How to Manage Overdue Year End Accounts as a Limited Company

Organising your year end accounts can seem a bit overwhelming, especially for first-year limited company owners! In fact some of you might not even realise you need to submit yearly accounts until the scary looking reminder arrives. To help you avoid the unwanted bolt from the blue about overdue accounts (along with any hefty fines) we explain what your limited company needs to do and when, at year end.

What are year end company accounts?

Your limited company has reporting requirements that it must meet each year. You’ll need to:

Prepare statutory annual accounts for Companies House
Submit a Company Tax Return to HMRC, along with your annual accounts, and pay any Corporation Tax.

What do I need to send to Companies House at year end?

You’ll need to send a set of statutory annual accounts and a confirmation statement to Companies House each year.

Confirmation statements

A confirmation statement ensures that the company’s information is kept up-to-date on the Companies House register. You can submit it online, or through the post, to reconfirm key information about your business. This includes who is part of the company, what the business does, and who the owners are.

Annual accounts

Annual accounts are made up of four sections, which we explain in the table below.

A statement of financial position (also known as a balance sheet)	This details the value of everything the company owns, owes, and is owed by others. Learn more about balance sheets.
Profit and loss account	Detailing the company’s sales, running costs and profit or loss over the financial year. Read our article about profit and loss reports.
Notes on your accounts	For instance, the details of any advances, financial commitments, contingencies or guarantees.
A director’s report	Unless you fall under the category of a micro-entity

As well as sending this information to Companies House, you’ll need to:

Include it in your Company Tax Return to HMRC.
Send it to the company’s shareholders, and anyone who can attend the company’s general meetings.

The information that you submit to Companies House will be made available online to the public.

Dormant companies still need to submit accounts, though you won’t need to file a company tax return or pay corporation tax. Phew!

What is the deadline for submitting annual accounts to Companies House?

Send your first set of accounts to Companies House	21 months from the date the company registered with Companies House.
After that, send annual company accounts	9 months after the end of the company’s financial year.

What do I need to send to HMRC at year end?

As well as submitting information to Companies House, limited companies must submit a Company Tax Return to HMRC each year.

This includes the details of the company’s income and costs, as well as copy of your annual accounts. HMRC use this information to calculate how much corporation tax the company owes.

What is the deadline for submitting a Company Tax Return and paying Corporation Tax?

The deadlines for submitting a Company Tax Return and paying Corporation Tax are actually different.

Pay your Corporation Tax bill, or tell HMRC that the company does not owe tax	9 months and 1 day after the end of the company’s tax accounting period.
Submit a Company Tax Return to HMRC	12 months after the end of the company’s tax accounting period.

Is there a penalty if my company accounts or tax return are late?

There are penalties if you’re late submitting company returns to either HMRC or to Companies House. There are different fines depending on how late you submit, and what type of return it is.

Penalties if you’re late filing statutory annual accounts with Companies House

Up to 1 month overdue	£150
1 – 3 months overdue	£375
3 – 6 months overdue	£750
More than 6 months overdue	£1,500

These penalties are doubled if your accounts are late 2 years in a row.

Penalties if you’re late submitting a Company Tax Return to HMRC

1 day overdue	£100
3 months overdue	an additional £100
6 months overdue	a 10% penalty in addition to the tax bill estimate given by HMRC
12 months overdue	an additional 10% of unpaid tax

Do you need help managing the accounts for your limited company? Get an instant quote for our online accounting services.

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About The Author

Beth-Anne Bruce

I'm an experienced and fully AAT and ACCA qualified accountant, who is enthusiastic about helping business owners succeed. I also love cooking and needlepoint (at different times!). Learn more about Beth.