VAT Return deadlines: when the return is due and when the payment must reach HMRC

acrenvo.com/guides/mtd-vat-return-deadlines, last reviewed 1 November 2026

Tomasz is fictional. He is a self-employed plumber who registered for VAT last spring, and he has just sent his first VAT Return through his software, as Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT asks. His accountant used to keep an eye on the dates, but now he does it himself and wants to be sure of two things: when each return is due, and when the money has to be with HMRC. This guide sets out what GOV.UK says about both, and what happens if a deadline is missed.

How the deadline is worked out

Every deadline starts from the end of the period the return covers. GOV.UK puts it this way: you usually need to send a VAT Return to HMRC every 3 months. This is known as your ‘accounting period’. The return is then due a little over a month later. The deadline for submitting your return online is usually one calendar month and 7 days after the end of an accounting period.

A return is needed even in a quiet quarter, because if you’re registered for VAT, you must submit a VAT Return even if you have no VAT to pay or reclaim.

Which months your periods end in depends on the group HMRC put you in when you registered. VAT Notice 700 explains that 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. Tax periods end on the last days of:

• June, September, December and March (group one)
• July, October, January and April (group two)
• August, November, February and May (group three)

GOV.UK does not say how HMRC chooses which of the three groups a new registration joins, or how long a change of tax periods takes to approve. Your own dates are shown in your VAT online account, which is the place to check before relying on a group.

The payment has to arrive by the same date

The payment deadline is the same day as the return deadline, and it is the day the money must be in HMRC’s account, not the day you send it. This is also the deadline for paying HMRC. You need to allow time for the payment to reach HMRC’s account. Make sure your payment will reach HMRC’s bank account by the deadline.

Some businesses pay on a different timetable. There are different deadlines if you use:

• the Annual Accounting Scheme
• VAT payments on account

When you pay by bank transfer or another method rather than by Direct Debit, the reference matters too. You’ll need to use your 9-digit VAT registration number, without spaces, as the payment reference.

Paying by Direct Debit

Direct Debit takes the timing out of your hands, which is why Tomasz is thinking about it, but it has its own lead time. Set up the Direct Debit at least 3 working days before you submit your VAT return, otherwise the payment will not be taken from your bank account and you’ll need to make your first payment using another payment method.

Once it is in place, HMRC collects the money after the deadline rather than on it. Once you’ve set up the Direct Debit and submitted your return, payments will be collected automatically from your bank account 3 working days after the payment deadline on your VAT return. If you file your VAT return late, your payment will be taken 3 days after you file your return.

Changing your tax periods

If the standard quarters sit awkwardly with your own year, you can ask for different ones. You can apply through your VAT online account to have the tax periods which fit in with your financial year. Alternatively you can write to the VAT Registration Service.

Monthly returns are possible too, and GOV.UK links them to repayments. 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. If you have monthly tax periods and you change from receiving repayments to making payments, you may have to change to the standard 3 month tax periods.

If your accounting system is not based on calendar months, you can apply in writing to the VAT Registration Service to have tax periods which fit your system more closely. Monthly non-standard tax periods must end 14 days either side of a standard tax period end date. Quarterly non-standard tax periods must end 20 days either side of a standard tax period date. Whichever periods you end up with, the dates are HMRC’s to set: whatever your tax periods, you must not alter the dates shown on the return.

One email a month lists the MTD software price changes we have checked and any changes to HMRC’s list of software. If that would be useful, you can sign up for the monthly price-changes email at the end of this page.

If you use the Annual Accounting Scheme

The Annual Accounting Scheme replaces the quarterly rhythm with one return a year and advance payments. 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. Each payment is either 10% of your estimated VAT bill (monthly payments) or 25% (quarterly payments). The final payment (known as a ‘balancing payment’) is the difference between your advance payments and the actual VAT bill confirmed on your VAT Return.

If you use the VAT annual accounting scheme, you can set up an email reminder each time your VAT Return is due through your VAT online account.

Checking your dates in your VAT online account

HMRC holds the definitive dates for each return, so the online account is worth a look before each deadline. GOV.UK says: use your VAT online account to:

• find out when your VAT Returns are due
• find out when the payment must clear HMRC’s account
• check and appeal penalties
• check that HMRC has received your VAT return

The return itself still goes through your software. You must submit your VAT Return using accounting software that’s compatible with Making Tax Digital. The guide to MTD for VAT and MTD for Income Tax explains what that software has to do.

If you miss the deadline

GOV.UK explains what HMRC does when a return is missed. If you miss the deadline for submitting your return, HMRC will send you a ‘VAT notice of assessment of tax’ telling you how much VAT they think you owe.

How many points lead to a penalty under GOV.UK’s VAT rules, and how they are removed, is set out in the guide to VAT penalty points beside MTD for Income Tax penalty points. A late payment is counted separately, and the guide to late payment interest on VAT explains the interest that starts from the first day it is overdue.

Questions about VAT Return deadlines