Remembering all your company’s filing and payment deadlines can be a big task, whether you’re a new startup founder or an experienced managing director.
To give you a headstart (and to prevent you missing any deadlines and facing a penalty) we’ve summarised all the key filing and payment deadlines coming up for Q4 of 2021.
Company-specific deadlines
Filing of accounts:
If your company was formed between 1 January 2020 and 31 March 2020, you need to file your first-year accounts with Companies House no later than 1 year and 9 months (to the specific day) after your company’s incorporation date.
For example:
- Date of incorporation 15/01/2020 – Filing deadline 15/10/2021
- Date of incorporation 01/02/2020 – Filing deadline 01/11/2021
- Date of incorporation 31/03/2020 – Filing deadline 31/12/2021
If your company has an accounting period that ends between 1 January 2021 and 31 March 2021, you need to file your annual accounts at Companies House 9 months after your company’s financial year-end.
For example:
- Period-end 31/01/2021 – Filing deadline 31/10/2021
- Period-end 28/02/2021 – Filing deadline 30/11/2021
- Period-end 31/03/2021 – Filing deadline 31/12/2021
Tax filing deadlines:
- If your company has an accounting period ending between 31 December 2020 and 30 March 2021, you need to pay your Corporation Tax bill (or tell HMRC that you don’t owe any) 9 months and 1 day after your accounting period for Corporation Tax ends. For example, a company with a 28/02/2021 accounting period-end needs to pay Corporation Tax by 01/12/2021.
- NOTE: if your accounting period is longer than 12 months, the first deadline is 21 months and 1 day after the accounting period started, and the second one is 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends.
- If your profits are more than £1.5 million, the tax is payable quarterly with two payments before the end of your accounting period and two after. The first payment is normally six months and 13 days after the start of the period, with the others paid three-monthly from that point onwards.
- If your company has an accounting period ending between 1 October 2020 and 31 December 2020, you need to file a company tax return 12 months after your accounting period ends – so, the same month and day as your period-end but in 2021.
- Your VAT returns for periods ending 31 August 2021 to 31 October 2021 need to be submitted 1 month and 7 days from the end of your VAT period, with payment normally due at the same time. If you pay by Direct Debit, you have an additional 3 days to make the payment.
General deadlines:
- Self assessment – The deadline to submit paper self-assessment income tax returns for 2020/21 is 31 October 2021.
- Christmas planning – Christmas falls on the weekend this year (Christmas Day is Saturday 25 December 2021). Monday 27 December and Tuesday 28 December will be bank holidays, so you need to factor these holidays into your business planning.
- PAYE and NI – Pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) and National Insurance (NI) payments are due on the 19th calendar day of the month after the month-end or quarter end, as applicable (22nd for electronic payments)
- NOTE: for example, people think that payroll month 7 is for October, but it actually runs up to 5 November. This makes a difference with weekly payrolls. PAYE will be due on 19/22 November.
Get in touch if you have any questions
Don’t worry, if our firm carries out the related activities (e.g. payroll processing), we’ll be monitoring your deadlines automatically. But it’s worth remembering that you, as a company, remain legally responsible.
Be sure to add these deadlines to your diary and business planning, so you’re on the ball when it comes to the key dates. And pay particular attention to any dates where we aren’t carrying out the work for you (and where you’re responsible for meeting the deadline).
Get in touch if you have any questions.