Self Assessment by 31 January 2027: what a restaurant or pub owner files and pays
Who files, what is due on Sunday 31 January 2027, payments on account worked through for a cafe owner, penalties, and a records checklist from the till.
By the TablePort teamFacts checked 11 min read
One UK pub or bar in four is run by a sole trader or partnership, in our analysis of ONS business counts for 2026, so its profit is the owner's personal tax bill. That bill falls due on one date, in the month the takings dip.
If you run a restaurant, cafe or pub as a sole trader or in a partnership, you must file your 2025 to 2026 Self Assessment return online and pay the tax by 11:59pm on Sunday 31 January 2027. On the same day you usually pay the first payment on account for 2026 to 2027, worth half of this year's bill. The second is due on 31 July 2027. A limited company's profits are not on your return, but you may still need to file for dividends or other untaxed income.
Last checked: 5 November 2026.
Who has to file a Self Assessment return?
How you trade decides it. gov.uk's who must send a tax return page says you must file if you were self-employed as a sole trader and earned more than £1,000, or if you were a partner in a business partnership. It adds that you may need to file for untaxed income such as rental income, tips and commission, or dividends. If HMRC has sent you a notice to file, you must file whatever your situation.
| How you run the venue | Do you file Self Assessment? | What goes on it |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader | Yes, if trading income was over £1,000 | The business's profit, taxed as your income |
| Partnership | Yes, each partner, plus the partnership's own return | Your share of the partnership profit |
| Limited company, you are a director | Yes if dividends were over £10,000, or you have other untaxed income such as rent | Your dividends and other untaxed income, not the profits |
| Employed manager or head chef, PAYE only | Usually no | Nothing, unless you have other untaxed income |
Three traps catch restaurant owners. A partner files even in a loss year, because the return is how the loss is recorded. A director who takes more than £10,000 in dividends must file, according to gov.uk's tax on dividends page; below that, HMRC can collect the tax through your tax code instead. And a director who owns the building and charges the company rent has rental income to declare personally.
Since the 2024 to 2025 tax year, sole traders and partnerships without a corporate partner use the cash basis by default: money in and money out in the year, rather than invoices and accruals, according to gov.uk's cash basis guidance. Your accountant can opt you out if traditional accounting suits you better, for example if you hold a lot of stock.
How many restaurants and pubs are run by sole traders?
Fewer than a decade ago, but still one pub in four. Our analysis of the ONS UK Business Counts (enterprises, March 2026 and March 2016, via Nomis) counts the businesses in each trade that are sole proprietors or partnerships. Those are the owners whose profit lands on a personal Self Assessment return.
| Trade (SIC 2007) | Businesses, 2026 | Sole traders and partnerships, 2026 | Share, 2026 | Share, 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pubs and bars (56302) | 29,925 | 7,390 | 24.7% | 49.0% |
| Unlicensed restaurants and cafes (56102) | 28,955 | 5,965 | 20.6% | 44.2% |
| Takeaways and food stands (56103) | 46,590 | 8,730 | 18.7% | 50.1% |
| Licensed restaurants (56101) | 32,955 | 2,955 | 9.0% | 23.9% |
| All four | 138,425 | 25,040 | 18.1% | 42.5% |
Source: our analysis of ONS UK Business Counts, enterprises by legal status, United Kingdom, March 2026 and March 2016 (Nomis dataset NM_142_1, retrieved 5 November 2026). Counts are rounded to the nearest 5.
In 2016, 42.5% of these businesses were sole traders or partnerships. By 2026 it was 18.1%, as owners moved to limited companies. Pubs and cafes are where the personal model survives. The register covers businesses registered for VAT or PAYE, so the smallest sole traders with no staff and turnover under the VAT threshold are missing. The real share is higher than the table shows.
What are the Self Assessment deadlines for 2025 to 2026?
