Key Tax Dates for Uber Drivers (2026/27)
One page with every date that matters, plus the two that catch drivers out most: the 31 July payment on account and the 5 October registration deadline.
Published 8 April 2026 · Updated 13 August 2026
The UK tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Here is everything that follows from that, in order.
The dates that apply to every driver
| Date | What is due |
|---|---|
| 5 October | Deadline to register as self-employed with HMRC if you started driving in the tax year that ended the previous April |
| 31 October | Paper tax return deadline. Almost nobody needs this — filing online gives you three more months |
| 30 December | File online by this date if you want tax under £3,000 collected through your PAYE code instead of in one lump |
| 31 January | Online tax return deadline, balancing payment for the year just ended, and first payment on account for the current year |
| 31 July | Second payment on account for the current tax year |
The 31 January double hit
In your second year of driving, 31 January is usually not one bill but two: the balance of last year's tax plus 50% of it again as an advance payment on the current year. Drivers who budgeted only for the first figure get a nasty shock. If this is your second return, plan for roughly 150% of what you expected.
If you are inside Making Tax Digital
MTD for Income Tax applies from 6 April 2026 if your gross self-employment and property income is over £50,000. On top of the dates above, you owe HMRC four quarterly updates.
| Quarter covers | Update due by |
|---|---|
| 6 April – 5 July | 7 August |
| 6 April – 5 October | 7 November |
| 6 April – 5 January | 7 February |
| 6 April – 5 April | 7 May |
Then a final declaration by 31 January, which replaces the old tax return. Penalty points for late quarterly updates are not being applied during 2026/27, but they start after that.
If you are VAT registered
Most drivers file VAT quarterly. The return and the payment are both due one calendar month and seven days after the end of the VAT period. So a quarter ending 31 March is due by 7 May. Your specific quarter dates are set when you register.
If you run a limited company
- Annual accounts to Companies House: nine months after your company year end
- Corporation Tax payment: nine months and one day after your year end — note that the money is due before the return is
- Corporation Tax return: twelve months after your year end
- Confirmation statement: annually, on the anniversary of incorporation
- PAYE submissions: on or before each payday, every month
What happens if you miss a deadline
- £100 immediately for a late tax return, even if you owe no tax at all
- After three months, £10 a day for up to 90 days — a further £900
- After six months and again at twelve, a further penalty based on the tax owed
- Interest runs on late tax from the due date, separately from penalties
- Late VAT returns and payments carry their own points-based penalty system
Every one of these is avoidable. Our clients get a reminder well before each date with the exact figure to pay and where to pay it, so a deadline never arrives unannounced.
Would you rather not think about any of this?
That is exactly what we are for. Send us your Uber statements and we will handle the return, the quarterly updates and the deadlines — and tell you honestly if there is a better way for you to be set up.