United Kingdom compliance calendar

12 recurring VAT obligations — returns, payments and listings — each with its due rule and official source, plus the dates new United Kingdom rules take effect.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Add to your calendar

Mon
Tue
Wed
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Sat
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27
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31
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6
Return filing Report / listing Payment Law change takes effect

Statutory due dates — weekend and public-holiday shifts are not modelled. Confirm against the linked official source before relying on a date.

Recurring obligations, with sources

Each deadline cites the official text that states it and the date we last verified it.

VAT Return — quarterly, stagger 1

VAT · Quarterly · return filing

7th of the 2nd month after the quarter ends Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
VAT-registered businesses on stagger 1, whose quarters end in March, June, September and December. Filing and cleared payment share this date. Businesses in payments on account or the Annual Accounting Scheme do not get the 7-day extension and are excluded.
Notes
The statutory due date is the last day of the month following the period end (VAT Regulations 1995 reg 25(1)); a Direction under regs 25A(20) and 40(3)–(4) adds 7 calendar days for online filing and electronic payment, which is why the date falls in the second month after the quarter. Payment shares the date, so there is no separate payment row — but it is CLEARED funds that must reach HMRC. Direct Debit is collected a further 3 bank working days after the deadline.
Source
Send a VAT Return — Deadlines GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“The deadline for submitting your return online is usually one calendar month and 7 days after the end of an accounting period. This is also the deadline for paying HMRC. You need to allow time for the payment to reach HMRC's account.”
Screenshot of GOV.UK (HMRC) showing the VAT Return — quarterly, stagger 1 deadline Open full size Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

VAT Return — quarterly, stagger 2

VAT · Quarterly · return filing

7th of the 2nd month after the quarter ends Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
VAT-registered businesses on stagger 2, whose quarters end in April, July, October and January. Filing and cleared payment share this date.
Notes
HMRC allocates the stagger group at registration. Same one-month-and-7-days rule as stagger 1, applied to a different set of quarter ends.
Source
VAT guide (VAT Notice 700) §20.3.1 — tax periods and stagger groups GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“The standard tax period is 3 months. To spread the flow of returns evenly over the year, you will have been allocated to one of 3 groups of tax periods when you were registered.”
Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

VAT Return — quarterly, stagger 3

VAT · Quarterly · return filing

7th of the 2nd month after the quarter ends Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
VAT-registered businesses on stagger 3, whose quarters end in May, August, November and February. Filing and cleared payment share this date.
Notes
A quarter ending 28 February is due 7 April, not 4 April: the statutory date is the last day of the month NEXT following (31 March), and the Direction adds 7 days to that.
Source
VAT guide (VAT Notice 700) §20.3.1 — tax periods and stagger groups GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“The standard tax period is 3 months. To spread the flow of returns evenly over the year, you will have been allocated to one of 3 groups of tax periods when you were registered.”
Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

VAT Return — monthly

VAT · Monthly · return filing

7th of the 2nd month after the month ends Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
Businesses HMRC has allowed or directed onto monthly returns — typically repayment traders who ask for them. Twelve returns a year instead of four.
Notes
Falls on the 7th of every month, one period in arrears: the return due 7 February covers December, not January.
Source
VAT guide (VAT Notice 700) §20.3.2 — monthly tax periods GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“You can ask for monthly tax periods if you normally expect to receive repayments. Remember, if you do have monthly tax periods, you will have to make 12 returns a year instead of 4.”
Screenshot of GOV.UK (HMRC) showing the VAT Return — monthly deadline Open full size Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

VAT payments on account — monthly interim

VAT · Monthly · payment

31st of the month after the month ends Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
Quarterly filers HMRC has directed into payments on account, having owed more than £2.3 million VAT in any period of 12 months or less (including import VAT and excise-warehouse movements). Each interim is 1/24 of the annual VAT liability in the qualifying period.
Notes
Dates shown are for stagger 1 and are adjusted to the last WORKING day, per HMRC's rule for the second and third months of the VAT quarter — so they fall before the month end whenever it lands on a weekend or bank holiday. The pattern shifts by one or two months for staggers 2 and 3. Direct Debit is not available to businesses in this arrangement.
Source
VAT payments on account — due dates for payments on account GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“The due dates for payments on account are the last working day of the second and third months of every VAT quarter, no matter what your period end date is. The 7-day extension for paying electronically does not apply to payments on account.”
Screenshot of GOV.UK (HMRC) showing the VAT payments on account — monthly interim deadline Open full size Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

