31 October 2026
Paper Self Assessment filing deadline
Hemyock, Devon & Somerset ☎ 01823 680062 or 07742537931 ✉ hello@first4accounting.com
FIRST 4 ACCOUNTING — CLIENT TAX ALERT
24 OCTOBER 2026
THE TAX CLOCK IS TICKING
HMRC has fired the starting gun.
There are now just 100 days until the 31 January 2027 Self Assessment deadline, with around 12 million taxpayers expected to submit returns for the year ended 5 April 2026.
Our message to clients is considerably simpler than HMRC's:
January is when everybody who has ignored their tax affairs for nine months suddenly discovers that accountants, HMRC telephone lines and their own bank accounts are all expected to perform miracles simultaneously.
They usually don't.
2025/26 SELF ASSESSMENT
Four dates to put in your diary
30 December 2026
Practical filing deadline for eligible taxpayers wishing to have qualifying tax collected through PAYE
31 January 2027
Online Self Assessment filing deadline
31 January 2027
Tax payment deadline
KNOW THE BILL. PLAN THE CASH.
Filing your return and paying your tax are different things
For most Self Assessment taxpayers, 31 January 2027 is also the date on which the tax becomes payable.
That distinction matters.
Submitting your return now does not mean paying the tax now. It means discovering what you owe while there is still time to plan for it.
Leave the return until the final few days of January and you may discover a tax bill you were not expecting — with virtually no time left to arrange the cash.
File early. Know what you owe. Give yourself time to plan the cash.
THE MORE IMMEDIATE DEADLINE
Paper filers have only days remaining
There is an even more immediate deadline.
The deadline for filing a paper 2025/26 Self Assessment return is 31 October 2026.
The online filing deadline remains: 31 January 2027.
Clients intending to file on paper therefore have only days remaining.
PENSIONERS: CHECK THE DETAIL
Winter Fuel Payment may affect your tax bill
There is an important change affecting some pensioners.
For 2025/26, taxpayers who received the Winter Fuel Payment — or the equivalent Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland — may find the amount pre-populated on their online Self Assessment return.
But do not assume HMRC's information is automatically correct.
Where the payment is not shown, it may need to be entered manually. Paper filers will need to enter it themselves.
For those affected with total income above £35,000, the Winter Fuel Payment is recovered through the Self Assessment tax calculation.
This is precisely the sort of apparently small change that can produce an unexpected January tax liability if the return is left until the last minute.
PRE-POPULATED DOES NOT MEAN CHECKED
Child Benefit information still needs your attention
HMRC says that around 300,000 taxpayers will now see their own or their partner's Child Benefit payment information pre-populated on their online return where they are liable to the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
Again: the taxpayer remains responsible for ensuring that the return is complete and accurate.
Some taxpayers can alternatively arrange for the charge to be collected through PAYE.
CRYPTOASSETS & CAPITAL GAINS
Cryptoassets remain firmly inside the tax system
For 2025/26 the annual Capital Gains Tax exempt amount is only £3,000.
Buying and selling cryptocurrency, exchanging one cryptoasset for another, using crypto to purchase something, or otherwise disposing of an asset can potentially create a taxable disposal.
The days when cryptocurrency could reasonably be regarded as sitting somewhere outside HMRC's field of vision are over.
If you have undertaken significant crypto transactions during the year: send us the complete transaction records now, so that we can review the tax position.
AN EARLIER PRACTICAL DEADLINE
Want qualifying tax collected through PAYE?
Some taxpayers who owe relatively modest amounts through Self Assessment may be able to have the liability collected through their PAYE tax code.
But there is a catch.
To potentially use this facility, the online return generally needs to be filed by 30 December 2026, subject to HMRC's normal eligibility conditions.
If you want us to consider PAYE collection, tell us and send your records well before 30 December.
MAKING TAX DIGITAL
Digitalisation does not make tax obligations disappear
This is particularly important as we move towards the new Making Tax Digital regime.
HMRC has confirmed that taxpayers already participating in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax must still submit their Self Assessment return in the usual way and pay tax due by 31 January 2027.
Digitalisation does not make tax obligations disappear.
It adds another layer to the system.
STAY ALERT
The January rush also attracts tax scams
The approach to January inevitably produces another seasonal industry: tax scams.
Emails, text messages and telephone calls claiming that you are due a tax refund — or alternatively threatening immediate action unless tax is paid — should be treated with extreme caution.
Do not disclose your Government Gateway or HMRC sign-in credentials to somebody contacting you unexpectedly.
If something looks suspicious, contact us before acting.
SEND YOUR RECORDS NOW
October and November give us time to get it right
We are already preparing and filing 2025/26 Self Assessment returns for clients. If we have not yet received your records, now is the time to send them to us.
We would much rather prepare your tax return in October or November than receive a carrier bag of paperwork in the final week of January.
Early preparation gives us time to:
- check that income figures are complete;
- identify allowable expenses and reliefs;
- investigate discrepancies;
- consider Capital Gains Tax issues;
- check Child Benefit and pension matters;
- establish the tax liability;
- identify payments on account;
- correct problems before they become urgent; and
- most importantly, give you time to plan the cash.
THE MESSAGE TO REMEMBER
Prepare now. Pay by the normal deadline.
If your liability is due on 31 January, preparing the return in October does not normally bring the payment date forward.
What it brings forward is clarity — and time to plan.
100 DAYS CAN DISAPPEAR QUICKLY
January will arrive sooner than you think
Christmas will intervene.
Businesses will close.
People will go away.
Banks will operate reduced hours.
HMRC will become increasingly busy.
Accountants will become increasingly busy.
And suddenly those 100 days will have become ten.
FIRST 4 ACCOUNTING LTD
Send us your tax records now.
And keep January for running your business — not panicking about last year's tax.
Practical accounting. Practical tax advice. No January surprises.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, Self Assessment deadline incoming – 100 days to go, published 23 October 2026.
First 4 Accounting's client commentary and guidance based on HMRC's published information.