies, the tax must be paid 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period, while the Company Tax Return itself is not due until 12 months after the period ends. That leaves a three-month gap in which the tax is already payable even though the return has not been filed yet.

You cannot wait for the return deadline to find out what you owe: work out the bill from your accounts and pay it by the payment date. HMRC charges interest on unpaid tax from the day after the payment deadline, even if the return itself is later filed on time.

One exception: companies with taxable profits above £1.5 million pay in quarterly instalments during the period instead of one payment afterwards — take professional advice if you are near that level.

Annual Accounts at Companies House

Your annual accounts are a separate filing from your tax return, and they go to a different body: Companies House, not HMRC. A private limited company must file its accounts within 9 months of the end of its accounting reference period. Your first accounts get longer — 21 months from the date you incorporated — but after that the 9-month rule applies every year.

Filing accounts late brings automatic penalties from £150 to £1,500, doubled if late two years in a row. Accounts and tax returns are often prepared together, but they are two filings with two deadlines — meeting one does not satisfy the other.

Confirmation Statement: Every 12 Months

Once a year you must also file a confirmation statement, confirming that the information Companies House holds about your company — directors, shareholders, registered office and share capital — is up to date. It is due within 14 days of the end of your 12-month review period, and the filing fee is £50.

It is not a tax filing, but it is easy to forget because it falls on a different date from your accounts — and persistent failure can end with the company being struck off. Put it in the diary alongside your tax dates.

VAT and PAYE Deadlines

If your company is VAT-registered, each VAT return and its payment are due 1 month and 7 days after the end of the VAT period — for a quarterly period ending 31 December, that means 7 February.

If you employ staff, PAYE adds a monthly rhythm: send your Full Payment Submission on or before each payday, and pay the tax and National Insurance deducted by the 22nd of the following month when you pay electronically (the 19th by post). Miss it and HMRC charges late-payment penalties and interest, even on small amounts.

Directors who take a salary or dividends may also need to file a personal Self Assessment tax return, due online by 31 January following the tax year. That is a personal deadline, not a company one, but it belongs in the same diary.

Worked Example: A Year Ending 31 March 2026

Take a small consultancy with taxable profits of £40,000 for the year ending 31 March 2026. At the 19% small profits Corporation Tax rate, its bill is £7,600 (19% of £40,000). Here is its full deadline diary:

Watch the payment date: 1 January 2027 is New Year’s Day, a bank holiday, so the money must reach HMRC by 31 December 2026 unless you pay by Faster Payments. Paying on 2 January and assuming you were “only a day late” is exactly how interest starts.

The dates shift with your year end: for a year ending 30 September 2026, the accounts are due 30 June 2027, the tax payment 1 July 2027, and the return 30 September 2027. Same rules — always count forward from your own period end.

What Happens If You Miss a Deadline?

For a Company Tax Return with a filing date on or after 1 April 2026, HMRC’s late-filing penalties are £200 one day late, another £200 at three months late, then at six months HMRC estimates your bill and adds a penalty of 10% of the unpaid tax, with a further 10% at twelve months. If you file late three times in a row, the fixed £200 penalties rise to £1,000 each. These penalties apply even if your company owes no tax at all.

Companies House fines late accounts separately: £150 (up to one month late), £375 (one to three months), £750 (three to six months) and £1,500 (over six months), doubled if late two years running. Late Corporation Tax payments also attract interest from the day after the deadline. You can appeal if you have a reasonable excuse, but you must file the return first — and “I forgot” does not count.

A Simple System to Never Miss a Date

Deadlines only hurt when they surprise you. Set this system up once:

• Write down your period end date the day you incorporate, and calculate your three annual dates from it.
• Set reminders two weeks before every deadline, not on the day itself, so your accountant has time to act.
• Pay Corporation Tax early — the payment date comes three months before the filing date, so diary it separately.
• Check your HMRC business tax account each quarter for your official dates, especially in your first year when periods can be split.
• Keep VAT and PAYE on a monthly rhythm — a standing diary slot beats a last-minute scramble four times a year.

For the official rules behind every date in this guide, see GOV.UK’s Company Tax Returns guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Corporation Tax due for a limited company?

Corporation Tax must be paid 9 months and 1 day after the end of your accounting period, and the Company Tax Return must be filed within 12 months. The payment deadline comes first — for a year ending 31 March 2026, you pay by 1 January 2027 and file by 31 March 2027.

What happens if I file my Company Tax Return late?

For returns with a filing date on or after 1 April 2026, the penalty is £200 one day late, another £200 at three months, then 10% of any unpaid tax at six months and a further 10% at twelve months. Filing late three times in a row raises the fixed penalties to £1,000 each.

Do I still have to file if my company made no profit?

Yes. A Company Tax Return is due whenever HMRC has issued a notice to deliver one, even if your company made a loss or no money at all. Late-filing penalties apply regardless of whether any tax is owed.

When are annual accounts due at Companies House?

A private limited company must file its annual accounts within 9 months of the end of its accounting reference period (21 months for its first accounts). Late accounts attract automatic penalties from £150 to £1,500, doubled if late two years running.

Conclusion

Business tax deadlines are simple once you see them together: accounts at 9 months, Corporation Tax payment at 9 months and 1 day, the tax return at 12 months, and a confirmation statement every year — with VAT and PAYE alongside if they apply. Count every date from your period end, diary payment separately from filing, and set reminders two weeks early. Do that, and the penalty letters never arrive.