1. Home
  2. Tax Guides
  3. Self-employment
  4. When do I make Self Assessment payments and file my tax return?

When do I make Self Assessment payments and file my tax return?

Updated on 21 April 2023

Self-employment

This page aims to provide you with a summary of the key dates that are important if you are self-employed so you know when you need to take action. As a self-employed person, you will usually fall within the Self Assessment system.

Illustration of a woman circling a date on a calendar

What is Self Assessment?

Self Assessment is the process by which you advise HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of your income, gains and relevant expenses for a tax year. You currently do this by completing a tax return, sending it to HMRC and calculating your own tax liability (note the HMRC online return will do the calculation for you automatically). You can find out more about Self Assessment on the How do I pay tax on self-employed income? and Self Assessment: understanding the basics pages .

If you have only a small amount of self-employment income and can use the trading allowance then you may not need to register with HMRC or complete a Self Assessment tax return.

However, the government announced some time ago that it is their intention to phase out tax returns as the method of reporting details of taxable income in due course (although not before April 2026) and replace them with a predominantly digital system. The project is known as ‘Making Tax Digital’. There is more information about HMRC’s digital services generally in our tax basics section. To find out more about ‘Making Tax Digital’ and how it will affect self-employed businesses go to Making Tax Digital for Income tax. If you are registered for VAT, you can read about the ‘Making Tax Digital for VAT’ programme which came into effect on 1 April 2019 on our page What is Making Tax Digital for VAT?.

Important dates if you are self-employed

When we talk about dates for tax, often the date is said to be ‘during the tax year’ or ‘following the end of the tax year’. A UK tax year runs from 6 April to the following 5 April.

So, if we are talking about the tax year 2022/2023 it started on 6 April 2022 and finished on 5 April 2023. The 31 January during the tax year was 31 January 2023, the 5 October following the end of the tax year would be 5 October 2023 and the 31 January following the end of the tax year would be 31 January 2024.

Not all of the dates listed below may apply to you even if you are self-employed. You can follow the links that give you more information to help you decide if you need to take some action by that date.

31 January (during the tax year)

The first payment on account for the tax year ending the following 5 April is due.

For example, the first payment on account for the 2022/23 tax year was due by 31 January 2023.

Find out more about payments on account on our How do I pay tax on self-employed income? page. Not everyone has to pay these payments on account.

April (following the end of the tax year)

The tax year ends on 5 April and shortly after this date anyone who is required to file a tax return will receive a notice advising that you must file a tax return for the tax year just ended.

If you are newly self-employed, you will need to register with HMRC for tax and National Insurance (NIC) for this to happen.

If you have stopped trading during the tax year, you will still need to complete a tax return for your last year of business. There is more information on what to do when your business ceases to trade in our section ‘Stopping your business’ on our guide to self-employment.

31 July (following the end of the tax year)

The second payment on account for the tax year ending the previous 5 April is due.

For example, the second payment on account for the 2022/23 tax year is due by 31 July 2023.

Find out more about payments on account on our How do I pay tax on self-employed income? page. Not everyone has to pay these payments on account.

5 October (following the end of the tax year)

The 5 October is the date by which you need to notify HMRC that you have income that has not been taxed before you received it, or capital gains in excess of the annual exempt amount (£12,300 for 2022/23 and £6,000 for 2023/24). This is so that HMRC can send you a notice a file a tax return.

If you are self-employed, you need to register with HMRC for tax purposes by this date.

Find out more on our How do I register for tax and National Insurance? page if you are self-employed.

31 October (following the end of the tax year)

If you are sending HMRC a paper tax return this must be submitted by 31 October. If you send the form after this date there will be a penalty even if you have no tax to pay. See our penalties section for further information.

The deadline for filing a paper tax return for 2022/23 for the purpose of establishing when late filing penalties become due is 31 October 2023, and for other tax years the filing deadline for paper tax returns is 31 October following the tax year.

Find out more about tax returns for the self-employed and the options for paper or online returns in the section on how to complete your Self Assessment tax return in our self-employment tax guide.

30 December (following the end of the tax year)

If you file your tax return online, you will need to submit it by this date if you have employment or pension income and want HMRC to collect the self-employed tax through your PAYE tax code. This may be possible where you owe less than £3,000. If your income is more than £30,000, even more tax may be collected through your PAYE tax code. See How do I pay tax on self-employed income? for more information.

31 January (following the end of the tax year)

All tax returns filed online must be submitted by this date. If you miss this deadline a penalty will be charged even if you have no tax to pay or have already paid all of the tax you owe. See our penalties section for more information.

The deadline for filing an online tax return for 2022/23 for the purpose of establishing when late filing penalties become due is 31 January 2024, and for other tax years the filing deadline for online tax returns is 31 January following the tax year.

Also, your balancing payment of tax is due at this time. For example, your balancing payment for 2022/23 is due on 31 January 2024. See our How do I pay tax on self-employed income? page. You may also have a payment on account to make at this time. For example, you may have a payment on account to pay for the 2023/24 tax year on 31 January 2024.

Find out more about payments on account on our How do I pay tax on self-employed income? page. Not everyone has to pay these payments on account.

31 January (following the end of the tax year) + 1 year

If you become aware that an entry on your paper or online tax return is incorrect you can amend that return up to 12 months after 31 January following the end of the tax year.

For example, if you need to amend your 2022/23 return you have until 31 January 2025 to make the amendment. This applies whether you filed manually using a paper return or completed it online.

Tax guides

Introduction to the tax system How do I work out my tax? What income is taxable? What tax allowances am I entitled to? What tax rates apply to me? How is my tax collected? What if I cannot pay my tax bill? Do I need to complete a tax return? Self Assessment: understanding the basics What is Simple Assessment? How do I claim tax back? How do I claim back tax I have overpaid through PAYE on wages or pensions? How do I claim back tax if I complete a tax return? How do I claim back tax if I am taxed under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)? How do I claim back tax on savings income? How do I claim a marriage allowance refund? How do I claim back tax on a payment protection insurance (PPI) pay-out? Should I use a tax refund company? What is National Insurance? How do I get a National Insurance number? What are Specified Adult Childcare credits? What is Scottish income tax? What is devolution? Do I have to pay Scottish income tax? How does Scottish income tax work? What is Welsh income tax? Do I have to pay Welsh income tax? Do I have to join a pension scheme? Tax relief on your pension contributions HMRC digital services Enquiries, penalties, appeals, complaints and debt Enquiries How to survive an enquiry by HMRC Tax penalties Tax appeals Alternative Dispute Resolution How do I complain to HMRC? What if I cannot pay my tax bill? What if I have a tax credits overpayment?
Am I employed, self-employed, both or neither? Working through a limited company What is the national minimum wage? How do I work out my tax? What income is taxable? What tax allowances am I entitled to? What tax rates apply to me? How is my tax collected? How is tax collected on taxable state benefits? How do I check my coding notice? Do I need to complete a tax return? What tax do I pay on redundancy payments?Employment benefits and expenses What are benefits-in-kind? What payments and benefits are non taxable? What if I incur expenses in relation to my job? What travel expenses can I claim? What if I use my own car for business purposes? Payroll giving Allowances and expenses paid to armed forces personnel and deductions from their income Pensions and employees What is automatic enrolment for employees? What National Insurance do I pay as an employee? How do I repay my student loan? What if I do not pay enough tax? What if I pay too much tax? What if I work abroad temporarily? What if I am in the armed forces and work overseas? First time workers Apprenticeships

Share this page