The dates below are from gov.uk's Self Assessment deadlines page for the tax year 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.
| Date | What is due |
|---|---|
| 5 October 2026 | Tell HMRC you need to file, if this is your first return |
| 31 October 2026 | Paper return |
| 30 December 2026 | Online return, if you want a bill under £3,000 collected through your tax code |
| Sunday 31 January 2027 | Online return, the balance of your 2025 to 2026 tax, first payment on account |
| 31 July 2027 | Second payment on account for 2026 to 2027 |
The tax code route only works if you also pay tax through PAYE, for example from a job or a pension, and owe less than £3,000, according to gov.uk's pay through your tax code page. Most full-time restaurant owners have no PAYE income, so it rarely applies.
31 January 2027 is a Sunday. gov.uk's pay your Self Assessment bill page says that when a deadline falls on a weekend, the payment must reach HMRC by the last working day before, unless you pay by Faster Payments or by debit or corporate credit card. Bacs takes 3 working days and a first Direct Debit takes 5. If you pay by Bacs, your real deadline is Wednesday 27 January. The online return itself can still go in on the Sunday, but do not leave it that late.
How do payments on account work?
Payments on account are advance payments towards next year's bill. Each one is half of the tax you owed last year, due on 31 January and 31 July, according to gov.uk's payments on account page. They include Class 4 National Insurance. You do not make them if last year's bill was under £1,000, or if more than 80% of your tax was already collected at source.
Here is a cafe owner in England, trading as a sole trader, with a profit of £42,000 in 2025 to 2026. Her 2024 to 2025 bill was £6,000, so she paid £3,000 on account in January 2026 and £3,000 in July 2026.
| Step | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Profit above the £12,570 allowance | £42,000 − £12,570 | £29,430 |
| Income tax at 20% | £29,430 × 20% | £5,886.00 |
| Class 4 National Insurance at 6% | £29,430 × 6% | £1,765.80 |
| 2025 to 2026 bill | £5,886.00 + £1,765.80 | £7,651.80 |
| Less payments on account already made | £3,000 + £3,000 | −£6,000.00 |
| Balancing payment | £7,651.80 − £6,000 | £1,651.80 |
| First payment on account for 2026 to 2027 | £7,651.80 ÷ 2 | £3,825.90 |
| Due by 31 January 2027 | £1,651.80 + £3,825.90 | £5,477.70 |
| Due by 31 July 2027 | Second payment on account | £3,825.90 |
The rates are the 2025 to 2026 figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland sets its own income tax bands, so a Scottish owner's figure will differ.
The first-year shock. An owner in their first year of trading made no payments on account last year. If the same £7,651.80 bill were her first, she would owe the whole bill plus the first £3,825.90 payment on account: £11,477.70 on one Sunday in January. That is why new owners who start in spring often run short in their second January.
If this year is quieter, you can ask HMRC to reduce your payments on account online or on form SA303. If you cut them too far and the bill turns out higher, HMRC charges interest on the shortfall.
A rule of thumb that works: put aside a fixed sum each month from the business account into a separate tax account. For the example above, £7,651.80 ÷ 12 is about £640 a month. Put both January and July on your 13-week cash flow forecast so the second payment on account does not arrive in a quiet week unannounced.
What happens if you miss 31 January?
Penalties stack up for a late return and, separately, for late payment. gov.uk's Self Assessment penalties page sets them out:
| How late | Late return | Late payment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day | £100 | Interest starts |
| 30 days | 5% of the tax unpaid | |
| 3 months | £10 a day, up to £900 | |
| 6 months | 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater | A further 5% of tax unpaid |
| 12 months | Another 5% or £300, whichever is greater | A further 5% of tax unpaid |
The £100 "applies even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time", HMRC said in its January 2026 deadline release. So file on time even if you cannot pay, then call HMRC about paying in instalments. gov.uk's if you cannot pay your tax bill on time page says HMRC may agree a payment plan if it is affordable. Interest still runs on what is unpaid. If tax arrears are one of several warning signs, work through the checklist in our restaurant and pub insolvency guide.
These are the penalties for the 2025 to 2026 return for everyone, including owners who joined Making Tax Digital in April 2026. HMRC's MTD penalties guidance says the new points-based penalties start from the tax year you join, and the current penalties still apply to the 31 January 2027 deadline.