VAT payments on account — quarterly balancing payment

VAT · Quarterly · payment

31st of the month after the quarter ends Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
Businesses in payments on account, on stagger 1 (quarters ending March, June, September, December). Due with the VAT return, but without the 7-day extension.
Notes
Staggers 2 and 3 shift by one and two months respectively. Payments on account carry the same weekend rule as the interims — the money must clear on the last working day before the deadline unless paid by Faster Payments — so these dates are adjusted. HMRC does not state the RETURN filing date for these businesses as crisply as the payment date; this row models the payment.
Source
VAT payments on account — due dates for quarterly balancing payments GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“Your balancing payments: are due with your VAT return; must have cleared into HMRC's bank account by the last day of the month if you have standard period end dates”
Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

VAT Return — Annual Accounting Scheme

VAT · Annually · return filing

within 2 months of the end of your annual accounting period Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
Businesses in the Annual Accounting Scheme — joinable when estimated VAT taxable turnover is £1.35 million or less for the next 12 months; you must leave when turnover is, or is likely to be, more than £1.6 million at the end of the annual accounting year.
Notes
No dated instances: HMRC assigns each business its own annual accounting year, so the deadline cannot be placed on a shared calendar. Advance payments run alongside — monthly at 10% of the estimated bill, due at the end of months 4 to 12 (nine payments), or quarterly at 25%, due at the end of months 4, 7 and 10. The balancing payment is due within 2 months of month 12. Periods shorter than 4 months carry no advance payments.
Source
VAT Annual Accounting Scheme — return and payment deadlines GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“If your accounting period is between 4 and 12 months long, your VAT Return is due 2 months after the end of your accounting period. If your accounting period is less than 4 months long, your VAT Return is due 1 month after the end of your accounting period.”
Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

EC Sales List — Northern Ireland goods, monthly

VAT · Monthly · report / listing

21st of the month after the month ends Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
UK VAT-registered businesses supplying goods from Northern Ireland to VAT-registered customers in the EU, where total sales in the last 4 quarters exceed £35,000. Great Britain goods exports and all services dropped out of the ECSL on 1 January 2021.
Notes
Corrections, including call-off stock changes, must also be made within 21 days of the original submission date.
Source
How to report sales of goods from Northern Ireland to the EU for VAT GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“You must send your EC Sales list within 21 days of the reporting period. If you miss this deadline, you may have to pay a penalty for any late submissions.”
Screenshot of GOV.UK (HMRC) showing the EC Sales List — Northern Ireland goods, monthly deadline Open full size Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

EC Sales List — Northern Ireland goods, quarterly

VAT · Quarterly · report / listing

21st of the month after the quarter ends Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
Northern Ireland goods suppliers whose total sales in each of the last 4 quarters were under £35,000. An annual simplified list is available on application where yearly taxable turnover is no more than the VAT registration threshold plus £25,500, NI-to-EU goods are no more than £11,000, and no new means of transport are sold.
Notes
Modelled on calendar quarters. HMRC's live guidance does not state whether the quarterly reporting period follows the trader's VAT stagger or the calendar quarter; the 21-day rule itself is unambiguous.
Source
How to report sales of goods from Northern Ireland to the EU for VAT GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“Quarterly EC Sales List must be submitted if your total sales for each quarter in the last 4 quarters is under £35,000.”
Screenshot of GOV.UK (HMRC) showing the EC Sales List — Northern Ireland goods, quarterly deadline Open full size Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

One Stop Shop VAT Return — Union scheme

VAT · Quarterly · return filing

31st of the month after the quarter ends Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
Businesses registered for the OSS Union scheme for distance sales of goods from Northern Ireland to EU consumers. Nil returns are compulsory. These sales are excluded from box 6 of the UK VAT Return.
Notes
HMRC issues a reminder on the 10th day after the deadline, allowing 10 further days; missing three consecutive periods excludes the business from the scheme.
Source
Submit your One Stop Shop return and VAT payment GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“You must submit a return and pay the VAT owed by the last day of the month, following the end of each quarter. If you've not sold any goods in the EU during a tax period, you should submit a nil return.”
Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

