Tax Year, Dates and Filing Deadlines in the UK 2025/26

Beyond Income Tax: Other Crucial UK Tax Deadlines

Although the Self Assessment or PAYE provides a substantial part of UK tax obligations, a variety of different allowances and taxes have their specific deadlines, which both businesses and individuals should be aware of—becoming aware of the additional deadlines, like the tax return deadline UK and when you should think about the CGT allowance due date to ensure a complete method of planning your finances.

Tax Return Deadline:

For most businesses that are VAT registered quarterly VAT return is common. The deadline to submit the VAT return, as well as making payments usually one month and seven days after the expiration of the accounting period for VAT. The filing of your VAT return electronically and the payment process are common.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Date for Allowance: 

If you sell any asset that has increased in value, then you may have to pay Capital Gains Tax. It is possible that the tax exemption amount for the 2025-26 tax year is to be determined; however, generally, it is not tax-free on the gains over this limit. In the case of residential properties, it is mandatory to report the sale and be liable for CGT within 60 days after the date of sale. In the case of other assets, it’s usually reported via the self-assessment process by 31 January after the year of taxation in which the property was sold.

IHT (IHT) Deadline for Relief: 

There’s no specific IHT (IHT) deadline; certain actions are linked to the issue. In particular, the lifetime gifting limit (annual exemption of £3000 per year and a smaller donation limitation of £250) is reset every UK tax year on 5 April. Utilizing these limits before 5 April 2026, when the IHT relief expires, which is 5 April 2026 for the tax year, will help to reduce your potential IHT obligations on your estate.

Pension and ISA Allowance:

The last day to use your retirement contribution date, as well as ISA allowance for the tax year 2025 calendar year, will be 5 April 2026. The savings that are tax-free ISA allowance currently are £20,000, while pension contributions are also subject to limitations for the year. Maximizing these allowances before the expiry date UK tax year’s end date will significantly increase the tax-efficient savings you can make.

Trust Registration Deadline:

If you’re a trustee for a trust, it may be necessary to sign up the trust with the Trust Registration Service (TRS). Although existing trusts are subject to updates due by 31 January every year, if there are any changes to the trust, new trusts need to be registered within a specific period. Making sure you are up to date regarding the date of the TRS update is crucial.

Non-Resident Landlord’s Return:

If you’re a landlord who is not resident in the UK, the last day for VAT filing the rent return due date for the tax period is five July 2025. Being aware of the obligations you have as a non-resident landlord who is filing tax returns under tax-related matters in the UK tax system is vital.

Important Allowances and Statutory Updates

Being aware of adjustments to the statutory rate of pay and allowances is crucial both for employees and employers. The updates, as acknowledged by HMRC, are likely to affect budgeting, payroll, and general UK tax plans. In the UK fiscal year 2025-2026, here are a few of the key payroll updates that are required by law:

1. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): The Weekly rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be revised for the 2025-2026 tax year. In particular, it’s anticipated to increase from £116.75 to £118.75. This will impact the amount employers are required to pay workers who are eligible during times of sickness.
2. Statutory Maternity Payment (SMP): Similarly to the weekly pay rate, SMP will get an increase. The expected growth is by £184 up to £187.18. The same is true for the Statutory Paternity Payment and Shared Parental Pay as well as Adoption Pay.

Employers should consider the modifications 2025/26 to incorporate correctly into their payroll systems to guarantee that they comply with the law on employment and UK tax laws.

Penalties for Late Filing

Failure to meet a UK tax deadline could have negative financial implications. HMRC has an explicit procedure of penalty procedure for late filing UK for people and companies that do not meet their tax obligations in time. The knowledge of these penalties is a powerful incentive to ensure that you file your tax returns on time and that you pay them on time.

To use for the Self Assessment tax return:

• The first penalty: An immediate £100 penalty for tax returns that are a day overdue, regardless of whether you have any outstanding taxes.
• Day-to-day penalties: If you do not pay for three consecutive months in the HTML0 program, you’ll incur daily penalties in the amount of the equivalent of £10 per calendar day and up to an amount of up to £900.
• Six months late: An additional penalty that is 5% of the tax due, or £300, or the greater amount.
• Twelve months late: Another penalty of five percent of the tax owed or £300, or the greater amount.

For Corporation Tax:

• Initial Penalties: If your return is more than 3 months late, the penalty will be £100. After 3 months, it’s an additional £100.
• Six Months late: An additional penalty in the amount of 10% of taxes that were not paid on the date of this event.
• Twelve Months late: Another penalty of 10% of taxes that were not paid on the date of this report.

HMRC penalties are intended to promote timely compliance. If you are concerned about difficulties in the time frame you have set, you should get in touch with HMRC or your tax adviser as quickly as you can, because they can provide assistance or advice.

Conclusion 

Understanding the intricacies of the UK tax year and its numerous dates and deadlines for filing is a difficult challenge. Starting with knowing what you should know when the UK tax year starts is to make sure you’ve filed your self-assessment correctly, as well as keeping track of tax obligations like PAYE, as well as corporation tax obligations, and deadlines; it’s an enormous task to take care of. This guide aims to offer a simple and concise summary of essential information needed to be aware of for this 2025 – UK tax year that includes the most important data, entities, as well as terms the search engines and their users are looking for if you focus on accuracy and prompt compliance and avoiding penalties and handle your finances in confidence.