Some farm paperwork has a fixed date on the calendar, and some starts the day an animal is born, moves or dies. This planner separates the two, month by month, so the office work stops arriving as a surprise.
The fixed dates on a UK livestock farm are 31 January for the Self Assessment return and tax, 7 February, 7 May, 7 August and 7 November for MTD quarterly updates, 5 April for tax year end, 31 May for P60s, 31 July for the second payment on account, 5 October to register for Self Assessment, and 1 December for the sheep and goat count. VAT returns, TB tests and Red Tractor assessments follow your own dates. Births, movements and deaths run from the event: see the deadlines calendar.
Farm dates come in three kinds, and mixing them up is how deadlines get missed. Fixed national dates, such as 31 January, are the same for everyone. Dates that belong to your own farm, such as a VAT quarter end or a TB test, are set by HMRC or APHA for your holding. Event clocks, such as the 27-day passport window, start when an animal is born, moves or dies, so no calendar can print them in advance.
This guide covers the first two kinds by month and then shows how the third fits around them. Only dated or statutory items are stated as fact. Anything about the farming year is marked as typical, because every system differs, and it is not a rule. The full reference table, with the nations side by side, is in the UK livestock deadlines calendar.
My advice is to set each reminder a week before the real date. The fixed dates are rarely the problem. The problem is the evening you need a record and find it is still in the cab.
Typically, spring-calving herds and early lambing flocks start in this window. The clocks that start at birth are then the ones that matter: registering calves within 27 days, the ear-tag deadlines, and holding register entries for births within 7 days for dairy and 30 days for other cattle. Lambs must be tagged by 9 months, or 6 if reared indoors, or when they leave the holding of birth.
The calving season paperwork blog lists what piles up in a busy week. Getting the passport paperwork done on the day, not in week four, removes most of the risk.
I found no other fixed national date in June. Treat it as the month to catch up: reconcile the year's receipts, check staff pay against the new rates, and find out whether you are caught by MTD next April.
VAT returns do not follow a calendar date. They fall due one month and 7 days after each accounting period ends, and your VAT online account shows the dates. If you are near the registration threshold, our VAT registration guide covers it.
Typically, late summer and autumn bring more selling, so more movements. Each one needs reporting within 3 days, and standstill applies to what you buy in: see sheep movement reporting and the cattle movement 3-day rule.
Pig keepers choose their own annual inventory date, so put it in the diary now. The England inventory and its Welsh counterpart are legal returns, and the count belongs in your register as well as on the form.
The dates are the easy part. These jobs make them painless, and they are habits rather than rules.
For records, the farm bookkeeping basics guide shows what HMRC expects, and the wage records guide covers staff. If the dates keep slipping because the books live in a shoebox, a farm bookkeeping software checklist will help you choose a tool that fits the yard and not just the office.
FarmHQ is a mobile-first farm office app for UK livestock farms, in pre-launch beta with a founding-farms pilot in South-West England. It is built to work out these dates from the farm's own records and push reminders even if the app has not been opened for weeks. Ask Farmer Joe drafts, you confirm. See the calendar that runs itself for how that works.
Self Assessment returns and tax are due by 31 January, the tax year ends on 5 April, P60s are due by 31 May, the second payment on account is 31 July, and you register for Self Assessment by 5 October. MTD updates fall on 7 February, 7 May, 7 August and 7 November.
Count your animals on 1 December and record the number in your holding register. In England return the inventory by 31 December, and in Wales submit it between 1 and 31 December. Scotland opens the inventory on 1 December and closes it on 30 January. Northern Ireland has its own DAERA process.
Only if your qualifying income was over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025 and you are not exempt, for example by claiming averaging on your 2024 to 2025 return. The updates are due 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, and HMRC will not apply late penalty points in 2026 to 2027.
VAT returns usually cover 3 months and are due, with payment, one calendar month and 7 days after the period ends. Your own quarter ends depend on your VAT stagger, so check the dates in your VAT online account rather than assuming calendar quarters.
Membership renews every 12 months, and assessments for the beef and lamb scheme are normally once every 18 months, under the rules effective 1 January 2025. Spot checks, some unannounced, can happen at any time, and the vet must review your health plan annually.