You must pay your Corporation Tax 9 months and 1 day after the end of your accounting period if your company's taxable profits are up to £1.5 million (gov.uk). That is the payment date — and it lands three months before the Company Tax Return that reports the figure is due, which is the part directors miss. How you pay then decides whether the money arrives in time: approving a payment through your online bank account, Faster Payments, CHAPS, a debit or corporate credit card, or paying at your bank all reach HMRC the same or next day. Bacs and a Direct Debit you have already set up with HMRC take three working days; a Direct Debit you are setting up for the first time takes five. You also need the right reference — a 17-character payslip reference tied to the specific accounting period you are paying for. Miss the date and HMRC charges interest.
Deadlines, payment methods and clearing times here are set by HMRC and sourced to gov.uk, checked for the 2026/27 year. This is general guidance for directors, not personal tax advice.
The deadline — and why it comes before your return is due
The payment deadline arrives three months before the filing deadline. Corporation Tax is payable 9 months and 1 day after your accounting period ends (gov.uk), while the Company Tax Return (CT600) reporting that profit and tax isn't due until 12 months after the same period ends (gov.uk). You hand the money over a full quarter before the paperwork explaining it.
That ordering is the misunderstanding we see most often: with personal Self Assessment, filing and paying broadly coincide, so directors assume company tax does the same. It doesn't — and HMRC won't send a bill. The company works out the figure itself, pays it, then reports it.
There's a third date, which is why year-end season feels crowded: annual accounts are due at Companies House 9 months after the end of the financial year (gov.uk). Take an illustrative company with a 31 March 2026 year end:
What's due
When
Annual accounts to Companies House
31 December 2026 (9 months)
Corporation Tax payment to HMRC
1 January 2027 (9 months and 1 day)
Company Tax Return (CT600) to HMRC
31 March 2027 (12 months)
Most companies prepare accounts for the Companies House date and produce the tax figure a day later, which is why those two sit side by side — leave the accounts late and you lose the run-up you needed to fund the payment. The wider calendar is in our guide to limited company accounts and tax returns, and the cost of a missed Companies House deadline in late filing penalties.
How much will it be?
For 2026/27, taxable profits up to £50,000 are charged at the 19% small profits rate and profits over £250,000 at the 25% main rate, with Marginal Relief between the two — a standard fraction of 3/200, giving an effective marginal rate of roughly 26.5%. Both thresholds are divided by the number of associated companies (gov.uk). That's enough to budget from; our companion piece on corporation tax for directors works through the bands and the marginal-relief mechanics.
Knowing the rate is one thing; having the cash ready on the day is another — our free guide sets out the director's tax calendar.
Choose your method by how many days you have left, because HMRC treats the payment as made when it reaches them — not when you press send (gov.uk):
How you pay
Time to reach HMRC
Online bank account approval, Faster Payments or CHAPS
Same day or next day
Debit or corporate credit card online, or at your bank or building society
Same day or next day
Bacs, or a Direct Debit already set up with HMRC
3 working days
A Direct Debit you are setting up for the first time
5 working days
Two things follow. "Pay corporation tax online" isn't one button — it means approving the payment from your business bank account or paying by card, both landing the same or next day. And the Direct Debit distinction catches people out: an existing one clears in three working days, a new one needs five.
The other rule to recognise is the weekend one. If your deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, make sure the payment reaches HMRC on the previous working day — unless you're paying by Faster Payments, the exception (gov.uk).
Getting the reference right
Pay with the wrong reference and HMRC receives your money but credits it to the wrong period. Corporation Tax is paid using a 17-character payslip reference, and it is specific to the accounting period you are paying for (gov.uk) — not a permanent company number you can save in your banking and reuse each year.
That is what makes it such an easy error. A director saves the payee in online banking once and pays on time every year, until the stored reference belongs to a period already settled. The payment clears and the statement looks right, but the year you meant to pay shows as outstanding while an older one sits in credit — leaving you to ask HMRC to reallocate money you paid on time.
The fix takes seconds: before you pay, pull the reference for the period you are settling, check it against the one saved in your banking, and confirm it matches the year end on the accounts you've just approved.
If the reference, the deadline and the figure are all landing at once, that's the point to get an accountant involved. We're a connector rather than the firm that signs your accounts — we match you with a partner through our accountancy partner network.
The 9 months and 1 day deadline is the rule for companies with taxable profits up to £1.5 million (gov.uk). Above that threshold, Corporation Tax is paid in quarterly instalments on its own timetable rather than as one payment after the year end. If your company is near that level — or growing towards it — raise instalments with your accountant well before the year end.
