DatasetChecked daily
UK online seller compliance dates for packaging, tax, product safety and platform reporting
The dates and thresholds that catch UK online sellers out, each one quoted word for word from GOV.UK with the page it comes from. Below them, every change GOV.UK has logged on the guidance pages we watch.
Every date quoted from GOV.UK.Checked against the page every day.
Short answer
The next dates for UK online sellers: 31 October 2026, paper tax returns for 2025 to 2026 must reach HMRC; 9 December 2026, new EU Product Liability Directive applies to products placed on the Northern Ireland market after this date; 31 January 2027, last day to acquire PRNs or PERNs for 2026 recycling obligations. The next yearly date is 5 October 2026 (tell HMRC you need to file a tax return for the previous tax year). Each date is quoted from GOV.UK and re-checked daily.
01Coming up
Dates coming up
Sorted by date. 9 dates from 7 GOV.UK pages.
| Date | What happens | Who it applies to | What GOV.UK says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 October 2026 Self Assessment | Paper tax returns for 2025 to 2026 must reach HMRC | Anyone filing Self Assessment on paper | HMRC must receive your paper tax return by 11:59pm on 31 October 2026 Self Assessment tax returns, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 9 December 2026 Product safety | New EU Product Liability Directive applies to products placed on the Northern Ireland market after this date | Anyone selling products into Northern Ireland | In Northern Ireland, the Directive will apply to relevant products placed on the market or put into service in Northern Ireland after 9 December 2026. Product safety advice for businesses, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 31 January 2027 Packaging (EPR) | Last day to acquire PRNs or PERNs for 2026 recycling obligations | Large organisations under EPR for packaging | the deadline for acquiring PRNs or PERNs for recycling obligations relating to the 2026 year will be 31 January 2027. Extended producer responsibility for packaging: recycling obligations and waste disposal fees, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 1 April 2027 Packaging (EPR) | Large producers report packaging data for July to December 2026 | Large producers under EPR for packaging | Time period: 1 July to 31 December 2026. Deadline for reporting: 1 April 2027. (From the table “Large producers: when to report packaging data”.) Deadlines for registration and packaging data reporting, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 1 April 2027 Packaging (EPR) | Small producers report packaging data for 2026 | Small producers under EPR for packaging | The next deadline for small producers to report packaging data is 1 April 2027. Deadlines for registration and packaging data reporting, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 6 April 2027 Making Tax Digital | Making Tax Digital for Income Tax extends to qualifying income over £30,000 | Sole traders and landlords | £30,000 for the 2025 to 2026 tax year, you will need to use it from 6 April 2027 Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 1 October 2027 Deposit Return Scheme | Deposit Return Scheme for single-use drink containers starts | Drinks producers and retailers | From 1 October 2027, customers will pay a refundable deposit for certain single-use drink containers under the new Deposit Return Scheme Deposit Return Scheme: drinks producer and retailer responsibilities, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 31 December 2027 Product marking | UKCA marking may go on a label or accompanying document (instead of the product) until this date | Manufacturers and importers using the UKCA marking | enables the UKCA marking to be placed on a label affixed to the product, or on a document accompanying the product, until 11pm on 31 December 2027. Placing UKCA or CE marked products on the market in Great Britain, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 6 April 2028 Making Tax Digital | Making Tax Digital for Income Tax extends to qualifying income over £20,000 | Sole traders and landlords | £20,000 for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, you will need to use it from 6 April 2028 Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK. Checked |
02Every year
Dates that repeat every year
| Next date | What happens | Who it applies to | What GOV.UK says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 October 2026 5 October, every year | Tell HMRC you need to file a tax return for the previous tax year | Newly self-employed sellers and others new to Self Assessment | You must tell HMRC by 5 October if you need to complete a tax return for the previous year Self Assessment tax returns, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 31 January 2027 31 January, every year | Platforms report the previous calendar year's sellers and income to HMRC | Sellers on digital platforms, including online marketplaces | information collected about you between 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 will be reported to HMRC by 31 January 2025. Selling goods or services on a digital platform, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 31 January 2027 31 January, every year | Pay your Self Assessment bill | Anyone in Self Assessment | Pay your Self Assessment bill by 31 January. Self Assessment tax returns, GOV.UK. Checked |
03Thresholds
Thresholds, fees and rates
The figures behind “does this apply to me”. Platform reporting has two limits, and a platform only skips reporting you if you stay under both.
