Tax return deadlines

The last tax year started on 6 April 2017 and ended on 5 April 2018.

Self Assessment Deadline 

Register for Self Assessment if you’re self-employed or a sole trader, not self-employed, or registering a partner or partnership:                 5 October 2018
Paper tax returns             Midnight 31 October 2018
Online tax returns           Midnight 31 January 2019
Pay the tax you owe        Midnight 31 January 2019

Company Deadline

The deadline for your tax return is 12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers. You’ll have to pay a penalty if you miss the deadline.

There’s a separate deadline to pay your Corporation Tax bill. It’s usually 9 months and one day after the end of the accounting period.

Making Tax Digital

The first stage of HMRC's Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme focuses on VAT and imposes new requirements for digital recording keeping on VAT registered businesses and organisations from April 2019.

From April 2019 all VAT registered businesses and organisations with taxable turnover above the VAT threshold of £85,000 will be required to:

• Maintain their accounting records digitally in a software product or spreadsheet. Maintaining paper records will cease to meet the legal requirements in tax legislation.
• Submit their VAT returns to HMRC using a functional compatible software product that can access HMRC’s API (Application Program Interfaces) platform.

Anti-money laundering registration

If you run a business in the financial sector, you may need to sign up to an anti-money laundering scheme.

Some businesses and individuals in the UK must register with a supervisory authority to follow anti-money laundering regulations. The regulations apply to many business sectors, including:

• financial and credit businesses
• independent legal professionals
• accountants, tax advisers, auditors and insolvency practitioners
• trust and company service providers
• estate agents
• casinos
  

How to apply

You must register with the supervisor that regulates your industry sector. You’re breaking the law if you carry on a business activity covered by the regulations, but don’t register with a supervisory authority.