Why it’s important to hit your self-assessment deadline

Why you need to know about the self-assessment deadline

The self-assessment deadline covers both filing your tax return and paying the tax you owe.

Tax deadlines for small business are important dates to remember for several reasons:

• You could face fines for late filing or payment
• You need to remember to claim all tax-deductible business expenses to reduce your tax bill
• If you have employees, paying their tax and National Insurance is your responsibility
• As well as tax, you pay sole trader National Insurance through the self-assessment scheme

Knowing your self-assessment deadlines can help you plan ways of paying less tax. And that can help you be more profitable.

Tax deadlines for small business

Tax deadlines for small business vary. It depends on the type of trade business you run.

Sole traders and self-employed tradespeople need to know about key dates for self-assessment tax returns.

But what are they? Keep reading to get some dates for your calendar.

In addition to self-assessment tax returns, there are some other tax deadlines for small businesses to consider:

• If you’re in a business partnership
• If you trade as a limited company then you’ll have corporation tax deadlines to meet (usually nine months after the end of your accounting period)
• If your trade business is registered for VAT then you’ll probably have a quarterly business VAT return deadline

What happens if you’re late meeting a self-assessment deadline?

You could be facing a £100 late filing penalty. This applies if you file up to three months late. The penalty increases if you’re more than three months late.

Penalties for late payment of what you owe incur interest charges. And with interest rates very high at the moment, it could add up if you’re late.

HMRC has exceptions if you have a ‘reasonable excuse’ for not filing a return or paying tax on time. In these situations, you can pay late.

Who needs to meet the self-assessment deadline?

HMRC can help you check whether you need to submit a self-assessment tax return. The main rules if you’re a self-employed sole trader are:

• You earned more than £1,000 (before taking off amounts you can claim tax relief on) in the tax year
• You were a partner in a business partnership

You also need to fill in a self-assessment tax return if you:

• Have taxable income of more than £100,000 (which can come from things other than your trade business)
• You need to pay capital gains tax

If completing your self-assessment tax return as a sole trader sounds daunting, we can help.

What are the self-assessment deadlines?

The self-assessment tax period runs for 12 months from 6 April to 5 April the following year. Here are the key dates you need to know about during the year:

January

This is a big month for filing tax returns and paying the taxes you owe. You’ll want to know when you have to pay your tax bill.

Really, you should be thinking about your self-assessment long before now. If you have an accountant, they’ll probably be chasing you to be ready on time.

• 31^st – Deadline for submitting your online self-assessment tax returns
• 31^st – The deadline for paying any tax you owe from the previous tax year (this is called the balancing payment)
• 31^st – Deadline for submitting a partnership tax return

April

Another busy month in the world of tax. If you’re wondering why the tax year end is 5 April, it was decided centuries ago.

The length of our calendar year was adjusted and we ended up with this date.

• 5^th – End of tax year
• 6^th – Start of new tax year
• 6^th – Usual start date for new tax rates and allowances (announced by the government in the Autumn Statement or Spring Budget)

May

There is just one important small business employee expenses deadline.

• 31^st – Deadline for employers to give staff on the payroll their P60 form (this details their total pay and deductions for the year)

July

• 6^th – Deadline for reporting employee expenses and benefits in a P11D form (you’ll need this if you don’t deduct these expenses from the payroll)
• 22^nd – Deadline for paying Class 1A National Insurance (it’s the 19^th if you choose to pay by cheque)
• 31^st – Deadline for second self-assessment payment on account

October

• 5^th – Deadline for registering with HMRC to say you need to complete a self-assessment tax return (if you haven’t completed one before)
• 22^nd – Deadline for paying Class 1B National Insurance (it’s the 19^th if you choose to pay by cheque)
• 31^st – Deadline for submitting a paper self-assessment tax return (you’ll need to order a form from HMRC)
• 31^st – Deadline for submitting a paper partnership tax return

December

• 31^st – Deadline if you prefer to pay your self-assessment tax in 12 installations through pay as you earn (PAYE). You can do this if you owe less than £3,000 in self-assessment tax and also meet other requirements

There’s more to being a tradesperson than the self-assessment deadline

If you’re thinking about starting a sole trader business then getting to grips with tax is a good place to start. There are tax considerations – and deadlines – to think about.

Getting to grips with your finance early on can really make a big difference.

Things to take into account as a tradesperson are:

• Managing your cashflow
• Claiming back business expenses
• Claiming back marketing expenses
• Improving your credit
• Paying your business taxes on time
• Paying your employees
• Applying for government grants

Tax is only one of many things you need to think about to be a profitable tradesperson. As well as useful information on tax, we can help our members in lots of ways.

FAQs

What is the self-assessment deadline?

There are several key dates to remember – the main one is usually 31 January each year. You’ll probably need to submit an online self-assessment tax return and make a payment on this date.

What is the small business employee expenses deadline?

The small business employee expenses deadline relates mainly to the dates for giving staff their P60 form (31 May) and reporting expenses on a P11D form (6 July).

What are the tax deadlines for small business?

Tax deadlines for small business vary depending on the type of business you run. If you’re a self-employed sole trader, then the self-assessment deadline usually applies. If you run a partnership, you have to submit an online tax return by 31 January. Tax deadlines for limited companies depend on when their annual accounting period ends.

What is the business VAT return deadline?

The business VAT return deadline for VAT-registered businesses is usually quarterly. However, HMRC offers various options for how you can account for and pay VAT.

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