UK Financial Year End 2026/27: 31 March, 5 April or Your Own Date?

By the MTDFix Editorial Team · Technical review: Shamayun Chowdhury, Senior Accountant · Updated October 2026 · Covers the 2026/27 tax year

“Year end” sounds like one date. In the UK it is at least three, and the one that matters to you depends on whether you’re employed, self-employed, a landlord or running a limited company. Mix them up and you can end up paying tax late, filing against the wrong period or missing a relief that resets on a set day.

Here’s the short version, then the detail.

Three different “year ends” and who uses them

The tax year: 6 April to 5 April

Income Tax, National Insurance for the self-employed, Capital Gains Tax and most personal allowances work to the tax year. It’s an odd date because of a calendar change in 1752, and it has stuck ever since. Your Personal Allowance, ISA allowance, dividend allowance and Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount all reset on 6 April.

The government financial year: 1 April to 31 March

Public bodies budget to this year, and Corporation Tax rates are set for each “financial year” running 1 April to 31 March. The Financial Year 2026 runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. If a company’s accounting period straddles 31 March and the rate changes, profits are split between the two financial years.

A company’s own year: the accounting reference date

Every limited company has an accounting reference date (ARD). When you incorporate, Companies House sets it to the last day of the month in which the company was formed. Plenty of companies keep that date; others move it to 31 March or 31 December so their numbers line up with the tax calendar or the business’s quiet season.

Which year end applies to you?

You are…	Year end that drives your tax	Main return
Employed only (PAYE)	5 April	Usually none – your employer deals with it
Sole trader	5 April (31 March accepted)	Self Assessment, plus MTD quarterly updates if you’re in scope
Landlord	5 April (31 March accepted)	Self Assessment, plus MTD quarterly updates if you’re in scope
Limited company	Its accounting reference date	Company accounts and a CT600 Corporation Tax return
Company director	The company’s ARD for the company; 5 April for your own salary and dividends	Both of the above

Sole traders and landlords: why it’s nearly always 5 April now

Before basis period reform, a sole trader with a 30 June year end was taxed on the accounts ending in that tax year. From 2024/25 onwards, profits are taxed on a tax-year basis: HMRC wants the profit for 6 April to 5 April. If your accounts end on any other date you have to apportion two sets of accounts to arrive at the tax-year figure, which is extra work and often means estimating.

That’s why most sole traders now use 5 April or 31 March. HMRC treats an accounting date of 31 March as equivalent to 5 April, so either works without apportionment.

Illustrative example: Priya runs a cleaning business with accounts to 31 December. For 2026/27 she would need to take roughly three-quarters of her year to 31 December 2026 and a quarter of her year to 31 December 2027 – and the second set of accounts won’t be finished in time, so she’d file a provisional figure and amend it later. Switching her accounting date to 31 March removes all of that.

Limited companies: when your year crosses 31 March

A company pays Corporation Tax on the profits of its own accounting period, whatever date that ends. The 31 March date only matters if the Corporation Tax rate or rules change between financial years – then the profit is time-apportioned across the two. Your filing and payment deadlines all count from your company’s year end, not from 31 March.

How Making Tax Digital fits around the tax year

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax started on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000. The threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027, and a further drop to £20,000 is planned from April 2028.

MTD doesn’t change your year end, but it slices the tax year into four update periods:

Update period (standard)	Quarterly update due
6 April – 5 July 2026	7 August 2026
6 July – 5 October 2026	7 November 2026
6 October – 5 January 2027	7 February 2027
6 January – 5 April 2027	7 May 2027

You can elect for calendar quarters instead (ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March); the due dates stay the same. After the fourth update you still finalise the year with a final declaration by 31 January 2028 – that replaces the old Self Assessment return for people in MTD.

The practical point: under MTD the end of the tax year is no longer the first time anyone looks at your numbers. If your records are tidy each quarter, the year end becomes a quick review instead of a scramble.

What’s due after the 2026/27 year ends

For individuals (tax year ending 5 April 2027)

• 7 May 2027 – fourth MTD quarterly update, if you’re in MTD.
• 31 May 2027 – employers must give employees their P60.
• 6 July 2027 – P11D forms for benefits in kind are due.
• 31 July 2027 – second payment on account for 2026/27, if you pay that way.
• 5 October 2027 – deadline to register for Self Assessment if you’re newly self-employed or have new untaxed income.
• 31 October 2027 – paper Self Assessment returns.
• 31 January 2028 – online Self Assessment return or MTD final declaration, the balancing payment for 2026/27 and the first payment on account for 2027/28.

