When is a quarterly VAT return due in 2026/27?

1 calendar month and 7 days after the end of your VAT quarter. For the common stagger: quarters ending 30 September 2026, 31 December 2026, 31 March 2027 and 30 June 2027 are due 7 November 2026, 7 February 2027, 7 May 2027 and 7 August 2027 respectively.

Is the payment deadline the same as the filing deadline?

Yes. The return must be submitted online and the payment must have reached HMRC's account by the same date. Allow time for bank processing — the date you click "pay" is not the date HMRC receives the money.

Do I need to file a VAT return if I owe nothing?

Yes. A nil return is still a return, and filing it late earns a penalty point just like any other late return.

How many late returns before I get a £200 penalty?

As a quarterly filer, 4 late returns take you to the 4-point threshold and trigger a £200 penalty. Annual filers hit the threshold at 2 points, monthly filers at 5 points. Each further late return while at the threshold costs another £200.

How much is the late-payment penalty?

3% of the amount unpaid at day 15, plus another 3% of the amount unpaid at day 30, plus from day 31 a daily charge at 10% per annum on the outstanding balance. Interest at 7.75% per annum (Bank of England base rate + 4%) runs from day 1.

What if I cannot afford my VAT bill?

Contact HMRC before the deadline to agree a Time to Pay arrangement. This stops the penalty clock (interest still accrues), and you should still file the return on time regardless.

VAT Return Deadlines UK 2026/27: Dates & Penalties

Missing a VAT deadline costs money. A single late return earns a penalty point, and a late payment can trigger fixed penalties of up to 6% plus daily charges and interest on top. Knowing the exact 2026/27 dates — and how the penalty clock works — is one of the most valuable things a VAT-registered business can do.

This guide covers the quarterly filing deadlines for 2026/27 with concrete dates, the payment deadline rules, the Annual Accounting Scheme timetable, and worked examples showing exactly how late-payment penalties add up.

2026/27 context: the standard UK VAT rate is 20%, with 5% and 0% rates for specific supplies, and the VAT registration threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover.

The standard quarterly deadline: 1 month and 7 days

Most VAT-registered businesses file a VAT return every 3 months. For these businesses, the deadline for submitting the return online — and for the payment reaching HMRC's account — is 1 calendar month and 7 days after the end of the accounting period.

This is the well-known "7-day extension": filing online gives extra time compared with the old paper deadline. The deadline applies even when it falls on a weekend or bank holiday — there is no rollover to the next working day, so plan bank processing time accordingly.

One deadline covers both jobs:

Submit your VAT return online.
Pay whatever VAT you owe, so the money has reached HMRC by the same date.

A Direct Debit is the simplest way to avoid missing the payment side. Set it up at least 3 working days before you submit your return; HMRC will then collect the payment 3 working days after the payment deadline. Even with a Direct Debit, the underlying rule stands: the money must reach HMRC by the deadline, so leave time for bank processing — Faster Payments usually arrive the same day or the next day, while Bacs takes 3 working days.

VAT return deadlines 2026/27: quarter by quarter

Most businesses use one of HMRC's stagger groups of quarter dates. The common stagger — the one most new businesses land in — runs quarters to the end of March, June, September and December. For that stagger, the 2026/27 deadlines are:

VAT quarter ending	Return and payment deadline
30 September 2026	7 November 2026
31 December 2026	7 February 2027
31 March 2027	7 May 2027
30 June 2027	7 August 2027

Other businesses use different quarter dates (different stagger groups), so check your VAT online account for your exact dates. Whatever your quarter dates are, the same rule applies: 1 calendar month and 7 days after the period ends.

For each quarter, remember that the deadline date in the table is the date by which HMRC must have your return and your money — not the date you start the process. If your quarter ends 31 December 2026, your return must be submitted and the payment must have cleared into HMRC's account by 7 February 2027.

What if you have nothing to report?

You must still file. A "nil" period — where no VAT is due and nothing is reclaimable — still requires a VAT return, and a late nil return still earns a penalty point. The penalty system does not care whether you owed money; it only cares whether you filed on time.

Annual Accounting Scheme deadlines

Businesses on the VAT Annual Accounting Scheme file only 1 VAT return per year, but the timetable works differently from quarterly filing:

VAT return and balancing payment: due within 2 months of the end of your VAT accounting period.
Advance instalments: because you only settle up at year end, HMRC collects part of your expected bill during the year.
Monthly instalments: due at the end of months 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of your VAT year.
Quarterly instalments: due at the end of months 4, 7 and 10 of your VAT year.

