Business Finance 101: 2024/25 Tax Year Key Dates
Keeping up with tax deadlines can seem like a daunting task, but it's essential for successful financial management. Ensuring your taxes are paid on time not only saves money, but also offers peace of mind that you won't miss any important dates and incur additional costs down the road.
This post provides all of the key 2024/25 UK tax year dates to help businesses stay organised - ensuring budgeting efficiency!
Bookmark this page, add the dates to your calendar, and schedule reminders in advance to remind yourself that the deadlines are approaching.
It is always best practice to acquire the services of a good bookkeeper and accountant. Even with a bookkeeper and accountant on board, you need to forecast your income and expenditure to run a business successfully. By monitoring your accounts, you’re less likely to run into cash flow issues.
What are the key dates for 2024/2025?
The dates you need to be aware of for the new tax year are:
5 April 2024
End of the 2023/24 tax year
Friday 5 April is the final day of the 2023/24 UK tax year. This is the date by which you need to have all your accounts in order. All documents should be issued to your employees, and all employees should be associated with the correct PAYE tax codes.
If you submitted a Self Assessment tax return in January, then all your accounts will be organised up until that date. You now only need to prepare your income and expenditure statement from January to April.
If all your accounts are up-to-date by this point, it’ll make it much easier to submit your tax returns and rebates, including your Company Tax Return if you’re a limited company. If HMRC audit your business, it’s important they can gain a clear picture of your full accounts for the last six years, so they are worth keeping on top of.
6 April 2024
Start of the 2024/25 tax year
The start of a new tax year can mean changes in the law or the launch of regulations that may affect your business. Keep up-to-date with the latest tax news and make sure you update any relevant processes in line with the changes.
Even if the changes do not affect you or your business, it’s a good time to implement better accounting practices, whether that be for Income Tax, National Insurance, expenses, or invoicing.
It’s also an opportunity to stay on top of your accounts. Review your current processes and look for efficiencies in the way you record your income and expenditure.
Ensure expenses are tracked regularly, on at least a monthly basis. If you haven’t already, consider using an expense tracking app to record and take photos on the go.
19 April 2024
Deadline for 2023/24 year-end payroll submissions
If you run payroll, this is the deadline for you to send your final Full Payment Submission (FPS) and, if required, Employer Payment Summary (EPS).
As part of the preparation, you should process your final pay period and submit your last FPS (but just for your final pay period). When you process your year-end, you’ll make an internet submission. The deadline for this is 19 April.
7 May 2024
VAT return and payments deadline for Q1 (ending 31 March 2024)
If you pay your VAT in quarterly periods, your deadline for VAT is usually one month and seven days after the end of the VAT period, including the time for your payment to reach HMRC.
31 May 2024
Issue 2023/24 P60 documents to employees
All employees who are working with you on the final day of the tax year (5 April) need to receive a P60 from you by 31 May. This document summarises the payments they’ve received and deductions paid for the year last year.
6 July 2024
Issue 2023/24 P11D documents to employees
A P11D form is used to report ‘benefits in kind’. These cover items or services which you or your employees receive from your company in addition to salary. Examples include private healthcare, interest-free loans, and company cars.
31 July 2024
Second payment on account (POA) for income tax for 2023/24 tax year
In addition to completing your Self Assessment tax return, you’re also required to make two separate payments for HMRC (unless your last Self Assessment tax bill was less than £1,000). These payments are due for payment in January and July and are known as ‘payments on account’. They essentially serve as advance payments to cover you for the upcoming tax year.
Each of the payments is half your previous year’s tax bill. So, for example, if last year’s tax bill was £1,800, you’d make one payment on account of £900 in January, and another payment in July.
The deadline for the second payment on account is 31 July 2024.
7 August 2024
VAT return and payments deadline for Q2 (ending 30 June 2024)
If you pay your VAT in quarterly periods, your deadline for VAT is usually one month and seven days after the end of the VAT period, including the time for your payment to reach HMRC.
31 October 2024
Deadline for paper Self Assessment tax returns for 2023/24 tax year
If you’ve received any untaxed income (i.e. that outside of your PAYE earnings), you’ll need to submit a Self Assessment tax return ↗
This document tells HMRC what you’ve earned and what you need to pay in tax.
