A small business tax calendar for October to December 2026

Uganda's tax year runs from July to June, which makes the last quarter of the calendar year the middle of the tax year and, for most small businesses, its busiest filing stretch. The monthly returns keep coming, the annual income tax return for the year that ended in June falls due, the local service tax window closes, and the trading licence runs out. This calendar gathers the dates in one place, with the source for each so you can check them yourself.

The 15th of every month

URA's domestic taxes FAQs give the same due date for the three main monthly returns: PAYE, VAT and withholding tax are each due 15 days after the start of the following month. NSSF's membership guidance puts employer contributions on the same day, payable by the 15th of the following month. In this quarter that means:

• 15 October 2026: September PAYE, VAT, withholding tax and NSSF.
• 15 November 2026: October PAYE, VAT, withholding tax and NSSF.
• 15 December 2026: November PAYE, VAT, withholding tax and NSSF.

Local excise duty, for the businesses that pay it, is due 15 days after month end for services and on the 21st for goods, according to the same URA FAQs.

A single monthly close before the 10th, covering sales, purchases, payroll and bank, is the simplest way to meet all four on the 15th without a scramble.

October: Local Service Tax closes

KCCA's Local Service Tax guidance says the tax on salaried employees is paid in the first four months of the financial year, deducted by the employer in four equal instalments. October is the fourth month. If your payroll has not been deducting it since July, the balance of each employee's annual amount has to come out this month, and the salary schedule with the computation goes to your local authority for assessment.

October: review July and August returns

URA's notice of 23 September 2026 confirmed that the Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2026 and the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act, 2026 took effect on 1 July 2026, and asked taxpayers to review their returns and declarations for July and August 2026 and make the necessary adjustments. The notice names the PAYE, excise duty, withholding tax and VAT returns. Employers in particular should amend PAYE for those two months to the new resident bands and settle the difference with staff.

31 December: the final income tax return

This is the big one. URA states that every taxpayer must file a final return of income not later than six months after the end of the year of income, and its published example for a business on the normal July to June year gives 31 December 2026 as the final return date for 2025/26, for individuals and non-individuals alike. Presumptive taxpayers, who do not file provisional returns, file their single annual return by the same date.

For a company or other non-individual, 31 December 2026 is also the date for the first provisional return for the 2026/27 year, with the first instalment of provisional tax. URA's example table puts the individual's provisional return for 2026/27 at 30 September 2026, so a sole trader who has not yet filed it is already late and should do so now; the remaining instalments fall at the sixth, ninth and twelfth month.

Do not leave the final return to the last week. It needs a full year's sales, purchases, payroll and withholding tax credits, and the credits in particular take time to reconcile against your URA ledger.

31 December: the trading licence expires

KCCA describes the trading licence as a calendar-year tax, payable before commencement of business on 1 January and expiring on 31 December. The renewal needs this year's licence and receipt, your identification and registration numbers, and payment through a KCCA payment advice form at a bank. Local service tax for the business owner is assessed alongside it. Aim to pay in the first half of December, before the Division offices fill up.

The quarter at a glance

Date	Obligation
15 October	September PAYE, VAT, WHT, NSSF
By end of October	Final LST instalment deducted and schedule submitted
During October	Amend July and August returns for the 2026 Acts
15 November	October PAYE, VAT, WHT, NSSF
15 December	November PAYE, VAT, WHT, NSSF
31 December	Final income tax return for 2025/26
31 December	Non-individual provisional return and first instalment for 2026/27
31 December	Trading licence expires; renew for 2027

One habit that covers all of it

Every date above draws on the same three records: a daily sales record, a monthly payroll, and a ledger that reconciles to the bank and mobile money accounts. A business that closes those three on the first working days of each month has already done most of the work for the 15th, for December, and for the auditor it may one day need to face. The calendar is only hard when the records are late.

Sources

1. https://ura.go.ug/en/dt-faqs/
2. https://ura.go.ug/en/ask-ura-commissioner-general-30/
3. https://www.nssfug.org/about-us/membership/
4. https://www.kcca.go.ug/uDocs/Local_Service_Tax_FAQs.pdf
5. https://www.kcca.go.ug/faqs-trading-license
6. https://ura.go.ug/en/effective-date-of-the-income-tax-amendment-act-2026-and-the-excise-duty-amendment-act-2026/