The instalments are based on your previous year's liability (or an estimate for new businesses). When your annual return is filed, the instalments are deducted and you pay only the balancing amount — or receive a repayment if you overpaid.

Late submission penalties: the penalty points system

For VAT accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2023 — which includes all of 2026/27 — late filing is punished with penalty points. (Before 2023, the default surcharge system applied; it was replaced on 1 January 2023.)

The rules:

Each late return earns 1 penalty point.
When your points reach your threshold, HMRC charges a £200 penalty.
Every subsequent late submission while you are at the threshold earns another £200 penalty.
Thresholds depend on how often you file: 2 points for annual returns, 4 points for quarterly returns, 5 points for monthly returns.
Penalty points expire if you file all your returns on time afterwards.

For a typical quarterly filer, the fourth late return triggers the first £200 penalty. The first three late returns only add points — but they leave you one slip away from a financial penalty. And remember: a late nil return counts, earning a point even though no money was due.

Late payment penalties and interest

Late payment has its own separate regime (also applying to periods starting on or after 1 January 2023, with the current rates in force from April 2025):

Up to 15 days late: no penalty — but late-payment interest runs from day 1.
Outstanding at day 15: a first penalty of 3% of the amount unpaid at day 15.
Still outstanding at day 30: a further 3% of the amount unpaid at day 30.
From day 31: a second penalty accrues daily at 10% per annum on the outstanding balance, until it is paid in full.

On top of all of that, late-payment interest is charged from day 1 until the debt is paid in full. The rate is the Bank of England base rate plus 4% — since the July 2026 base-rate decision of 3.75%, that means 7.75% per annum.

Because interest runs from day 1, "up to 15 days late" is not free — it only avoids the fixed penalty charges.

Worked example: £5,000 bill paid 40 days late

Suppose your VAT bill is £5,000 and you pay it 40 days after the deadline. Nothing has been paid in the meantime, so the full £5,000 is outstanding at each checkpoint:

Day 15: 3% of £5,000 unpaid = £150.
Day 30: a further 3% of £5,000 unpaid = £150.
Fixed penalties total: £150 + £150 = £300.
Days 31–40 (10 days): the second penalty accrues daily at 10% per annum: £5,000 × 10% ÷ 365 × 10 = £500 ÷ 365 × 10 ≈ £13.70.
Interest from day 1: £5,000 × 7.75% × 40 ÷ 365 = £387.50 ÷ 365 × 40 ≈ £42.47.

Total extra cost: £300 + £13.70 + £42.47 = £356.17 — on top of the £5,000 you owed anyway.

Worked example: December quarter — filing on 10 February vs paying on 1 March

Take the common-stagger quarter ending 31 December 2026, with a deadline of 7 February 2027. Your VAT bill is £4,000.

Scenario A — you file the return on 10 February (3 days late) but paid on time. The return is over the deadline, so it earns 1 penalty point. No financial penalty is due yet — as a quarterly filer you would need 4 points to trigger the £200 charge. File the next returns on time, and the point expires.

Scenario B — you file on time but pay the £4,000 on 1 March (22 days late). 7 February to 1 March is 22 days (21 days in February after the 7th, plus 1 March). The debt was outstanding at day 15, so the first penalty applies: 3% of £4,000 = £120. The payment arrived before day 30, so there is no second fixed penalty and no daily second penalty. Interest runs from day 1 at 7.75%: £4,000 × 7.75% × 22 ÷ 365 = £310 ÷ 365 × 22 ≈ £18.68. Total extra: £120 + £18.68 = £138.68.

The lesson: a few days' delay on filing costs a point, but a few weeks' delay on paying turns a £4,000 bill into a £4,138.68 one.

What to do if you cannot pay on time

If you know you will not be able to pay by the deadline, contact HMRC before the deadline and agree a Time to Pay arrangement. Agreeing one stops the late-payment penalty clock — no 3% charges and no daily second penalty while the arrangement holds. Late-payment interest keeps accruing on the outstanding balance, so it is not free, but it is far cheaper than the penalty stack.

Never simply skip the return: file on time even if you cannot pay. An unfiled return earns a penalty point on top of the payment problem, and HMRC cannot assess a Time to Pay arrangement for a debt it does not know about.

VAT Return Deadlines UK 2026/27