When is corporation tax due to be paid?
Answered 11 March 2026
Here is a comprehensive answer on when corporation tax (CT) is due to be paid.
When is Corporation Tax Due to be Paid?
There are two regimes depending on the size of the company.
What the law says
Standard rule (non-large companies)
Corporation tax for an accounting period becomes due and payable on the day following the expiry of nine months from the end of that accounting period (i.e. 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period). This is the rule under s.59D(1) Taxes Management Act (TMA) 1970.
Once tax becomes due and payable, it carries interest under s.87A TMA 1970 from that date until payment.
Large and very large companies — Quarterly Instalment Payments (QIPs)
The Treasury has power under s.59E TMA 1970 to make regulations requiring companies to pay corporation tax on dates falling on or before the normal due date. This power was exercised through the Corporation Tax (Instalment Payments) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/3175), which require large and very large companies to pay CT in quarterly instalments, with the due dates for each instalment set by Regulation 5 of those Regulations.
HMRC guidance / practice
Standard rule
HMRC confirms that the normal due and payable date for a CTSA accounting period is nine months and one day after the end of the accounting period under s.59D(1) TMA 1970.
Quarterly Instalment Payments (QIPs)
- The obligation to make instalment payments applies only to large and very large companies, as defined in Regulation 3 of SI 1998/3175.
- The QIP regime was introduced alongside the Corporation Tax Self-Assessment (CTSA) system and was phased in over 4 years.
- Because the exact liability cannot be known until the return is filed, companies must make instalment payments based on their best estimate of the amount due. In most cases, the only consequence of getting payments wrong or making them late will be an interest charge.
- Debit interest under s.87A TMA 1970 (as extended by Regulation 7 of SI 1998/3175) is charged on late or insufficient instalment payments from the quarterly instalment due dates.
- Credit interest under s.826 ICTA 1988 (as extended by Regulation 8 of SI 1998/3175) is paid on early or excessive payments.
Summary table:
| Company type | Payment due |
|---|---|
| Non-large companies | 9 months and 1 day after end of accounting period |
| Large/very large companies | Quarterly instalments during and after the accounting period, per SI 1998/3175 |
Citation sources
The table below gives a brief explanation of what the legislation relevant to this subject contains. Section Explanation Section 59D(1) Taxes Management Act (TMA) 1970 The normal due and payable date for CT is nine months and one day after the end of the Accounting Period (AP). Section 455(3) Corporation Tax Act (CTA) 2010 Determines the due date for tax payable under Section 455 CTA 2010.
Part I Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax Chapter V Taxes Management Provisions Company returns Interest on overdue corporation tax etc. 85 With respect to accounting periods ending after the appointed day, after section 87 of the Management Act there shall be inserted the following section— Interest on overdue corporation tax etc. 87A 1 Corporation tax shall carry interest at the rate applicable under section 178 of the Finance Act 1989 from the date when the tax becomes due and
Part III Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax Chapter I Income Tax and Corporation Tax Corporation tax: periodic payments etc Corporation tax: due and payable date. 30 1 After section 59DA of the Taxes Management Act 1970 there shall be inserted— Further provision as to when corporation tax is due and payable. 59E 1 The Treasury may by regulations make provision, in relation to companies of such descriptions as may be prescribed, for or in connection with treating amounts of corpora
The Corporation Tax (Instalment Payments) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No 3175) as amended by the Corporation Tax (Instalment Payments) (Amendment) Regulations (S.I. 1999/1929), contain the requirement for large companies to pay tax in instalments. This requirement was introduced at the same time as CTSA. Quarterly instalment payments were phased in over 4 years, and apply only to the following. Large/Very Large companies CTSA APs tax required to be self assessed, that is CT chargeable on the compa
The obligation to make instalment payments only applies to large and very large companies. Large and very large companies are defined in regulation 3. As the amount which a company was required to pay in each instalment for an accounting period cannot be established until its return for the period has been submitted, and then becomes final, the company can only make instalment payments based on its best estimate of the amount which it believes will be due. There is a specific interest regime fo
h (c) above, no account shall be taken of so much of the amount of the repayment as falls to be made as a result of the claim under section 389(1) or 459(1)(b) of CTA 2009 except so far as concerns interest for any time after the date on which any corporation tax for the later period became (or, as the case may be, would have become) due and payable, as mentioned in subsection (7D) below . 7CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7D In subsections (7), (7A), (7AA), (7B
The table below gives a brief explanation of what the legislation relevant to this subject contains. Section Explanation 59D(1) Taxes Management Act (TMA) 1970 The normal due and payable date for CTSA Accounting Period (AP) is nine months and one day after the end of the AP. Regulation 5 Corporation Tax (Instalment Payments) Regulations 1998 Statutory Instrument 3175 The due and payable date for an instalment in a quarterly instalment payment (QIP) case.
late payment interest is charged under Section 87A Taxes Managemment Act (TMA) 1970 on CT paid late debit interest is charged under Section 87A TMA 1970 (as extended by Regulation 7 of the Corporation Tax (Instalment Payments) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No. 3175)) on Quarterly Instalment Payments (QIPs) made late credit interest is paid under Section 826 Income and Corporation Taxes Act (ICTA) 1988 (as extended by Regulation 8 of the Corporation Tax (Instalment Payments) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998