What records does a restaurant owner need for the return?
Your accountant needs a year of figures from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026, and most of them come from the till and the bank. The VAT side of the same numbers is covered in our restaurant VAT guide.
SELF ASSESSMENT RECORDS: 2025 TO 2026 (6 APRIL 2025 TO 5 APRIL 2026)
Sales
[ ] Takings by month from the till: gross, VAT and net
[ ] Tips and service charge shown apart from sales
[ ] Card processor statements, with fees for the year
[ ] Delivery platform statements: gross orders, commission, payouts
[ ] Gift voucher sales and redemptions (sold is not the same as earned)
Costs
[ ] Supplier invoices for food and drink
[ ] Wages, employer National Insurance and pension (payroll reports)
[ ] Rent, business rates, utilities, insurance, licences
[ ] Repairs, cleaning, laundry, waste collection
[ ] Equipment bought in the year, with dates and invoices
[ ] Bank charges, loan interest, accountancy fees
Balance sheet and adjustments
[ ] Stock count at 5 April 2026 and 5 April 2025 (traditional
accounting only; the cash basis does not adjust for stock)
[ ] Money you took out for yourself (drawings)
[ ] Food and drink taken for you or family
[ ] Any rent you received, for example for a flat above
Admin
[ ] Your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
[ ] Payments on account already made for 2025 to 2026
[ ] Partnership: the partnership return and each partner's share
Pull the sales and tips lines straight from the till rather than rebuilding them from bank deposits. Card payouts arrive net of fees and mixed with tips, and that is where an accountant's hours go. If your profit margin looks wrong once the figures are in, our UK restaurant profit margin guide shows what a typical P&L looks like.
Next year changes the routine. If your 2025 to 2026 return shows turnover from your business and any rental income above £30,000, you will need to keep digital records and send quarterly updates from 6 April 2027 under Making Tax Digital. Our Making Tax Digital guide explains whether it applies to you, and the Autumn Budget 2026 guide covers the wage and rates changes that land the same April.
Check the figures with your accountant for your situation.
Can TablePort handle this for you?
TablePort can produce the sales side of the records checklist:
- Pull the year from accounting exports. The POS exports daily sales, tips, tax, voids and comps in a form your accountant can use.
- Sync to Xero or QuickBooks. Sales sync to your accounting software, so takings are not retyped from the till.
- Read the daily report. Each day's sales arrive with an AI-written summary, so a month that is running behind shows up before the tax account does.
The limit: TablePort does not calculate or file your tax. Your accountant or HMRC's online service does that. See the POS page for reports and exports.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Self Assessment deadline moved because 31 January 2027 is a Sunday?
No. The online return and payment are still due by 11:59pm on 31 January 2027. Payments by Faster Payments or card can be made that day, but Bacs or Direct Debit payments must reach HMRC by the last working day before, Friday 29 January, so they need to be sent earlier.
- Do I need to file Self Assessment if my restaurant is a limited company?
Not for the company's profits, which go on its Corporation Tax return. You file personally if HMRC sends you a notice to file, if you took more than £10,000 in dividends, or if you have other untaxed income such as rent from the premises. Dividends above your allowances but under £10,000 can be collected through your tax code instead.
- What is a payment on account?
An advance payment towards next year's tax, worth half of this year's bill. You pay one on 31 January and one on 31 July. You do not pay them if your bill was under £1,000 or if more than 80% of your tax was collected through PAYE.
- Do I have to file if my restaurant made a loss?
Yes, if you are a sole trader or partner. The return records the loss, which you may be able to set against other income or carry forward against future profits. Your accountant will advise which works best.
- What is the penalty for filing my Self Assessment late?
£100 straight away, even if you owe nothing. After 3 months it is £10 a day up to £900, then 5% of the tax or £300 at 6 and 12 months. Late payment adds 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months, plus interest.
- Can I pay my Self Assessment bill in instalments?
HMRC may agree a payment plan if you cannot pay in full, provided it is affordable. File the return on time first to avoid the late filing penalty, then contact HMRC. Interest is charged on the tax paid late.
