TITLE: UK, US & Global Ecommerce Tax and Compliance Briefing: Week Commencing 28 September 2026
For the week commencing 28 September 2026, your priority is clear: reconcile marketplace data, protect Q4 margins, and prepare every filing before its deadline.
This briefing covers the key UK, US, EU, Canadian and Australian compliance points for ecommerce sellers, digital businesses and growing international SMEs.
1. File your UK VAT return by 7 October
If your VAT quarter ended on 31 August 2026, your VAT return and cleared payment are due by 7 October 2026. The deadline is one calendar month and seven days after the period end.
You must submit through Making Tax Digital-compatible software. Use the official HMRC VAT return guidance to confirm your filing process.
Before submitting, complete this reconciliation:
- Match Amazon settlement reports to your bookkeeping records.
- Reconcile Shopify payouts to individual orders.
- Separate sales, refunds, chargebacks and payment fees.
- Check the VAT treatment of UK sales against EU sales.
- Review stock locations and fulfilment countries.
- Confirm marketplace-collected VAT is recorded correctly.
- Investigate differences between order, dispatch and payout dates.
- Check that credit notes and refunds are included in the correct VAT period.
The UK VAT registration threshold remains £90,000 of taxable turnover on a rolling 12-month basis, including the 30-day forward look. The deregistration threshold remains £88,000. Monitor both figures as Q4 sales increase.
2. Check whether a director must register for Self Assessment
New Self Assessment taxpayers for 2025/26 must register with HMRC by 5 October 2026.
This can affect company directors who receive untaxed income outside the company, including:
- Dividends.
- Property income.
- Side-business income.
- Other taxable personal income.
The registration requirement applies to the individual, not the Limited Company. A Limited Company does not register for Self Assessment simply because it has directors or shareholders.
Use HMRC’s Self Assessment registration service if you need to notify HMRC.
3. Pay quarterly PAYE by 22 October
For the quarter ending 5 October 2026, electronic PAYE payment is due by 22 October 2026. Payment by cheque is due by 19 October 2026.
Keep your RTI submissions and pay dates aligned with your bank records. This helps you identify:
- Incorrect payroll dates.
- Missing or duplicated payments.
- Differences between payroll reports and bank transactions.
- Unpaid PAYE or National Insurance liabilities.
Accurate payroll records will also make year-end accounts and cash-flow forecasting easier.
4. Prepare for the Autumn Budget without speculating
The Autumn Budget 2026 is confirmed for Wednesday 28 October 2026.
Do not change your returns or accounting treatment based on speculation. Instead, prepare scenarios for:
- Possible VAT changes.
- Corporation Tax changes.
- Employer or employee NIC changes.
- Dividend versus salary mix.
- Capital allowance timing.
- Stock purchases before your year end.
A simple scenario model will show which changes could affect cash flow, margins and planned inventory investment.
5. Model Amazon FBA Q4 costs before peak fees begin
Amazon’s festive peak fulfilment fee runs from 15 October 2026 to 14 January 2027. The fee applies by ship date and averages approximately:
- £0.12 per small or standard parcel item.
- £0.07 per large or extra-large envelope item.
The fee can apply to local UK FBA and Remote Fulfilment EU-to-UK orders. Oversize and Low-Price FBA items are exempt.
The 1.5% fuel and logistics surcharge, introduced from 17 April 2026, applies year-round and must be included in Q4 margin calculations.
Important dates include:
- 15 October 2026: festive peak fee begins.
- 28 October 2026: recommended UK inventory arrival for Black Friday Week.
- 18 November 2026: Black Friday Week deal submissions close.
- 14 January 2027: festive peak fee ends.
Amazon also charges £12 upfront per promotion, plus 0.75% of promotional sales, with the variable element capped at £600.
Use Amazon’s Revenue Calculator and the FBA Fee Preview report to model:
- Referral fees.
- Standard and peak FBA fees.
- Fuel and logistics surcharges.
- Storage and removal costs.
- Promotion fees.
- VAT.
- Settlement timing.
This is core Amazon FBA accounting UK work. A profitable sales forecast is not enough if your settlement deductions and fulfilment costs are incomplete.
6. Protect Amazon FBM business delivery performance
From 30 September 2026, Amazon.co.uk FBM sellers must maintain a 90% business-hour delivery rate for Amazon Business customers.
From 30 October 2026, listings may be deactivated for business customers if the required rate is not met.
Run this diagnostic now:
- Compare promised handling time with actual dispatch time.
- Review carrier performance by SKU.
- Check inventory accuracy.
- Review business-hour data in Seller Central.
- Identify at-risk SKUs and delivery destinations.
- Confirm that commercial-address deliveries are being handled correctly.
Amazon Automated Handling Time can also activate where configured handling time has been exceeded or differs from actual performance for more than 30 days. Review your SKU settings before Amazon changes customer promises automatically.
7. Post Amazon EPR charges correctly
Amazon has changed how the UK EPR Pay on Behalf service fee is charged. It is now charged directly to the selling account within 30 days of enrolment for each reporting period, rather than from an account-level reserve.
The service fee and eco-contribution fee are invoiced separately. The service fee remains £20 per year for each applicable EPR category.
Sellers with a valid packaging registration number are compliant and are not charged the service fee.
Check that your bookkeeping records:
- Eco-contribution fees as expenses.
- EPR service fees separately.
- Amazon invoices in the correct accounting period.
- Refunds or adjustments against the original expense.
8. Keep your own VAT records while marketplace rules are reviewed
HMRC’s consultation on extending online marketplace VAT liability to domestic sales closed on 18 August 2026. No law has changed yet, and the government is still reviewing responses.
Do not treat the consultation as legislation. Continue maintaining clear records of:
- Sales and refunds.
- Customer type.
- VAT treatment.
- Stock location.
- Marketplace and direct sales.
- Dispatch and delivery dates.
- VAT collected by
