As we head towards the end of the tax year, it’s very easy to tell yourself you’ll “sort it next week” and before you know it, 5th April has been and gone.
If you run a small business, work for yourself or are the Director of a limited company, these final few weeks can be one of the best times to get organised, spot tax-saving opportunities and make sure nothing important gets missed.
The good news? You don’t need a complete financial overhaul overnight. You just need to focus on the right things before the tax year closes.
Here’s a simple, no-nonsense checklist to help you get prepared before 5th April and avoid unnecessary stress later on.
Why do the weeks before 5th April matter?
Our tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April the following year. That means once 5th April passes, some planning opportunities for that tax year are gone.
That doesn’t mean you need to panic, but it does mean this is the perfect time to:
- Review what your business has earned
- Check what expenses you’ve claimed
- Make sure your records are up to date
- Spot anything you want to action before the year ends
- Avoid a last-minute scramble later when tax returns are due
A little work now can make a big difference to how smooth the next few months feel. We have 6 recommendations to help with this.
- Make sure your bookkeeping is up to date
This is always the best place to start. If your bookkeeping is behind, it becomes much harder to see what your actual profit is, what you might owe in tax and whether there are any gaps in your records.
Before 5th April, make sure you:
- Reconcile your bank accounts
- Match receipts to transactions
- Check for missing invoices
- Review any cash expenses
- Make sure subscriptions and regular costs are being recorded correctly
If your books are messy, you’re far more likely to miss an expense or make decisions based on numbers that aren’t right.
- Review your allowable business expenses
One of the biggest reasons business owners overpay tax is simple: they forget what they can claim. Now is a great time to go back through your records and ask:
- Have you captured all software subscriptions?
- Have you included professional fees?
- Have you logged business travel and mileage?
- Have you reviewed phone and internet costs for business use?
- Have you picked up any small recurring expenses that were easy to miss?
HMRC’s general rule is that expenses must be wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the business, so this is where having clear records really matters. HMRC also says what you can claim depends on whether you’re a sole trader, limited company or other business type.
Even a handful of missed expenses can quietly increase your tax bill more than you realise.
- Check your Director salary and dividends (if you run a limited company)
If you’re a limited company Director, this is a useful point in the year to check how you’ve been paying yourself. Ask yourself:
- Has your salary been run correctly through payroll?
- Have dividend payments been documented properly?
- Are the dividends supported by available profits?
- Is how you pay yourself still tax efficient?
This isn’t about making rushed changes for the sake of it. It’s about making sure what’s already happened has been recorded correctly and that nothing is sitting in the background waiting to cause a headache later. If you’re not sure, this is exactly the kind of thing worth reviewing with your accountant before the year closes.
- Look at pension contributions and other year-end planning opportunities
For many business owners and Directors, the end of the tax year can be a useful moment to consider whether there are any final planning actions worth taking.
Depending on your circumstances, that might include:
- Pension contributions
- Timing certain purchases
- Reviewing capital expenditure
- Checking whether there are any reliefs or allowances you haven’t used
This is where personalised advice matters because what works well for one business owner may not be the right move for another. The key point is this: if you leave it until after 5th April, some opportunities may no longer be available for that tax year.
- Chase unpaid invoices and review cashflow
Tax planning is important, but cashflow is what keeps the lights on. Before the tax year ends, it’s worth checking:
- Which invoices are still outstanding?
- Which clients need a reminder?
- Are there any slow payers affecting your cash position?
- Do you have upcoming tax payments you need to budget for?
A profitable business can still feel financially stretched if cash isn’t arriving when it should. This is also a good time to sense-check whether you’ve got enough set aside for:
- Income Tax
- Corporation Tax
- VAT
- PAYE / National Insurance
- Payments on account (if applicable)
- Make sure you know what deadlines are coming next
One of the biggest causes of stress for business owners is not the tax itself, it’s the surprise of the deadline. For self-assessment, HMRC says:
- You can submit an online tax return from 6 April
- Online returns are generally due by 31 January
- Tax owed is also generally due by 31 January
- If you make payments on account, there is usually a second payment deadline on 31 July
Even if your year-end work feels “early”, it puts you in a much stronger position when those deadlines roll around.
The real cost of leaving it too late
Putting this off until after 5th April doesn’t always create a disaster, but it often creates avoidable problems. Leaving your year-end review too late can lead to:
- Missed expenses
- Poor visibility on profit
- Overpaid tax
- Rushed bookkeeping
- Weak cashflow planning
- Stress when tax deadlines come around
- Fewer options for legitimate tax planning
In most cases, the fix is simply getting organised a little earlier.
Final thoughts
The weeks/days before 5th April are not about doing everything perfectly. They’re about giving yourself enough visibility to make better decisions before the tax year closes. If your bookkeeping is up to date, your expenses are reviewed and your numbers make sense, you’ll head into the new tax year in a much stronger position and with a lot less stress.
Need help making sure you’ve covered the important bits before 5th April? Why not reach out and get clarity before the deadline. Give us a call on 01173 700 079 or e-mail hello@steppingstonesaccountancy.co.uk.
