On this page
Corporation Tax is usually due 9 months and 1 day after the end of your company's accounting period, which is normally its financial year end. If your taxable profits exceed £1.5 million, different quarterly instalment rules can apply, which we cover below.
That payment deadline is not the same as the deadline for filing your Corporation Tax return. The return is due 12 months after the accounting period ends. You normally pay HMRC before you file the return.
The better option is much less dramatic: know your deadline, know what you owe and make sure the payment reaches HMRC correctly.
What Is Corporation Tax and When Is It Due
A company with a 31 March year end will normally need to pay its Corporation Tax by 1 January.
For most companies, the important date is 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period. The Corporation Tax return comes later, with a filing deadline 12 months after the period ends. Which means the payment date is never fixed: a company with a 31 December 2025 year end would normally need to pay by 1 October 2026, while one with a 30 June 2026 year end would normally pay by 1 April 2027.
Companies with augmented profits above £1.5 million can fall into the quarterly instalment payment regime instead. Augmented profits broadly include taxable profits plus certain non-group exempt distributions. We cover the payment pattern further down.
This is exactly the sort of deadline we would rather flag well before it becomes urgent. Corporation Tax should not arrive as a year-end ambush. Knowing what is coming gives you time to plan the cash flow rather than scrambling to find the money when HMRC expects it.
Information You Need Before You Pay
Before making a Corporation Tax payment, get the correct HMRC bank details and your 17-character payment reference for the accounting period you are paying.
You'll find the current HMRC bank details on GOV.UK or on your payslip. Use the account shown on your payslip where you have one.
You can also use your business tax account to view your Corporation Tax information and access online payment options. If someone else manages your company's tax administration, make sure you have whatever access or information you need before the deadline arrives. Not the night before. Corporation Tax has enough moving parts without adding a last-minute login hunt.
Finding Your Payment Reference Number
Your Corporation Tax payment reference contains 17 characters and is specific to both your company and the accounting period being paid.
It is based around your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) and includes additional characters identifying the relevant Corporation Tax period. A reference might look like 1234567890A00101A.
The important bit is not learning how to construct it yourself. Don't.
Instead, copy the complete 17-character reference from HMRC's correspondence or find it through your online Corporation Tax account. Be particularly careful if your bank has saved the reference from a previous year because Corporation Tax payment references change between accounting periods.
If you cannot find the correct reference, do not simply enter your 10-digit UTR in its place and hope HMRC works it out. An incorrect reference can delay the payment being matched or result in it being allocated to another bill.
You can contact HMRC's Corporation Tax general enquiries line on 0300 200 3410, or +44 151 268 0571 from outside the UK, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm. HMRC advisers cannot give you your UTR over the phone. Another option is to pay through the GOV.UK or business tax account payment journey, where the relevant reference can be brought into the process automatically.
How to Pay Corporation Tax
How you pay matters, especially when the deadline is close. Different Corporation Tax payment methods have different processing rules, so give yourself enough time for the method you choose.
And whatever route you use, check the payment details carefully. A payment leaving your bank account is not much comfort if an incorrect reference sends it to the wrong Corporation Tax period.
Payment Methods Available
HMRC accepts Corporation Tax payments through several routes.
- Faster Payments can be made through online or telephone banking and normally arrive the same or next day. Faster Payments can also be made at weekends and on bank holidays.
- CHAPS payments normally arrive on the same working day, provided you meet your bank's cut-off time.
- Online bank payments can be approved through your online bank account using the GOV.UK payment service. These payments normally reach HMRC on the same or next day.
- Card payments can be made online using a personal debit card, corporate debit card or corporate credit card. HMRC treats a card payment as paid on the date you make it, including weekends and bank holidays. There is no fee for paying with a personal debit card. A non-refundable fee applies to corporate debit and corporate credit cards. Personal credit cards are not accepted.
- Direct Debit can be arranged through the relevant HMRC online service. Allow 5 working days when setting up a Direct Debit for the first time and 3 working days for subsequent payments.
- Bacs payments can take up to 3 working days.
- Bank or building society payments can be made if you have the pre-printed HMRC paying-in slip needed for the payment.
You cannot pay Corporation Tax by post, and you can no longer pay it at the Post Office.
If your Corporation Tax deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, HMRC generally needs cleared funds by the last working day beforehand unless you pay by Faster Payments. That is an easy detail to miss, particularly around Christmas and New Year.
Paying Online Through HMRC
For many companies, the simplest option is to start with the GOV.UK service to pay your Corporation Tax bill.
From there, you can choose an available payment method, including approving a payment through your online bank account or paying by card. Using the official payment journey also reduces the risk of manually entering an outdated Corporation Tax reference.
If you are paying through online or telephone banking instead, use the HMRC bank account details for Corporation Tax and enter the full 17-character reference in the payment reference field. Check it before confirming the transfer, particularly if your banking app has automatically filled in details from a previous payment.
Direct Debit needs more planning. A first collection requires 5 working days, while subsequent collections require 3 working days. If the deadline is already looming, setting up your first Direct Debit is not the route to gamble on.
This is where proactive accounting earns its keep. We want clients to know what is due and when well before the payment date, with enough visibility over their finances to plan for the bill rather than simply react to it.
Payment Plans and Instalments
If you know your company cannot pay its Corporation Tax bill in full, contact HMRC as early as possible, ideally before the deadline. A Time to Pay arrangement may allow an outstanding tax debt to be repaid through agreed instalments.
Quarterly instalment payments are a separate issue and apply to larger companies.
Broadly, companies with augmented profits above £1.5 million pay Corporation Tax through quarterly instalments across the accounting period, not as a single payment 9 months and 1 day after it ends.
After You Pay: Confirmation and Processing
HMRC does not automatically send an email or paper receipt simply because your Corporation Tax payment has arrived.
Instead, check your online Corporation Tax account and view your Corporation Tax statement to make sure the payment has been received and allocated to the correct accounting period.
Keep your own bookkeeping records too. A bank statement showing the payment date, amount and reference gives you useful evidence if HMRC later queries the payment or it ends up allocated incorrectly.
What Happens If You Pay Late
HMRC charges interest when Corporation Tax is paid after the due date. Interest runs from the payment deadline until the outstanding amount is settled and is calculated using HMRC's published late payment interest rate.
As of September 2026, the Corporation Tax late payment interest is 7.75%, effective from 9 January 2026. The interest rate is calculated by taking the Bank of England base rate and adding 4%. It is important to understand this is rate is variable and is subject to change.
Late payment interest is separate from penalties for filing your Corporation Tax return late. A company that pays on time can still pick up a late filing penalty if the return is overdue, and a return filed on time doesn't stop interest running if the payment itself was late.
If HMRC has already issued a penalty, follow the payment instructions provided. Depending on the payment route, penalties can also be paid using the 17-character Corporation Tax reference for the accounting period to which the penalty relates.
Ignoring an unpaid Corporation Tax bill will not make it disappear. Interest continues to accrue, and unresolved debts can eventually move through HMRC's debt management and enforcement processes.
If cash flow is the problem, speaking to HMRC about Time to Pay before the deadline is a much better move than waiting for recovery action.
And if Corporation Tax keeps feeling like something that suddenly appears at the end of the year, that is worth fixing too. At TurnerBerry, we work with business owners throughout the year, helping them understand what is coming, what needs paying and when. The aim is simple: fewer surprises, clearer numbers and more time to actually run the business.