| Topic | What it means | Who it applies to | What GOV.UK says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packaging (EPR) | Who counts as a small producer (first of two tests) | Organisations that supply packaging | has an annual turnover of more than £1 million and up to £2 million and supplies more than 25 tonnes of packaging in the UK EPR for packaging: what you must do as a ‘small producer’, GOV.UK. Checked |
| Packaging (EPR) | Small producer registration fee, registering directly | Small producers under EPR for packaging | The registration fee is £1,216 EPR for packaging: what you must do as a ‘small producer’, GOV.UK. Checked |
| Packaging (EPR) | Small producer registration fee through a compliance scheme | Small producers under EPR for packaging | The fee is £631 if you use a compliance scheme EPR for packaging: what you must do as a ‘small producer’, GOV.UK. Checked |
| Electricals (WEEE) | Who can join the Distributor Takeback Scheme instead of offering in-store take-back | Sellers of electrical and electronic equipment | If your business sells less than £100,000 of EEE per year or is solely an online EEE retailer, or both, you can join the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS). Regulations: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), GOV.UK. Checked |
| VAT | VAT registration threshold (rolling 12 months) | UK businesses | your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 (the VAT threshold) Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Checked |
| Platform reporting | Limit 1 of 2 for not being reported (number of sales) | Sellers on digital platforms | make fewer than 30 sales of goods in a calendar year Selling goods or services on a digital platform, GOV.UK. Checked |
| Platform reporting | Limit 2 of 2 for not being reported (money received) | Sellers on digital platforms | receive less than 2,000 euros (about £1,700) for those sales Selling goods or services on a digital platform, GOV.UK. Checked |
| Income Tax | Trading allowance (income above it must be reported to HMRC) | Individuals selling online | more than the £1,000 trading allowance for the tax year (6 April to 5 April) Check if you need to tell HMRC about your income from online platforms, GOV.UK. Checked |
| Making Tax Digital | No penalty points for late quarterly updates in the first year | Those required to use Making Tax Digital from 6 April 2026 | HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates for the first tax year (2026 to 2027). Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK. Checked |
04Recently
Dates in the last year
| Date | What happened | Who it applies to | What GOV.UK says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 October 2026 Packaging (EPR) | Large producers report packaging data for January to June 2026 | Large producers under EPR for packaging | The next deadline for large producers to report packaging data is 1 October 2026. Deadlines for registration and packaging data reporting, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 1 September 2026 Packaging (EPR) | Resubmission deadline for 2025 packaging data | Producers resubmitting 2025 packaging data | The new resubmission deadline for 2025 packaging data is 1 September 2026 Deadlines for registration and packaging data reporting, GOV.UK. Checked |
| From September 2026 Making Tax Digital | HMRC starts signing up people who must use Making Tax Digital and have not signed up | Sole traders and landlords | From September 2026, HMRC will start to sign up anyone who needs to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year and has not signed themselves up. Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 6 April 2026 Making Tax Digital | Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts for qualifying income over £50,000 | Sole traders and landlords | You need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 if your total annual income from self-employment and property is over £50,000. Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK. Checked |
| 1 April 2026 Plastic Packaging Tax | Plastic Packaging Tax rate from April 2026 | Businesses liable for Plastic Packaging Tax | £228.82 per tonne from 1 April 2026 Plastic Packaging Tax: steps to take, GOV.UK. Checked |
| October 2025 Packaging (EPR) | Waste disposal fees payable, on top of recycling obligations | Large organisations under EPR for packaging | Since October 2025, you also need to pay waste disposal costs. Extended producer responsibility for packaging: recycling obligations and waste disposal fees, GOV.UK. Checked |
05Change log
What GOV.UK changed in its guidance for online sellers
GOV.UK logs a dated note each time it changes a guidance page. These are the notes from the last 12 months on the 32 pages we watch, word for word, newest first. The download has the full history (173 notes).
