SA800 Partnership Tax Return – What It Is, When You Need It, and Where to Send It

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If you run a business as a partnership in the UK, you may need to complete an SA800 Partnership Tax Return each year. Unlike a sole trader, a partnership has its own tax return that reports the business income and expenses, while each partner also reports their share of the profits on their own Self Assessment tax return.

Understanding how the SA800 works can help you avoid mistakes, penalties, and delays when filing with HMRC.

What is SA800 form?

The SA800 Partnership Tax Return is the tax return that a business partnership submits to HMRC each tax year. It reports the partnership’s overall income, allowable expenses, profits or losses, and how those profits or losses are divided between the partners.

The partnership itself does not pay Income Tax. Instead, the SA800 tells HMRC how much profit belongs to each partner, and each partner then includes their share on their own Self Assessment tax return, usually using the SA100 together with the relevant supplementary pages.

The SA800 is commonly used by:

• Ordinary business partnerships
• Professional partnerships such as accountants, solicitors, or architects
• Farming partnerships
• Family businesses operated as partnerships

The nominated partner is normally responsible for making sure the return is completed accurately and submitted on time.

If your partnership also has self-employed trading income, it may help to understand the differences between the self-employment pages by reading SA103S or SA103F: Which Self-Employment Form Do You Need?.

What information is included on the SA800?

The SA800 contains details about the partnership’s business activities and financial results for the tax year.

Typical information includes:

• Partnership name and Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
• Accounting period
• Business income
• Allowable business expenses
• Capital allowances
• Adjustments to taxable profit
• Partnership profit or loss
• Profit allocation between partners
• Details of each partner

Depending on the partnership’s circumstances, additional supplementary pages may also be required, for example for property income or foreign income.

Because partnership tax returns can become quite detailed, especially where there are several partners or different income sources, many partnerships use professional accounting software or appoint an accountant to prepare the return.

Who needs to complete an SA800?

You generally need to file an SA800 if you operate a business as a partnership and HMRC has issued a notice requiring a partnership return.

Each individual partner will normally also need to submit their own Self Assessment tax return showing their share of the partnership profit.

Limited companies do not use the SA800. They submit Corporation Tax returns instead.

When is the SA800 due?

The partnership tax year follows the normal UK tax year ending on 5 April.

For online filing, the deadline is normally 31 January following the end of the tax year.

For example:

• Tax year ending 5 April 2026
• Online filing deadline 31 January 2027

Missing the deadline can lead to HMRC penalties, even if the partnership has made little or no profit.

If you are also completing your own Self Assessment return, you may find SA100 Form 2026: Everything You Need to Know for Your Self Assessment useful.

Where to send SA800 form?

If you file your partnership tax return online, it is submitted electronically to HMRC through compatible commercial software.

If HMRC allows you to submit a paper SA800, the completed form should be posted to the HMRC address shown on the return or in the accompanying guidance notes. The correct postal address can vary depending on the circumstances, so it is important to use the address provided by HMRC for your specific return rather than an old address you may find elsewhere.

Most partnerships now file online because it is quicker, provides confirmation of submission, and reduces the risk of delays.

Can you file an SA800 online?

Yes. Most partnerships submit their SA800 electronically using HMRC-compatible commercial software.

Unlike some individual Self Assessment returns, partnership returns generally require specialist software because HMRC’s online services do not provide a full online service for completing and submitting SA800 partnership tax returns.

Using dedicated software can also make it easier to prepare partnership statements, allocate profits correctly, and keep records for future years.

What happens if you do not submit the SA800?

If the partnership fails to submit its tax return by the deadline, HMRC can charge late filing penalties.

Additional penalties may arise if the return remains outstanding for several months, and interest may apply where tax owed by the partners is paid late.

Submitting an accurate return on time is usually much easier than dealing with penalties and correcting errors later.

If you are unsure how to complete the SA800, how partnership profits should be divided, or which supplementary pages are required, speaking to a qualified accountant before submitting the return can help ensure everything is reported correctly and on time.

You may also find How to do tax return myself – 2026 guide useful if you are preparing your own Self Assessment alongside the partnership return.

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