As a small business owner or freelancer, there are so many key tax dates that may seem difficult to remember. Many of these tax deadlines will even mean the difference when it comes to working within the law.
That’s why we have compiled a list of key financial dates this 2023 that every small business owner and freelancer should know.
Don’t forget, that if you need any help or advice please get in touch. The founding team at Acumenica have been working with contractors and small business owners for more than twenty years and have a broad and deep understanding of your particular needs when it comes to accounting and taxation.
Firstly, it’s important to know that the Tax year is different to your standard January 1st to December 31st. The Tax year aka. The Financial year runs from April 6th to April 5th. Just in case tax wasn’t confusing enough.
As we are now in January, we thought we would start with the date closest to now and that’s the Self Assessment Tax Return Date.
The Self-Assessment Tax Return date is 31st January
The last day of January marks the deadline to pay and submit your Self-Assessment Tax Return for the previous tax year. The final day of January also marks the First Payment on Account for Income Tax. Essentially you need to submit how much tax you owe, so always keep a strong handle on your financial statements.
Depending on what is easier for you, you can submit via paper or virtually. If you decided to submit this online, you have until the 31st January. But, if you go for a paper submission, you have until the 5th of October to let HMRC know if you will need to submit a Self-Assessment registration for the tax year 2022/2023. Then you have until the 31st of October/ Halloween to submit all paper Self- Assessments.
If you miss these dates, you will face fines so be sure to get all your paperwork in on time.
Capital Gains Tax
Another Tax payment to be aware of in January is the Capital Gains Tax. This is for those who are self-employed, are part of a partnership or Sole Trader. This is a Tax on the profit when you sell an asset that has increased in value. The payment deadline for Capital Gains Tax is 31st January 2024, for the 2022/ 2023 Tax year.
Corporation and Income Tax.
Corporation Tax is for businesses that fit into the category of Limited Companies. This is a Tax on your yearly profits and should be registered as soon as you start trading/ within 3 months of starting your business. You should pay this Tax 9 months after your accounting period and should file your company Taxy return a 12 months after the end of your accounting period. This makes Corporation Tax a Tax that is paid around your workings, rather than the government.
Income Tax is a form of Corporation Tax and is for businesses to claim return of Income Tax, interest, royalties, alternative finance payments, manufactured payments, relevant distributions or any similar recurring payment.
January 14th is the deadline for payment and filing for CT61 Income Tax for the quarter. This return should include all of Q4 in 2022. The CT61 form is used to claim return of Income Tax.
PAYE Deadline
PAYE is for businesses that need to pay employees, so this is usually not a worry for Freelancers. You pay this if you are responsible for withholding income Tax.
This is the deadline for filing final PAYE return from employers is April 5th. This will be for the periods 6th January 2023 - 5th April 2023.
5th July is the deadline to reach a PAYE Settlement Agreement for the 2022/23 tax year. This allows businesses to make one annual payment to cover all the tax and National Insurance due on minor, irregular and impracticable expenses or benefits for your employees.
P11D and P46
The PD11 is for businesses who offer benefits to employees or themselves, such as healthcare and childcare. 6th July is the deadline for submitting a P11D for the 2022/23 tax year.
Some businesses may offer a company car, if this is a benefit you offer, you need to submit a P46 (Car) form to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) so they can calculate the liability due. These are paid quarterly:
2nd February is the due date for the submission of P46 (Car) for the quarter ending on the 5th January.
3rd May is the due date for the submission of P46 (Car) for the quarter ending on the 5th April.
3rd August is the deadline to submit P46 for employees whose car/fuel benefits changed during the quarter to 5th July.
2nd November is the due date for the submission of P46 (Car) for the quarter ending on the 5th October.
A side note, on the 1st March New Advisory Fuel Rates (AFR) are introduced. These new rates are used to calculate how much employees should be reimbursed for business travel in company cars and whether they need to repay fuel costs used for private travel.
P45 and P60
These forms are dedicated to businesses who hire employees.
The P45 form must be submitted when the employee leaves your business and a copy should be provided to those leaving your employment.
The P60 is a yearly form that must be completed and provided to your employees at the end of each Tax year. 31st May is the deadline for employees to receive P60 for the 2022-2023 tax year.
We appreciate that finding an accountant who can help with these things, can be difficult. Acumenica help out cash pressured businesses day-in, day-out. Do you think Acumenica could help your business? The next step is to book a call with an Acumenica accountant so we can find out a little more about your business and how we can help you. Definitely no hard sell and no obligation.
Visit our Contact Page to get in touch. Or you can email