| Date | GOV.UK page | GOV.UK’s change note |
|---|---|---|
| 11 September 2026 | Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The information about what you should do if all your self-employment and property income ceased before 6 April 2026 has been updated. |
| 24 August 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | Information about what happens from September 2026 if you do not sign up to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been added. |
| 21 August 2026 | Placing UKCA or CE marked products on the market in Great Britain Product marking | Update to the 'declaration of conformity' template. References to ‘EEE’ have been changed to ‘product’. |
| 19 August 2026 | Report packaging data: create your reporting file Packaging (EPR) | Replaced the file specification for reporting packaging data with a refreshed version. There are no material changes to this content. The tables are easier to navigate and tables 1b, 3b and 4b have been added to make it easier for small producers to create a file. |
| 19 August 2026 | Report packaging data: create your reporting file Packaging (EPR) | First published. |
| 19 August 2026 | Deadlines for registration and packaging data reporting Packaging (EPR) | Updated details of registration and packaging reporting deadlines. |
| 13 August 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | Planned downtime from 5pm on Friday 11 September 2026 to 1pm Tuesday 15 September 2026 has been added. |
| 21 July 2026 | Product safety advice for businesses Product safety | "Important note on future changes in Northern Ireland" added. |
| 16 July 2026 | Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | Information has been added explaining that if all your self-employment or property income sources have ceased since you submitted your last Self Assessment tax return, you need to tell HMRC before the start of the next tax year. You’ll then receive a letter confirming that you do not need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. More information about how changes to your Self Assessment tax return after you submit it may affect when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been added. Definitions for ‘ceased income’ and ‘annualise’ have been added. The example for ceasing a single income source has been updated to include property income. |
| 16 July 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The guidance has been updated to include information about qualifying income. It's also been updated to make clear that volunteers can sign up for this tax year, or the next one. Information about ceased income sources has also been added. |
| 13 July 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The message about planned downtime for the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service has been removed. |
| 26 June 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | A message about planned downtime for the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service has been added. |
| 19 May 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | A message about planned downtime for the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service has been added. |
| 15 May 2026 | Product safety and legal metrology regulations Product safety | List of metrology regulations updated. |
| 11 May 2026 | Waste batteries: producer responsibility Batteries | Updated the charging information. For information on charges in England, we have linked to the Waste (Miscellaneous) (England) Charging Scheme 2018. |
| 8 April 2026 | Refining the law to better protect consumers Product safety | Links added to three product regulation consultations. |
| 7 April 2026 | Placing UKCA or CE marked products on the market in Great Britain Product marking | Designated standards information in Section 3 on use of voluntary or mandatory standards updated. Red Ensign link in Section 6 updated. |
| 7 April 2026 | Extended producer responsibility for packaging: recycling obligations and waste disposal fees Packaging (EPR) | In the regulations, there's a combined recycling obligation for 'paper, board and fibre-based composite material'. We've added that to meet the recycling obligation, you can use any combination of PRNs or PERNs for: • paper or board • fibre-based composite material We've also updated the table that sets out 'packaging recycling targets 2025 to 2027'. The targets for 'paper' have been broadened to 'paper, board and fibre-based composite material'. |
| 6 April 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The guidance has been updated for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. If you’re required to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026, you should sign up now. If you're not required to use it until 6 April 2027, you can choose to sign up voluntarily. |
| 31 March 2026 | Placing UKCA or CE marked products on the market in Great Britain Product marking | First published. |
| 26 March 2026 | Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The ‘Check if you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax’ section has been updated because the tool now asks about the 2026 to 2027 tax year and exemptions. |
| 24 March 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The message about planned downtime for the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service has been removed. |
| 20 March 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The message about planned downtime for the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service has been updated. |
| 12 March 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The ‘Before you sign up’ section has been updated to include a link to information about penalties for those required to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. |
| 9 March 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The message about planned downtime for the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service has been updated. |
| 7 March 2026 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | A message about planned downtime for the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service has been added. |
| 2 March 2026 | Product safety for businesses: A to Z of industry guidance Product safety | Link added to a technical advisory note for businesses and industry on testing for asbestos in consumer products containing sand such as toys, hobby and decorative products. |
| 25 February 2026 | Product safety for businesses: A to Z of industry guidance Product safety | Links added to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Government Annual Report February 2026, and the Construction Products Reform White Paper and associated consultation. |
| 19 February 2026 | EPR for packaging: what you must do as a ‘small producer’ Packaging (EPR) | Compliance schemes can now register producers on the report packlaging data service. |
| 12 February 2026 | Plastic Packaging Tax: steps to take Plastic Packaging Tax | The new rate for Plastic Packaging Tax from 1 April 2026 is £228.82 per tonne. |