For limited companies (counting from your own year end)

• 9 months and 1 day after the year end – Corporation Tax payment (for companies that aren’t paying in instalments).
• 9 months after the year end – accounts to Companies House for a private company (first accounts: 21 months from incorporation).
• 12 months after the year end – CT600 Corporation Tax return to HMRC.

So a company with a 31 March 2027 year end pays its Corporation Tax by 1 January 2028, files accounts by 31 December 2027 and submits its CT600 by 31 March 2028.

A pre-year-end checklist

Before 5 April 2027 (individuals, sole traders and landlords)

• Use your ISA allowance – any unused amount doesn’t carry over.
• Check pension contributions against your annual allowance, and think about whether a contribution could bring income back below a tax band or the £100,000 allowance taper.
• Consider whether any gains could use this year’s Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount.
• If you’re self-employed, think about the timing of planned equipment purchases – buying before or after 5 April moves the capital allowance into a different tax year.
• If you’re in MTD, make sure all income and expenses for January to March are recorded so the fourth update is accurate.

Before your company’s year end

• Review directors’ pay and dividends for the right mix before the period closes.
• Chase unpaid invoices and write off genuine bad debts.
• Count stock and work in progress on the actual year-end date.
• Check whether a director’s loan account is overdrawn – unpaid balances can trigger an extra Corporation Tax charge if not cleared within 9 months.
• Decide whether to bring forward planned spending on equipment to claim allowances in this period.

Can a company change its year end?

Yes. You tell Companies House using form AA01, either online or on paper. A few rules apply:

• You can shorten the accounting period as often as you like.
• You can extend it only once every five years, and the period can’t be longer than 18 months (with limited exceptions, such as a company in administration).
• You must make the change before the filing deadline for the period you’re changing has passed.

Remember that an HMRC accounting period can’t exceed 12 months. If you extend your Companies House period to, say, 15 months, you’ll file two CT600s – one for the first 12 months and one for the remaining 3.

Year-end mistakes we see most often

• Assuming 31 March is “the” year end for everything. It isn’t for your personal tax – a sale on 2 April still lands in the old tax year.
• Keeping an odd sole-trader year end out of habit. Since basis period reform it creates apportionment work every single year.
• Waiting for the year end to reconcile. Under MTD, missing quarterly figures surface early. Keep bank feeds and receipts current every month.
• Confusing the filing deadline with the payment deadline for companies – Corporation Tax is due three months before the CT600.
• Forgetting payments on account. If your tax bill was over £1,000 and less than 80% was collected at source, 31 July and 31 January payments will follow.

Frequently asked questions

When does the 2026/27 financial year end in the UK?

The government’s financial year ends on 31 March 2027. The personal tax year ends on 5 April 2027. A limited company’s year ends on its own accounting reference date.

Is the UK tax year the same as the financial year?

No. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April and covers personal taxes. The financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March and is used for government budgets and Corporation Tax rates.

Can a sole trader use 31 March as their year end?

Yes. HMRC treats accounts made up to 31 March (or any date from 31 March to 4 April) as matching the tax year, so no apportionment is needed.

Does Making Tax Digital change my year end?

No. It adds four quarterly updates and a final declaration, but the tax year still ends on 5 April. Under MTD for VAT, your VAT periods also stay the same.

When do I pay tax for the year ending 5 April 2027?

Any balance is due by 31 January 2028, together with your first payment on account for 2027/28 if one applies.

How MTDFix can help

MTDFix is the done-for-you Making Tax Digital service from Major Accountancy Limited (formerly Tax Return Accountants). Our HMRC-registered accountants keep your records, file each quarterly update and finish your year – for a fixed monthly fee. Self Assessment starts from £7.50 a month, MTD for Income Tax from £15 a month and limited company accounts from £25 a month.

Not sure which year end suits your business, or whether MTD applies to you yet? Talk to an accountant or see our fixed-fee pricing.

Sources: GOV.UK – Self Assessment tax returns; GOV.UK – Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK – Basis period reform; GOV.UK – Company Tax Returns; GOV.UK – Accounts and tax returns for private limited companies; Companies House – Change your company’s year end (AA01). This guide is general information, not personal advice.