If you can't pay
Contact HMRC before the deadline, not after it. If you're struggling to pay, HMRC may agree a Time to Pay arrangement spreading what you owe over a period you can manage (gov.uk). Directors put that call off because it feels like an admission, but silence past the deadline goes worse.
Be clear about what it is. Time to Pay is an arrangement to pay in instalments, not a discount and not a waiver: the tax is still owed in full, and HMRC still charges interest on late amounts. It depends on you keeping to the agreed schedule — so don't commit to instalments the company can't meet.
How to avoid the scramble next year
Set the tax aside as the money comes in, rather than finding it nine months later — move a share of every invoice into a separate reserve account the day it clears. Illustratively, a company expecting taxable profits comfortably under £50,000 is on the 19% rate, so putting aside about a fifth of profit as it's earned gets you close, remembering that profit, not turnover, is taxed. That only works if company money is genuinely separate from personal money, which our guide on whether a limited company needs a business bank account covers.
The second is keeping the year-end in view: put all three dates in the diary the day the period ends, and work backwards from the payment date rather than the filing one. Current expense records help too, since allowable costs reduce the profit taxed — our rundown of limited company expenses you can claim covers what counts.
Directors who plan the payment date rather than react to it rarely need that call — our free guide covers the full calendar a director owns.
When is corporation tax due?
Nine months and 1 day after the end of your accounting period, for companies with taxable profits up to £1.5 million; above that, companies pay in quarterly instalments. The payment date falls three months before the CT600 deadline, which is 12 months after the period ends.
How do I pay corporation tax online?
Approve the payment through your business online banking, or pay by Faster Payments, CHAPS, debit card or corporate credit card — all reach HMRC the same or next day. Bacs and an existing HMRC Direct Debit take three working days; a first-time Direct Debit takes five.
What is the corporation tax payment reference?
A 17-character payslip reference, specific to the accounting period you're paying for rather than fixed to your company. Reusing last year's credits the money to the wrong period, so the year you meant to settle shows as unpaid until HMRC reallocates it.
What happens if I pay corporation tax late?
HMRC charges interest on Corporation Tax paid after the deadline, so late payment costs more than the tax itself. If you know in advance the company can't pay, contact HMRC before the date about a Time to Pay arrangement.
Can I pay corporation tax in instalments?
HMRC may agree a Time to Pay arrangement spreading the bill over a period the company can manage. It isn't a reduction in what you owe — interest still runs on the outstanding amount, and you must keep to the schedule.
You must pay your Corporation Tax 9 months and 1 day after the end of your accounting period if your company's taxable profits are up to £1.5 million (gov.uk). That is the payment date — and it lands three months before the Company Tax Return that reports the figure is due, which is the part directors miss. How you pay then decides whether the money arrives in time: approving a payment through your online bank account, Faster Payments, CHAPS, a debit or corporate credit card, or paying at your bank all reach HMRC the same or next day. Bacs and a Direct Debit you have already set up with HMRC take three working days; a Direct Debit you are setting up for the first time takes five. You also need the right reference — a 17-character payslip reference tied to the specific accounting period you are paying for. Miss the date and HMRC charges interest.
Deadlines, payment methods and clearing times here are set by HMRC and sourced to gov.uk, checked for the 2026/27 year. This is general guidance for directors, not personal tax advice.
The deadline — and why it comes before your return is due
The payment deadline arrives three months before the filing deadline. Corporation Tax is payable 9 months and 1 day after your accounting period ends (gov.uk), while the Company Tax Return (CT600) reporting that profit and tax isn't due until 12 months after the same period ends (gov.uk). You hand the money over a full quarter before the paperwork explaining it.
That ordering is the misunderstanding we see most often: with personal Self Assessment, filing and paying broadly coincide, so directors assume company tax does the same. It doesn't — and HMRC won't send a bill. The company works out the figure itself, pays it, then reports it.
There's a third date, which is why year-end season feels crowded: annual accounts are due at Companies House 9 months after the end of the financial year (gov.uk). Take an illustrative company with a 31 March 2026 year end:
What's due
When
Annual accounts to Companies House
31 December 2026 (9 months)
Corporation Tax payment to HMRC
1 January 2027 (9 months and 1 day)
Company Tax Return (CT600) to HMRC
31 March 2027 (12 months)
Most companies prepare accounts for the Companies House date and produce the tax figure a day later, which is why those two sit side by side — leave the accounts late and you lose the run-up you needed to fund the payment. The wider calendar is in our guide to limited company accounts and tax returns, and the cost of a missed Companies House deadline in late filing penalties.
How much will it be?
For 2026/27, taxable profits up to £50,000 are charged at the 19% small profits rate and profits over £250,000 at the 25% main rate, with Marginal Relief between the two — a standard fraction of 3/200, giving an effective marginal rate of roughly 26.5%. Both thresholds are divided by the number of associated companies (gov.uk). That's enough to budget from; our companion piece on corporation tax for directors works through the bands and the marginal-relief mechanics.
