What are the key 2022 tax year dates for the self-employed?

Now that we’re firmly planted in 2022, it’s a good time to start getting finances in order and, like it or not, that means thinking ahead in terms of taxes. Knowing what you need to pay and when can really help you in terms of planning and organisation – and it can make you confident that you won’t miss any deadlines and incur any penalties. We recommend either printing out the dates and sticking them to your office noticeboard or, even better, putting them into your calendar so that you can see them approaching. You could even put in reminders to alert you in the days or weeks before.

There are so many different tax year dates for contractors throughout the year though that it can be a bit of a slog trying to find them all on different GOV.UK pages. To help, we’ve laid out some of the most important ones here in an easy-to-navigate list.

31 January 2022

This is the deadline (at midnight) for online Self Assessment tax returns to be submitted for the 2020/21 tax year. It’s also the deadline for paying your tax bill for 2020/21 and the deadline for the first payment on account for 2021/22. If you are reading this you haven’t even started tax return, the good news is that HMRC have said you can submit your tax return up to 28th February 2022 without getting a penalty. This is due to the COVID disruption, so don’t expect this every year!

1 February 2022

If you have outstanding tax liabilities for the 2019/20 tax year, you face a further 5% penalty if you have not paid by this date. You will have already been charged 5% penalties on amounts outstanding in March and August 2021 respectively.

2 March 2022

If you have outstanding tax liabilities for the 2020/21 tax year, you will suffer a 5% penalty on anything not paid by today.

1 April 2022

If you are VAT registered then you must enter the Making Tax Digital (MTD) scheme for VAT return periods that start on or after this date.

5 April 2022

This is the deadline for claiming any overpaid tax you might be owed for the 2017/18 tax year. It’s a good idea to log in to your self-assessment account to find out if you might be owed anything so you don’t miss out.

6 April 2022

This is the first day of the 2022/23 tax year – time to start afresh with your bookkeeping.

30 April 2022

As of today, daily £10 late filing penalties begin to apply to outstanding 2020/21 Self Assessments.

31 July 2022

This is the deadline for the second payment on account for the 2021/2022 tax year.

1 August 2022

If you have outstanding tax liabilities for the 2020/21 tax year, you will suffer a second 5% penalty on anything not paid by today.

31 August 2022

If HMRC has not issued a notice to you requesting you file a 2021/22 Self Assessment by this date, the usual Halloween deadline is extended to two months after the date when the notice is issued.

5 October 2022

This day is the deadline for registering with HMRC if you became self-employed. You should submit form CWF1 either online or by post to do this.

31 October 2022

At midnight it’s the deadline for paper Self Assessment tax returns pertaining to the 2021/22 tax year.

30 December 2022

This is the last day for a person to submit an electronic Self Assessment for 2021/22 if they want HMRC to collect the tax owed through their PAYE tax code (where the taxpayer owes less than £3,000).

31 January 2023

Sneaking this 2023 date in at the end here because we’re back to Self Assessment deadline day again, this time for the 2021/22 tax year. Hopefully, though, with all of the deadlines firmly in your mind and our top tips for improved bookkeeping on the blog you’ll have this well submitted before now.

Please note that the above list is for information purposes only, is not exhaustive and does not constitute financial advice. All dates correct at the time of writing.

Don’t forget that Self Assessment deadline

As we mentioned right at the start of the list, the Self Assessment deadline for 2020/21 is fast approaching. That doesn’t give you long to turn things around but it is doable. To get started, double-check that you are registered and that you have your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number. You’ll also need either a Government Gateway ID or GOV.UK Verify credentials in order to log in to the Self Assessment portal as, at this point in the year, you have to submit an online tax return.

Don’t let it get right down to the wire because if you have any technical problems or your broadband goes down, you won’t be able to submit on time.

Before Christmas, the Kingsbridge team put together a blog with tips on getting your tax return in before the deadline so check it out. Oh, and try not to leave it this late next year so that you can enjoy a more relaxed January in 2023.