If you wish to send a paper submission by post for the previous tax year 2023/24, then it needs to arrive with HMRC by 31 October 2024. Postal submissions are being phased out as most individuals make digital submissions instead, which are due by 31 January 2025.
7 November 2024
VAT return and payments deadline for Q3 (ending 30 September 2024)
31 December 2024
Filing deadline for company accounts with Companies House for limited companies with year-end of 31 March 2024
If you have a limited company with a year-end of 31 March, then your company accounts should be filed by 31 December 2024 with Companies House. The late filing penalty is currently £150 for up to one month after the deadline, increasing depending on the lateness of your filing.
1 January 2025
Due date for Corporation Tax payment for period ending 31 March 2024
If you have a limited company with a year-end of 31 March, then your Corporation Tax will be due for payment by 1 January 2025. This deadline is dependent on your year-end, as Corporation Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after year-end. The late payment rate is currently 7.75%.
31 January 2025
Filing deadline for Self Assessment tax returns for the 2023/24 tax year
Balancing payment of tax due for the 2023/24 tax year
First payment on account (POA) for income tax for the 2024/25 tax year
7 February 2025
VAT return and payments deadline for Q4 (ending 31 December 2024)
31 March 2025
Due date for filing Company Tax Return for period ending 31 March 2024
If you have a limited company with a year-end of 31 March, then you must file a Company Tax Return (CT600) ↗
You must still send a return if you make a loss or have no Corporation Tax to pay. The penalty for filing late is currently £100, increasing the longer it’s late.
5 April 2025
End of the 2024/2025 tax year
6 April 2025
Start of the 2025/26 tax year
What are the main UK business taxes?
Applicable taxes to your business will depend on the size and type of your company. It’s important that you have an understanding of what taxes and associated deadlines may be relevant to you and your business.
The main taxes small business owners need to be aware of are:
Income tax
Income Tax is a tax you pay on your personal income.
As a sole trader, you must pay income tax on any profits of your business above the personal tax allowance.
If you are the director of a limited company, you’ll pay income tax on your salary and dividends drawn from the company.
In most cases, income tax is collected via PAYE (pay as you earn) on a monthly basis and paid directly to HMRC.
Corporation tax
All limited companies are liable for Corporation Tax. It is self-assessed and calculated as a percentage of the total profit.
Corporation Tax is currently set at 19% on all profits for the 2022/23. For the tax year2023/24, the rate of Corporation Tax you pay depends on how much profit your company make with smaller companies (profits under £50K) paying 19% and larger companies (profits over £250K) paying 25%. Companies with profits between £50,000 and £250,000 will pay tax at the main rate, reduced by a marginal relief↗. This provides a gradual increase in the effective Corporation Tax rate.
Payment of Corporation Tax is due nine months after your business’s accounting period. The payment amount must match that filed on your Company Tax Return (CT600) which is due for filing 12 months after your accounting period ends.
VAT (value added tax)
VAT is a form of consumption tax. It is a tax applied to the purchase of goods or services and other ’taxable supplies’.
You may register your business for VAT at any time. However, if your business turns over more than £90,000 you are legally required to register.
Being registered for VAT requires you to charge VAT on all services or goods your business provides. NB, you can only charge VAT if you are registered to do so. Being registered for VAT also allows you to reclaim VAT on goods and services purchased by your business.
In the UK, VAT is currently set at 20% across most products and services.
Business rates
Business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties, like shops, offices, factories, etc. You’ll probably have to pay business rates if you use a building or part of a building for non-domestic purposes. However, you may be able to get business rates relief ↗ from your local council to reduce your bill.
National Insurance
If you employ staff your business must pay Employers National Insurance. Payments are made to HMRC when you pay staff wages.
The HMRC Employment Allowance allows eligible employers ↗ to reduce their annual National Insurance liability by up to £5,000. You’ll pay less employers’ Class 1 National Insurance each time you run your payroll until the £5,000 has been used or the tax year ends (whichever is sooner).
Conclusion
Small business owners often feel like they have a neverending todo list without having to read complex articles about tax. Therefore, we hope this blog post has helped to define some of the most common taxes you need to be aware of.
At HiThrive, we understand the value of good business advice and how it can guide a business in the right direction. This is why we offer a wide range of professional business consultancy, bookkeeping and virtual assistance services. To find out more about how HiThrive can help your business, get in touch.