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Tax Year 2019/20: All The Key Dates You Need To Know And Plan For

It pays to be organised when it comes to tax and there are key dates throughout the year that you don’t want to miss. Leaving things to the last minute and missing deadlines could result in you paying more than you need to. So it’s really important that you always have all the relevant tax deadlines to hand. 

This blog will give you all the dates for this 2019/20 UK tax year and act as your tax calendar as well as providing a guide as to what you need to do by each of the dates. 

Bookmark this page, write the dates in your diary and/or calendar and put notes in a few weeks in advance to remind yourself that the deadlines are coming up. This will mean that you can start thinking about where all your necessary paperwork is and consider if you need to find an accountant to help you complete and submit your tax returns and company accounts (if relevant). Additionally, a free business bank account could help you monitor costs.

Even with an accountant, you need to keep on top of your income and expenditure in order to run a successful business. By having a keen eye on your accounts you’re less likely to run into cash-flow issues, you’ll have more money to invest and, if you’re organised, you’ll have more time to focus on running the business.

For information related to coronavirus and paying taxes, plus funding support, visit our coronavirus hub

 

Key dates for the UK tax year 2019/20

5 April 2019
The last day of the 2018/19 tax year.

Friday 5 April is the final day of the 2018/19 UK tax year. This is the day by which you need to have all your accounts in order by and all documents issued to employees. All employees paying Income Tax should have the correct PAYE tax codes. 

If you submitted a Self Assessment income tax return in January then you should have all your accounts, statements and receipts organised up until that date anyway and will only need to sort out your income and expenditure from January to April.  

If all your accounts are up to date at this point it will make your life much easier for submitting tax returns and rebates including your Company Tax Return if you’re a limited company. If you are ever audited it’s important that the taxman can get a clear picture of your full accounts for up to the last six years so they are worth keeping on top of. 

6 April 2019
The first day of the 2019/20 tax year.

The start of the tax year can mean that there may be changes in the law or new regulations that the government puts in place. Keep abreast of the latest tax news and make sure you update any relevant processes in line with the changes so that you don’t get caught out in the next tax year. 

Even if there aren’t any changes that affect you, it’s a good time for you to implement better accounting practices for yourself or your business whether that be for Income Tax, National Insurance, expenses, or invoicing. 

It’s an opportunity to stay on top of your accounts implementing processes that make recording your income and expenditure significantly easier. 

Switch from paper to digital returns and calculate tax as you go as closely as you can to avoid any surprises. Change over to tax software if you haven’t already – which will make submitting your future online return much easier. The Government’s Making Tax Digital initiative has been rolled out from this April. VAT submissions already need to be made digitally and it’s currently still voluntary for income tax and corporation tax but will eventually become compulsory. 

Track expenses on at least a month by month basis, keeping physical receipts in organised trays or using an expense tracking app to take photos and record as you go. You need to keep hold of these for when the deadline for submitting expense claims comes around.

31 July 2019
Second payment on account for Income Tax payable under Self Assessment for the 2018/19 tax year.

Alongside your online Self Assessment tax returns, you’ll also be required to make two separate payments for HMRC to collect in January and July. These are known as payments on account, and essentially serve as advance payments to cover you for the upcoming tax year.

Each of the payments on account are 50% of your previous tax bill. So, for example, if you paid £3,000 in tax, you’d make one payment on account of £1,500 in January, and another in July.

The deadline for your second payment on account is July 31 2019. Remember: this is for the 2018/19 UK tax year, based on the tax liability for 2017/18.

1 October 2019
Payment of Corporation Tax by companies with 31 December 2018 year-end.

If you have a limited company with a year-end of 31 December then your corporation tax will be due to be paid by 1 October 2019. This date adjusts depending on your year-end, for example, Corporation Tax will be due by 1st September for companies with a 30 November year-end (9 months and 1 day after year-end). The late payment rate is currently 2.75%. 

5 October 2019
Deadline for Self Assessment registration for the self-employed and freelancers, or additional income earners.

Register online on the GOV.UK website to receive your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (keep this safe, you’ll need it when you submit your tax returns). The process can take up to 10 working days to complete – you’ll receive a letter with a code that is required for activation.

If you have recently become self-employed or have received additional income/personal allowance in the last tax year (2018/19) but have yet to make HMRC aware of your change in employment status or income, you must notify them and register for Self Assessment by Saturday 5th October – so they can accurately calculate the amount of tax you owe. Missing this deadline for submitting your Self Assessment will incur penalties. This can be up to 30% of the amount of tax that you owe, so it’s worth being prepared.

14 October 2019
Form CT61 filed and tax paid for the quarter ended 30 September 2019.

Form CT61 is used to claim the return of Income Tax or pay relevant tax if your company or organisation pays interest, royalties, manufactured payments or similar recurring payments.

19 October 2019
Income Tax and Class 1B NIC paid in respect of PAYE settlement agreements for the year ended 5 April 2019 for non-electronic payments.

