Self Employed full 05 - If your accounting date has changed permanently

If you've changed your accounting date and still want the change to count for tax purposes, select 'Yes', otherwise select 'No'.

Changes of accounting date

There is a change of accounting date if any of the following reasons apply:

• you've drawn up your accounts to a date which is not the same as the date used for tax purposes last year
• you intend to draw up accounts for more than 12 months and no accounting date falls in the tax year 6 April 2020 to 5 April 2021
• you changed your accounting date last year, this was not accepted by HMRC and you've drawn up your accounts to the same date this year. But if you have changed back to your old date this is not treated as a change of accounting date

You will usually want your new accounting date to count for tax, otherwise your basis period won't end on the same date as your accounts. If you intend this to be only a temporary change, you may want to ignore it for tax purposes. You can then work out your tax using the same basis period as last year.

Changes of basis period

Special rules which apply if you change your accounting date:

• if your accounting date in 2019 to 2020 is more than 12 months after the end of the basis period for 2019 to 2020, your basis period is the period between the end of the basis period for 2018 to 2019 and the new accounting date. For example, the basis period for 2019 to 2020 ended on 31 May 2019 and the new accounting date is 31 August 2020. Your basis period is the 15-month period 1 June 2019 to 31 August 2020
• if your accounting date in 2020 to 2021 is less than 12 months after the end of the basis period for 2019 to 2020, your basis period is the 12 months ending on the new accounting date. For example, the basis period for 2019 to 2020 ended on 31 December 2019 and the new accounting date is 31 July 2020. Your basis period is the 12-month period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020