VAT registration — notify HMRC

VAT · One-off · registration

within 30 days of the end of the month in which taxable turnover for the previous 12 months exceeded £90,000 Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
Businesses whose taxable turnover in the previous 12 months or less exceeds £90,000 at the end of any month. Registration takes effect from the first day of the second month after the threshold was crossed. Non-established taxable persons have no threshold and must notify within 30 days of making any UK taxable supply.
Notes
A second, forward-looking trigger runs in parallel: if you expect taxable supplies in the NEXT 30 days alone to exceed £90,000, you must notify within 30 days of that expectation arising, and registration takes effect from the date you realised. The £90,000 threshold and the £88,000 deregistration limit come from the VAT Notice 700/1 supplement (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-7001-should-i-be-registered-for-vat/vat-notice-7001-supplement--2), updated 5 August 2026 for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Source
VAT Notice 700/1 §4.2 — when to notify HMRC GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“at the end of any month the value of your taxable supplies in the last 12 months or less has exceeded the threshold, or the value of your relevant acquisitions has exceeded the threshold → within 30 days from the end of the month that this occurred”
Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

VAT deregistration — cancel your registration

VAT · One-off · registration

within 30 days of the date you stopped being eligible to be VAT registered Verified 2026-08-14
Who files
Businesses that stop being eligible to be VAT registered — for example on ceasing to trade, ceasing to make taxable supplies, or joining a VAT group. Voluntary deregistration is separately available when taxable turnover falls below the £88,000 deregistration limit.
Notes
A parallel 30-day duty covers changes to registered details: HMRC must be told within 30 days of a change of business name, address, bank details or partnership membership, again on penalty.
Source
Cancel your VAT registration GOV.UK (HMRC)
See the source text
“You must cancel within 30 days if you stop being eligible or you might be charged a penalty.”
Captured from GOV.UK (HMRC) on 2026-08-14

VAT only. Other UK indirect taxes with their own periodic returns — Insurance Premium Tax, Plastic Packaging Tax, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy — are not covered here, nor are corporation tax, PAYE and Companies House filings. Unlike most EU jurisdictions, the UK does NOT move a VAT deadline that falls on a weekend or bank holiday: the return and cleared payment must arrive on or before the stated date regardless. The one exception runs the other way — payments on account must clear on the last working day BEFORE the deadline, unless paid by Faster Payments, and those dates are adjusted accordingly on this calendar. VAT Notice 700 §21.7 still shows a superseded £2 million payments-on-account threshold; the dedicated guidance (updated 23 April 2026) states £2.3 million five times, and that is the figure used here.

What this calendar does not list

  • Not applicable E-invoicing / e-reporting cycle — The UK's B2B/B2G e-invoicing mandate — Peppol confirmed as the interoperability network, mandatory from 2029 with an implementation roadmap due at Budget 2026 — governs how invoices are exchanged between parties. It fixes no periodic submission deadline to HMRC, so there is no filing cycle to place on a calendar.

New United Kingdom rules taking effect

Confirmed changes from the weekly scan — each links to its full record with the official source.

About this calendar

Which United Kingdom tax deadlines does this calendar cover?

12 recurring indirect-tax obligations — VAT returns, payments and related filings — each with the due-date rule, who must file, and the official source that states the deadline. Direct-tax, payroll and company-registry deadlines are out of scope.

How current are these due dates?

Every obligation carries the date it was last verified against its official source (newest: 2026-08-14). Law-change dates come from the weekly Last Week in Taxes scan and link to their full change records.

Do the dates account for weekends and public holidays?

No — the calendar shows the statutory due date. Where the authority shifts deadlines falling on non-working days, the obligation notes say so. Confirm against the linked official source before relying on a date.

Related: Global compliance calendar · United Kingdom tax changes · Last Week in Taxes

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