If you have a PAYE settlement agreement you can make one annual payment to cover all tax and National Insurance due on small or irregular taxable expenses or benefits for your employees. Non-electronic payments for this are due by 19 October 2019. 

22 October 2019
Income Tax and Class 1B NIC paid in respect of PAYE settlement agreements for the year ended 5 April 2019 for electronic payments.

If you have a PAYE settlement agreement you can make one annual payment to cover all tax and National Insurance due on small or irregular taxable expenses or benefits for your employees. Electronic payments for this are due by 22 October 2019. 

31 October 2019
Deadline for individuals to submit paper Self Assessment tax returns if requesting underpayments of tax of £3,000 or less to be collected through 2020/21 PAYE code. 

If you have income from PAYE and a tax bill of less than £3,000 and want this to be collected by wage deductions over 12 months from April 2020, you must submit your paper tax return by 31 October 2019. This is subject to you having enough earnings to deduct the tax due. If you’d prefer to do this online, you have slightly longer to submit your tax return (30 December 2019).

31 October 2019
Paper Self Assessment tax return submission deadline for 2018/19. 

If you’ve earned any income outside of PAYE  tax, you’ll need to submit a Self Assessment tax return, which is the document that tells HMRC what you’ve earned and what you need to pay in tax.

You can make a paper submission of your Self Assessment tax return for the previous tax year 2018/19 and send it by post to arrive by 31 October 2019. This submission method is slowly being phased out as people are using tax software and making digital submissions instead which are due by 31 January 2020.

30 December 2019
Deadline for individuals to submit Self Assessment tax returns online if requesting underpayments of tax of £3,000 or less to be collected through 2020/21 PAYE code.

Register and file for your Self Assessment tax return online. Not only can you use this portal to complete and submit your tax return, you can also use it to check your details, view your previous returns and print out a copy of your tax calculation. 

This will also provide insight to all activities relating to Capital Gains Tax, Income Tax, corporate taxes and tax refunds.

Check out the website for more information about paying your Self Assessment tax bill through your tax code.

31 December 2019
Corporation Tax returns filed by companies with 31 December 2018 year-end.

If you have a limited company with a year-end of 31 December then your corporation tax will be due to be filed by 31 December 2019 for 2018. The late payment rate is currently £100 (increasing the longer it is late). 

31 December 2019
Accounts for private companies for the year ended 31 March 2019 filed with Companies House.

If you have a limited company with a year-end of 31 March then your company accounts will be due to be filed by 31 December 2019 for 2018 with Companies House. The late payment rate is currently £150 (increasing the longer they are late). 

1 January 2020
Payment of Corporation Tax by companies with 31 March 2019 year-end.

If you have a limited company with a year-end of 31 March then your Corporation Tax will be due to be paid by 1 January 2020. This date adjusts depending on your year-end, for example, Corporation Tax will be due by 1 September for companies with a 30 November year-end (9 months and 1 day after year-end). The late payment rate is currently 2.75%. 

14 January 2020
Form CT61 filed and tax paid for the quarter ended 31 December 2019.

Form CT61 is used to claim the return of Income Tax or pay relevant tax if your company or organisation pays interest, royalties, manufactured payments or similar recurring payments.

31 January 2020
Online submission deadline for 2018/19 Self Assessment income tax returns. 

31st January is the biggest date in the tax calendar for many self-employed people and small business owners. 

If you’ve earned any income outside of PAYE tax, you’ll need to submit a Self Assessment tax return, which is the document that tells HMRC what you’ve earned and what you need to pay in tax.

Self Assessment income tax returns are due by midnight on 31st January for the previous tax year 2018/19 but get it done with plenty of time to spare so it isn’t stressful.

If you miss the deadline HMRC will charge you a penalty of £100 if it’s up to three months late (more if it’s later). 

31 January 2020
Balancing payments of Income Tax for 2018/19 and the first payment on account for 2019/20. Payment of Capital Gains Tax for 2018/19.

On 31 January you also need to submit your first payment on account for the 2019/20 tax year if you’re self-employed. The second payment on account follows six months later. If you owe any money for the previous tax year, the balancing payment will also be due on this date.

5 March 2020
ONE MONTH TO GO!
Get all your pre-end of tax year planning done. 

The end of the personal tax year is one month away today so it’s worth putting this date in your diary to make sure you have everything you need in place. It’s also the time to make any tax-efficient investments for the current tax year. 

31 March 2020
Corporation Tax returns filed by companies with 31 March 2019 year-end.

If you have a limited company with a year-end of 31 March then your Corporation Tax will be due to be filed by 31 March 2019 for 2018. The late payment rate is currently £100 (increasing the longer it is late). 

5 April 2020
2019/20 tax year ends.

The end of the personal tax year. Get ready to do it all again! 

 

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Sophie Cross

Sophie Cross is a freelance writer and marketer specialising in business and travel. She is the editor for London Revealed magazine and her clients include lastminute.com Group and Merlin Entertainments.

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