| 12 February 2026 | Extended producer responsibility for packaging: recycling obligations and waste disposal fees Packaging (EPR) | You can now accept 2025 December waste PRNs and PERNs to meet your 2026 recycling obligations in the Report Packaging Data service. We have removed a section of this guidance that said this functionality was not available yet. |
| 30 January 2026 | Charging VAT on goods sold direct to customers in the UK VAT | Added translation |
| 29 January 2026 | Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The guidance has been updated to explain that if you get a share of profit from a partnership as an individual partner, this does not count towards your qualifying income. Additionally, you still need to include that share of profit in your end of year tax return through your compatible software. |
| 29 January 2026 | Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The list of exemptions has been removed and a link has been added to another page with updated information about exemptions. |
| 6 January 2026 | Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | Guidance has been updated to make clear that if you receive qualifying care relief, you will not need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax before April 2027. |
| 17 December 2025 | Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | Guidance has been updated to make clear who needs to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from April 2026 and what they need to sign up. It has also been updated to confirm that anyone signing up must be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last 2 years. Information about penalties has been updated. Information about exemptions has been added. |
| 17 December 2025 | Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | The guidance now includes further details on permanent and temporary exemptions for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. It explains which exemptions are automatic and which you need to apply for. |
| 16 December 2025 | EPR for packaging: what you must do as a ‘small producer’ Packaging (EPR) | Page updated to improve clarity and to include reference to the Regulatory Position statement issued by the Environment Agency about collecting and reporting paper and plastic bags supplied in England. |
| 16 December 2025 | Deadlines for registration and packaging data reporting Packaging (EPR) | Information updated throughout to clarify reporting dates and include links to updated regulatory position statements for all 4 nations. The EA statement now includes information about collecting and reporting data about paper and plastic bags supplied in England. |
| 5 December 2025 | Extended producer responsibility for packaging: recycling obligations and waste disposal fees Packaging (EPR) | This update explains that you cannot accept any PRNs or PERNS to meet 2026 recycling obligations on the Report Packaging Data (RPD) service is updated. Any you accept will go towards your 2025 obligations. |
| 24 November 2025 | Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Making Tax Digital | Guidance has been updated to clarify which sources of income do and do not count toward qualifying income. Information about ‘Ceased income sources’, ‘Amendments to your Self Assessment tax return’, ‘If you use averaging relief’, ‘One off transactions in UK land’ and ‘If you get income from UK Real Estate Investment Trusts (UK REITS) or a Property Authorised Investment Fund (PAIFs)’ has been added. Information about ‘If your accounting period is longer or shorter than 12 months’, ‘If you're a carer that is eligible for qualifying care relief’ and ‘How your tax residence affects your qualifying income’ has also been updated. |
| 4 November 2025 | General product safety regulations: Northern Ireland Product safety | Factsheet and detailed guidance amended to clarify that establishing whether the supply of a product is done in the course of a commercial activity must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. |
| 31 October 2025 | Extended producer responsibility for packaging: recycling obligations and waste disposal fees Packaging (EPR) | Updating link to the base fees and taking table from there. |
| 20 October 2025 | Deadlines for registration and packaging data reporting Packaging (EPR) | Updating deadline information for the next reporting period, including information about registration deadlines. |
MoreRelated data
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Dataset
UK product rules for online sellers
Product safety, labelling and take-back rules by product type, with sources.
DatasetVAT for marketplace sellers
Thresholds, the £135 rule and platform reporting, each with its GOV.UK source.
DatasetUK online retail share, monthly
How much of Great Britain’s retail spending is online, every month since 2006, from the ONS.
06Method
How we collect this
Every date, threshold and fee on this page rests on a sentence we copied from a GOV.UK page, shown beside it. Our server reads each of those pages once a day through the GOV.UK Content API, which is GOV.UK’s own public feed of its pages, and checks the sentence is still there. If it is, the “checked” date moves forward. If it has gone, the row is held for one of us to read the page again; a script never rewrites a date on its own. Last full check .
The labels in the “what happens” and “who it applies to” columns are ours and add no figure that is not in the GOV.UK sentence. Dates that repeat every year are worked out from the rule GOV.UK states, such as “by 31 January”.
This is a tracker, not advice. Thresholds have conditions that the full GOV.UK page explains; follow the link before you rely on a row. GOV.UK content is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
FAQQuick answers
Questions
When do small producers report packaging data for 2026?
By 1 April 2027. GOV.UK says: “The next deadline for small producers to report packaging data is 1 April 2027.”
When does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax start for online sellers?
It started on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000. GOV.UK says the threshold falls to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028.
Do online marketplaces report my sales to HMRC?
Digital platform operators report sellers and their income to HMRC by each January, for the previous calendar year. GOV.UK says your details are not reported if you make fewer than 30 sales of goods and receive less than 2,000 euros (about £1,700) in the year.
What is the UK VAT registration threshold?
£90,000 of taxable turnover in the last 12 months, or if you expect to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days.
How do you keep these dates up to date?
A server reads every source page on GOV.UK daily and confirms the quoted sentence is still there. A missing sentence holds the row for a person to review.
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