When Does the Tax Year Start in the UK?

Has the phrase “within the tax year” got you asking, “But when does the tax year start and end?” Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. We’ll take you through all the important dates you need to know so that you can meet all your tax deadlines.

The tax year doesn’t start as the clock strikes midnight on 1 January. In fact, it waits four months into the calendar year before it gets going. 

So why does the financial year start in April? Well, the reason the tax year dances to its own tune goes all the way back to when we changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1582. We’ll get to that history lesson in a moment, but first, let’s dive into the dates you need to know to stay on top of your taxes this year.

When does the tax year start and end in the UK?

The UK tax year runs for 12 months from 6 April of every year to 5 April of the following one. 

Knowing this timeline, and the important dates that fall within it, means you’ll be able to budget for the year and meet all the deadlines that apply to you. Otherwise, you may incur penalties or miss out on money owed to you.

When did the 23-24 tax year start?

The 23-24 tax year started on 6 April 2023 and runs until 5 April 2024. 

We’ll take you through the important dates you need to know to stay on top of your finances during the 23-24 tax year.

Dates to know if you are an employee

If you’re employed in the UK, your taxes will more than likely be deducted from your wages through a system called PAYE (Pay As You Earn). This means you won’t have to submit a tax return unless:

You have another source of income – you might be renting out a property, for exampleYou earn an income from investmentsYou earn over £100,000 a year

If any of these circumstances apply to you, you’ll have to fill out a tax return.

It’s possible to pay too much tax. If that happens, you may be eligible for a PAYE rebate. You can claim a tax refund here.

It’s important to note that you have four tax years to claim a tax refund. That means that, in the 23/24 tax year, you can claim tax as far back as the 19/20 tax year.

The deadline to do this is the end of the current tax year, which will be 5 April 2024.

Other important PAYE dates are:

31 May 2023: Copies of your P60 will be issued to you. This document shows how much tax you’ve paid on your salary in the previous year.

06 July 2023: Copies of your P11D will be issued to you. This documents the benefits your employer gives you – such as a company car, accommodation, or interest-free loans. They’ll submit this to the government and give a copy to you.

If you stop working for your employer, you’ll be issued a P45 that summarises the tax you’ve paid in that year so far.

Dates to know if you need to file a self-assessment tax return

For the 23/24 tax year, here are the important dates you need to know:

5 October 2023: Register for self-assessment if you need to file a tax return31 October 2023: Submit your paper tax return by midnight31 January 2024: Submit your online tax return and pay any tax that you owe 

If you miss these deadlines, you’ll typically have to pay a penalty. You can appeal this penalty provided you have a reasonable excuse, such as a death in the family, illness, or technical issues when trying to submit. If you need to appeal a tax decision, head here. 

If you’re self-employed and earn more than £1,000 a year, you’ll need to file a self-assessment tax return to report the income you’ve earned in the tax year. The form for this is called a SA100 and can be found here. 

Other reasons you may need to file a self-assessment include:

Being a partner in a business Renting out a propertyReceiving tips and commission that’s not taxed at sourceHaving a foreign incomeEarning more than £100,000, regardless of the source

Recipients of specific Covid-19 grants will also have to file a return. Head here to see if this applies to you. 

Dates to know if you need to know if you’re a business

There are different types of tax to be aware of if you run a business, including VAT, PAYE, and corporation tax. We’ll take you through the important dates for each.

VAT

If you have a registered business that supplies goods or services to customers and your taxable turnover is more than £85,000, you have to register for VAT (value-added tax). (You can also choose to register if your business makes less than that.)

You will then have to charge VAT on your goods and services and keep track of how much VAT you pay when you buy things for your business. If you spend more than you make on VAT, you’ll get a refund. If you make more than you spend, you’ll be required to pay in.

All of this needs to be logged on a VAT return and sent to HMRC every quarter. You’ll also need to pay any money you owe HMRC for that period.

The important dates to be aware of are:

1 January: VAT return and payments are due for the last quarter of the previous year1 April: VAT return and payments are due for the first quarter of the year1 July: VAT return and payments are due for the second quarter of the year1 October: VAT return and payments are due for the third quarter of the year

PAYE

PAYE is the government’s system of collecting income tax at source. It helps to fund National Insurance.

You need to register for PAYE if any of your employees earn more than £123 per week or get benefits from your company. 

You will then deduct PAYE from your employees’ pay before they receive their salary, and report this to HMRC every payday. Head here for all the details on how to run your payroll. 

PAYE payments typically have to be made to HMRC every month, but if you’re a small business, you can make arrangements to do so quarterly.

Another important date? 31 May. You must provide all your employees with a P60 form for the tax year that ended in the April of this year by the end of May.

Corporation tax

This is the tax you pay on your company’s profits.

You have 12 months to file your company’s tax return after the end of your company’s accounting period. (An accounting period can be no longer than 12 months and usually follows the tax year.)You then have another nine months and one day to pay whatever you owe.

Get all the details on filing your company’s tax return here. 

What date does the new tax year start 2024?

So, when does the next tax year start? 2024 will follow the same pattern as other years, running from 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025.

Why does the financial year start in April?

Now that you know what deadlines to watch out for, the question remains – why is the tax year different from the calendar year? And why does it start in April specifically? 

It’s a bit of a convoluted story. It has to do with Pope Gregory XIII and his decision to change our calendar system back in 1582. He wanted to bring Easter closer to the day it was celebrated in the early church, which was near the equinox. 

The previous system, the Julian calendar, worked on the assumption that there are 365.25 days in a year. This is a pretty close estimate, but not quite accurate. It resulted in the equinox and the date Easter was celebrated shifting further and further apart.

So Pope Gregory proposed a new calendar (the not-so-coincentally named Gregorian calendar). According to his calendar, there were 365.2425 days in a year. To accommodate the difference, the Gregorian calendar omits a leap year if the year is divisible by 100 and not 400, like the year 1800, for example. 

Britain, however, was slow to make the change, and only did so in 1752. By this point, it was a full 11 days off the calendar.

Considering that Britain’s New Year used to start on 25 March and to ensure no loss of revenue, the country decided in 1752 to begin the tax year on 5 April. In 1800 (which was not a leap year in the new calendar system), it was decided that 6 April would be a better date for the start of the tax year – and this is the date that’s stuck.

In summary

A quick recap of the important dates to be aware of in the 23/24 year:

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April of the following year 

If you’re an employee that pays tax through the PAYE system:

You have four tax years to claim a tax refund. That means, in the 23/24 tax year, you can claim tax as far back as the 19/20 tax year

Other important PAYE dates:

31 May 2023: Copies of your P60 will be issued to you6 July 2023: Copies of your P11D will be issued to you

If you need to file a self-assessment, these are the dates to know:

5 October 2023: Register for self-assessment if you need to file a tax return31 October 2023: Submit your paper tax return by midnight31 January 2024: Submit your online tax return and pay any tax that you owe

If you’re a business that needs to charge VAT:

1 January: VAT return and payments are due for the last quarter of the previous year1 April: VAT return and payments are due for the first quarter of the year1 July: VAT return and payments are due for the second quarter of the year1 October: VAT return and payments are due for the third quarter of the year

If you’re a business registered for PAYE:

PAYE payments typically have to be made to HMRC every month but if you’re a small business, you can make arrangements to do so quarterly31 May: You must provide all your employees with a P60 form for the tax year that ended in the April of this year

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