One simple page that helps you predict and prepare for tax bills can take the stress out of running a small company. I’ve built these one-page tax timing calendars for clients dozens of times — they cut down surprises, smooth cashflow planning, and give you a single place to check what’s due and when for corporation tax, dividends and VAT. Below I’ll walk you through a practical template you can create in Google Sheets or Excel, what to include, and how to use it throughout the year.
Why a one-page calendar works
A full accounting calendar is useful, but it’s often too dense for day-to-day planning. A one-page tax timing calendar does three jobs:
Gives you a quick visual of upcoming deadlines and likely cash requirements.Connects the timing of expected liabilities (corporation tax, dividends, VAT) to business decisions.Becomes a communication tool you can share with partners, bookkeepers or your bank.Make it focused on timing and amounts (best estimate), not on detailed journal entries. The idea is to see “when” and “how much” at a glance.
What to include on your one-page calendar
On the page I use with clients, there are four main sections: Calendar timeline, Tax items with triggers, Estimated amounts, and Action notes. Here are the elements to capture:
Timeline row: Months or quarters across the top (e.g. Apr–Mar fiscal year if your company follows the UK tax year; or calendar months if that’s simpler).Key dates: Corporation tax payment windows, company tax return filing dates, dividend payment dates (planned), VAT return periods and payment due dates, and PAYE/NI payment dates if you run payroll.Estimated cash required: Column for best-estimate amounts per due date. Update quarterly or whenever profit projections change.Triggers/notes: What action causes the liability (e.g. year-end profits, decision to declare dividends, quarter sales affecting VAT). This helps explain why an amount appears on the calendar.Mitigations/plan: Any steps to fund the liability (set aside savings, director loan account, schedule dividend timing, VAT payment plan if needed).Step-by-step: build the sheet
Open a new Google Sheet or Excel workbook and set up these rows from top to bottom. I prefer landscape page setup so the months fit horizontally.
Row 1: Company name and tax year covered (e.g. Quinnaccountants Co — Tax timing Apr 2025–Mar 2026).Row 2: Timeline header — list months across columns (Apr, May, Jun… or Jan–Dec).Row 3: Corporation tax estimated payment dates.Row 4: Corporation tax estimated amounts.Row 5: Dividend planned dates.Row 6: Dividend estimated cash.Row 7: VAT return period end and payment due.Row 8: VAT estimated payment.Row 9: Other items (PAYE, employers’ NI, CIS, known one-off liabilities).Final row: Notes / action items for each month (e.g. “confirm provisional CT liability; schedule dividend board minute”).Practical rules of thumb for filling amounts
Numbers will be estimates — that’s fine. Aim to be conservative rather than optimistic.
Corporation tax: If you’re not sure, use last year’s profit multiplied by the current CT rate (19% or the rate that applies). If profits are changing, run a provisional P&L to the relevant accounting period end. Remember large companies have different rules — for most small companies the main CT rate applies.Dividends: Only plan dividends if the company has distributable reserves. Map planned dividends to your expected post-tax cash position. If you plan multiple smaller dividends across the year, reflect the dates individually so you can see immediate cash impacts.VAT: Use the VAT return data (box 5 for VAT due) from your bookkeeping software. If you use quarterly VAT, project each quarter from recent turnover and VAT proportions. If you use VAT cash accounting, base on cash receipts/payments.PAYE/NI and CIS: These usually follow payroll dates or monthly/quarterly RTI. Treat them as fixed lines if applicable.Example one-page layout (simple)
Below is a compact table you can copy into a sheet. Replace the numbers with your estimates.
| Item / Month | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar |
| Corp tax due | | | | | CT (estimate) | | | | | | | |
| Corp tax est. cash | | | | | £4,500 | | | | | | | |
| Dividend planned | £2,000 | | | | | £1,500 | | | | | | |
| VAT due | Q4 VAT | | Q1 VAT | | | Q2 VAT | | | | Q3 VAT | | |
| VAT est. cash | £1,200 | | £900 | | | £1,050 | | | | £750 | | |
| Action notes | Close accounts | Review cash | File VAT | Board minute for dividend | CT forecast | Pay dividend | File VAT | Confirm RTI | Board meeting | File VAT | Finalize P&L | Plan next year |
Using the calendar in practice
Make the calendar a live document — update it each month when you close the books, or sooner when something material changes (a large sale, contract end, or unexpected expense). Here are the routines I recommend:
Monthly review: Update VAT figures from your software (Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent). Refresh CT estimate if profit projections changed.Quarterly planning: Before you file a VAT return, check whether the payment will leave you short of working capital. If it will, consider timing dividends differently or putting money into a designated “tax float” bank account.Before dividends: Check distributable reserves and run a post-dividend cash forecast. Use the calendar to show board minutes and the date the dividend will be paid.Tips and common pitfalls
From my experience advising many small businesses, these are the traps to avoid and the behaviors that make the calendar useful:
Don’t forget filing deadlines — payment due dates and filing dates differ. Corporation tax is usually payable 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends for small companies; filing the CT600 is separate.Avoid assuming tax reliefs automatically reduce cash need. For example, R&D relief might change your corporation tax liability but often takes time to claim.Keep a separate “tax float” account. Even a small company that sets aside 10–15% of expected profit into a named savings account reduces scramble risk.Automate data where possible. If you use Xero or QuickBooks, connect your VAT return figures to the calendar with a quick copy-paste or use export to CSV — it saves errors.Share the calendar with your bookkeeper or accountant. A single page everyone understands reduces miscommunication when tax bills arrive.If you’d like, I can share a ready-to-use Google Sheets template showing the layout above with formulas for rolling estimates. It’s the same template I give clients as a starting point — quick to adapt to your VAT frequency and year-end. Just tell me your VAT period and accounting year-end and I’ll tailor it to your needs.
