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October 2026 tax deadlines: what to sort out before the bills land

Corporation Tax, VAT and PAYE bills can all fall due inside three weeks this October. Here are the dates, how to work out your own, and what to do if the cash will not be there.

Reading time 5 min read

Category Business guides

Written by The bizbritain team

Three tax bills can land in the same three weeks this October. For many small businesses that is the tightest cash moment of the year. It arrives just before the Budget on 28 October. The bills are known in advance, which makes them easier to plan for than almost anything else on your calendar.

Section 01

The four dates in October

According to Azets, an accountancy and advisory firm, a lot of businesses are not ready for them. Praveen Gupta, its UK head of tax, gave the warning on 25 August. His point was simple. Firms that have not put the money aside face a real risk of a cashflow crisis.

Here are the dates, and who each one applies to.

Corporation Tax, 1 October
This date applies if your accounting period ended on 31 December. According to gov.uk, Corporation Tax is due nine months and one day after your accounting period ends. A different year end means a different date.
VAT, 7 October
This date applies if your VAT quarter ended on 31 August. According to gov.uk, the deadline is one calendar month and seven days after the period ends. The return and the payment are both due then.
PAYE Settlement Agreement, 19 or 22 October
This covers the tax year that ended on 5 April 2026. According to gov.uk, payment is due by 22 October if you pay electronically. The deadline is 19 October if you pay by post.
Check your own dates before you plan
Two of the dates above are examples rather than rules. They are the ones that apply to the most common year ends. Open your own records and write down the three dates that apply to you.

Section 02

Work out the gap now

The point of doing this in August is to find out early whether the money will be there. An hour of work now tells you. Leaving it until October does not.

This week

Add up what you owe

Write down the three amounts and the three dates. Your accountant or your bookkeeping software will have all of them.

Corporation Tax. Take the figure from your last set of accounts.
VAT. Use the quarter you are in now, not the one you last paid.
PAYE Settlement Agreement. Only some employers have one, so check whether it applies to you.

By 15 September

Put the dates against your cash forecast

Line the three payments up against the money you expect to come in. Include your rent, your wages and your suppliers in the same view.

Will the cash be there on the day each bill is due?

By 30 September

Decide how to cover any shortfall

If there is a gap, you have more choices in September than you will in October. Lenders need time to look at a deal. So does HMRC.

Section 03

If the money will not be there

There are two routes, and you can use both.

The first is to talk to HMRC. A Time to Pay arrangement lets you spread a bill you cannot meet in one go. You have to apply for it, and HMRC decides whether to agree.

The second is to put finance in place before the bills land. That might be a working capital facility, an invoice finance line, or a term loan. Some lenders use a government-backed guarantee to support the deal.

The Growth Guarantee Scheme is the current government-backed programme for smaller businesses. According to the British Business Bank, these are its rules today.

£2mmaximum facility per business group

70%guarantee given to the lender, not to you

100%of the debt stays your liability throughout

6 yearslongest term on a term loan or asset finance

Borrowing to pay a tax bill is not always the right answer. It makes sense when the shortfall is about timing, and the work is there to repay it. It makes less sense when the bill is a symptom of something bigger. That is a conversation to have with your accountant first.

Section 04

Where a broker fits

If your bank has said no, that is not the end of the list. A broker can put the same deal to a wider range of lenders, and tell you which of them are likely to look at it.

bizbritain does not lend the money. We help you find the right lender and get the application right. If the October dates look tight, it is worth talking now.

If that conversation would help, it starts on our business growth finance page. Bring the numbers and the dates. An advisor will reply the same working day.

This guide is general information, not financial advice. Applications are subject to status, affordability and lender criteria.

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