Knowing the rate is one thing; having the cash ready on the day is another — our free guide sets out the director's tax calendar.
Choose your method by how many days you have left, because HMRC treats the payment as made when it reaches them — not when you press send (gov.uk):
How you pay
Time to reach HMRC
Online bank account approval, Faster Payments or CHAPS
Same day or next day
Debit or corporate credit card online, or at your bank or building society
Same day or next day
Bacs, or a Direct Debit already set up with HMRC
3 working days
A Direct Debit you are setting up for the first time
5 working days
Two things follow. "Pay corporation tax online" isn't one button — it means approving the payment from your business bank account or paying by card, both landing the same or next day. And the Direct Debit distinction catches people out: an existing one clears in three working days, a new one needs five.
The other rule to recognise is the weekend one. If your deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, make sure the payment reaches HMRC on the previous working day — unless you're paying by Faster Payments, the exception (gov.uk).
Getting the reference right
Pay with the wrong reference and HMRC receives your money but credits it to the wrong period. Corporation Tax is paid using a 17-character payslip reference, and it is specific to the accounting period you are paying for (gov.uk) — not a permanent company number you can save in your banking and reuse each year.
That is what makes it such an easy error. A director saves the payee in online banking once and pays on time every year, until the stored reference belongs to a period already settled. The payment clears and the statement looks right, but the year you meant to pay shows as outstanding while an older one sits in credit — leaving you to ask HMRC to reallocate money you paid on time.
The fix takes seconds: before you pay, pull the reference for the period you are settling, check it against the one saved in your banking, and confirm it matches the year end on the accounts you've just approved.
If the reference, the deadline and the figure are all landing at once, that's the point to get an accountant involved. We're a connector rather than the firm that signs your accounts — we match you with a partner through our accountancy partner network.
The 9 months and 1 day deadline is the rule for companies with taxable profits up to £1.5 million (gov.uk). Above that threshold, Corporation Tax is paid in quarterly instalments on its own timetable rather than as one payment after the year end. If your company is near that level — or growing towards it — raise instalments with your accountant well before the year end.
If you can't pay
Contact HMRC before the deadline, not after it. If you're struggling to pay, HMRC may agree a Time to Pay arrangement spreading what you owe over a period you can manage (gov.uk). Directors put that call off because it feels like an admission, but silence past the deadline goes worse.
Be clear about what it is. Time to Pay is an arrangement to pay in instalments, not a discount and not a waiver: the tax is still owed in full, and HMRC still charges interest on late amounts. It depends on you keeping to the agreed schedule — so don't commit to instalments the company can't meet.
How to avoid the scramble next year
Set the tax aside as the money comes in, rather than finding it nine months later — move a share of every invoice into a separate reserve account the day it clears. Illustratively, a company expecting taxable profits comfortably under £50,000 is on the 19% rate, so putting aside about a fifth of profit as it's earned gets you close, remembering that profit, not turnover, is taxed. That only works if company money is genuinely separate from personal money, which our guide on whether a limited company needs a business bank account covers.
The second is keeping the year-end in view: put all three dates in the diary the day the period ends, and work backwards from the payment date rather than the filing one. Current expense records help too, since allowable costs reduce the profit taxed — our rundown of limited company expenses you can claim covers what counts.
Directors who plan the payment date rather than react to it rarely need that call — our free guide covers the full calendar a director owns.
When is corporation tax due?
Nine months and 1 day after the end of your accounting period, for companies with taxable profits up to £1.5 million; above that, companies pay in quarterly instalments. The payment date falls three months before the CT600 deadline, which is 12 months after the period ends.
How do I pay corporation tax online?
Approve the payment through your business online banking, or pay by Faster Payments, CHAPS, debit card or corporate credit card — all reach HMRC the same or next day. Bacs and an existing HMRC Direct Debit take three working days; a first-time Direct Debit takes five.
What is the corporation tax payment reference?
A 17-character payslip reference, specific to the accounting period you're paying for rather than fixed to your company. Reusing last year's credits the money to the wrong period, so the year you meant to settle shows as unpaid until HMRC reallocates it.
What happens if I pay corporation tax late?
HMRC charges interest on Corporation Tax paid after the deadline, so late payment costs more than the tax itself. If you know in advance the company can't pay, contact HMRC before the date about a Time to Pay arrangement.
Can I pay corporation tax in instalments?
HMRC may agree a Time to Pay arrangement spreading the bill over a period the company can manage. It isn't a reduction in what you owe — interest still runs on the outstanding amount, and you must keep to the schedule.
