What are the UK’s VAT periods, submission and payment deadlines for LLPs and LTDs?
If you are registered for VAT, you usually send a VAT return to HMRC every 3 months – four a year. You must submit a return even if you have no VAT to pay or reclaim.
Filing is a separate obligation from registering. If you are not VAT-registered yet, our VAT registration service submits the application to HMRC for £60 + VAT, and the deadlines below only start once you are registered.
Making Tax Digital does not change the dates. It changes how you file: all VAT-registered businesses must keep digital records and file through compatible software. HMRC puts you on one of three quarterly patterns, so your quarters end either in March, June, September and December; April, July, October and January; or May, August, November and February. Check yours in your VAT online account. For the first pattern, the periods and deadlines are:
- Q1: January 1 – March 31: VAT return due by May 7
- Q2: April 1 – June 30: VAT return due by August 7
- Q3: July 1 – September 30: VAT return due by November 7
- Q4: October 1 – December 31: VAT return due by February 7 (the following year)
You must submit each VAT return one calendar month and seven days after the end of the relevant quarter. For example, the VAT return for 1 July to 30 September 2026 must be filed with HMRC by 7 November 2026. If HMRC has put you on monthly returns, the same rule applies: the return and payment are due one calendar month and seven days after the end of each month.
Use your VAT stagger and period end date to find your filing and payment deadline for the 2026/27 VAT year.
| VAT stagger | Period end | Filing & payment deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Stagger 1: Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec | 30 June 2026 | 7 August 2026 |
| 30 September 2026 | 7 November 2026 | |
| 31 December 2026 | 7 February 2027 | |
| 31 March 2027 | 7 May 2027 | |
| Stagger 2: Apr, Jul, Oct, Jan | 30 April 2026 | 7 June 2026 |
| 31 July 2026 | 7 September 2026 | |
| 31 October 2026 | 7 December 2026 | |
| 31 January 2027 | 7 March 2027 | |
| Stagger 3: May, Aug, Nov, Feb | 31 May 2026 | 7 July 2026 |
| 31 August 2026 | 7 October 2026 | |
| 30 November 2026 | 7 January 2027 | |
| 28 February 2027 | 7 April 2027 | |
Overview of VAT Due Dates
| VAT Task | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Registering after you go over the threshold | Within 30 days of the end of the month in which your taxable turnover for the last 12 months went over £90,000 |
| Registering because you expect to go over it in the next 30 days | By the end of that 30-day period |
| Submitting VAT returns | One calendar month and 7 days after the end of an accounting period. |
| Paying VAT owed | 1 calendar month and seven days after the end of the accounting period. |
| Annual Accounting Scheme | 2 months after the end of the 12-month accounting period. |
| Businesses on payments on account | Two payments per quarter, due on the last working day of the second and third months of the quarter, plus a balancing payment with the return. The 7-day extension for paying electronically does not apply. |
How do I submit a VAT return?
VAT-registered businesses must submit their VAT returns electronically using Making Tax Digital (MTD)-compatible software like Xero. If you have not picked your software yet, Xero is on HMRC’s list of Making Tax Digital software for VAT, keeps the digital records HMRC requires, and submits the return from the same place.
If you are VAT-registered, you are within Making Tax Digital unless HMRC has agreed an exemption. You must keep digital records and file returns through compatible software. The deadline does not move for a weekend or bank holiday – your return and payment must reach HMRC on or before it, so submit early if the date falls near one.
How do I make a VAT payment?
You can pay VAT online using your government gateway user ID and password. You can pay by Direct Debit, by approving a payment through your online bank account, by debit or corporate credit card, or by bank transfer. Direct Debit is the one that removes the risk of missing the date. Allow time for the payment to reach HMRC’s account – the deadline is when the money arrives, not when it leaves you.
If you are VAT-registered and still filing off a spreadsheet, put your records in Making Tax Digital software before your next quarter ends. Xero keeps the digital records and files the return from one place.
| Xero | Spreadsheet plus bridging software, or your accountant | |
|---|---|---|
| Files your VAT return to HMRC | Yes. Listed by HMRC as Making Tax Digital software for VAT. | Yes, through bridging software that connects a spreadsheet to HMRC, or through your accountant’s software. |
| Keeps the digital records HMRC requires | Yes, with your bank transactions synced in. | Only if the spreadsheet meets the digital-records rules and the bridging link is kept working. |
| Cost | 30-day free trial, plus Xero’s referral offer for new customers, shown on the sign-up page. | Whatever the bridging software or the accountant charges. |
| What else you get | Invoicing, payroll and cash flow reporting in the same place. | Nothing beyond the return itself. |
| Who it suits | You file your own VAT and want records, invoicing and the return together. | You already have an accountant, or a spreadsheet you trust. |
| Claim Your Xero Offer |
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