Filing annual accounts with Companies House
The Companies House filing is the one most often confused with the tax return, and the one with the least forgiving penalty.
The deadline is set by your reference date
Your accounting reference date is fixed at incorporation, normally the anniversary of the end of the month you incorporated in. The accounts deadline runs from it, with a longer window for a first set of accounts than for those that follow.
Rather than calculating this, look it up. Every company's next accounts due date is displayed on its public Companies House record, and that is the authoritative version.
The penalty is automatic and doubles
This is the feature that distinguishes it from most other filing obligations.
The late filing penalty applies without discretion the moment the deadline passes. There is no assessment of whether you had a good reason before it is charged — appeals are possible but the bar is high and the penalty applies in the meantime.
It escalates with the length of delay. And it doubles if you file late in two consecutive financial years, which turns a manageable irritation into a real cost for a company that has fallen into a pattern.
Beyond the money, persistent failure can lead to the company being struck off the register, which has consequences for its assets and its bank accounts.
We prepare accounts, Corporation Tax and Self Assessment work with a UK-qualified professional on the engagement.
Avail our UK tax desk servicesSmall company exemptions
Small companies and micro-entities can generally file reduced information, which both lowers preparation cost and limits what competitors and customers can see on the public record.
The exemptions have qualifying conditions based on turnover, balance sheet total and employee numbers, and they change. Confirm eligibility for the relevant year rather than assuming last year's position still holds.
Note that reduced public filing does not reduce what you need internally. The Corporation Tax computation still requires full figures.
Dormant is not exempt
A company that has not traded still files dormant company accounts. They are simplified, sometimes to a single page, and they are still required.
The automatic penalty applies to a dormant company in exactly the same way. A shelf company someone forgot about accrues penalties silently until somebody checks.
Two filings, two bodies
Worth repeating because the confusion is so common:
- Companies House receives the annual accounts, on the accounting reference date cycle.
- HMRC receives the Corporation Tax return, twelve months after the accounting period ends, with payment due earlier still.
Filing one does not discharge the other, and the penalties are separate. Both dates belong in the calendar, individually.
An evidence-led way to apply this guidance
The useful question in Filing annual accounts with Companies House is not simply whether a rule exists. For Filing annual accounts with Companies House, the file must prove the facts that make the rule apply. Start the Filing annual accounts with Companies House working by writing down the legal trigger, accounting period, registration date, filing deadline and payment date. Then tie each Filing annual accounts with Companies House conclusion to UTR or company record, dated notices, ledgers, bank evidence and submission receipts. That article-specific exercise separates a defensible Filing annual accounts with Companies House position from one built around a label, a memory or a copied rate.
The legal starting point for Filing annual accounts with Companies House is the Companies Act 2006 and current Companies House filing rules. The operational check for Filing annual accounts with Companies House belongs with Companies House and HMRC. Read the instrument, current guidance and actual transaction together for Filing annual accounts with Companies House: guidance explains administration, but it does not rewrite the law or repair missing evidence.
No decorative rate. Filing annual accounts with Companies House is primarily a classification and evidence question, so this case file uses amounts to demonstrate the decision without inventing a percentage that the governing rules do not supply. That restraint is deliberate for Filing annual accounts with Companies House: an irrelevant percentage would make the page look detailed while making the advice less reliable.
| Checkpoint | Evidence to place on file | Reviewer question |
|---|---|---|
| Legal trigger | the Companies Act 2006 and current Companies House filing rules | Which fact activates the Filing annual accounts with Companies House rule, and where is that fact evidenced? |
| Period and cut-off | Dated contract, invoice, return period and acknowledgement | Does the Filing annual accounts with Companies House amount belong in this period rather than the one before or after it? |
| Classification | UTR or company record, dated notices, ledgers, bank evidence and submission receipts | Would an independent reviewer reach the same Filing annual accounts with Companies House classification from the documents alone? |
| Rate or treatment | Current authority publication saved with the working | Was the Filing annual accounts with Companies House source effective on the transaction date? |
| Submission trail | Final computation, payment proof and portal receipt | Can the Filing annual accounts with Companies House filed figure be rebuilt without asking the preparer? |
Two worked case files
Worked example 1 — build the company-record control before submission. For a file concerning Filing annual accounts with Companies House, assume the records show GBP 500,000 as the company-record control total, GBP 130,000 as the items supported in a separate statutory filing, and GBP 45,000 as the corrections approved before submission. The balance represented by the current filing pack for Filing annual accounts with Companies House is therefore GBP 325,000:
| Line | Amount | File reference |
|---|---|---|
| company-record control total | GBP 500,000 | Primary control schedule |
| Less: items supported in a separate statutory filing | (GBP 130,000) | Supporting document index |
| Less: corrections approved before submission | (GBP 45,000) | Reviewer-approved adjustment |
| balance represented by the current filing pack | GBP 325,000 | Signed computation |
WORKING 1 GBP 500,000 - GBP 130,000 - GBP 45,000 = GBP 325,000
The arithmetic is the easy part of Filing annual accounts with Companies House. The Filing annual accounts with Companies House judgement sits in the accounting period, approval date, identity of the filer and agreement to the statutory registers, including why GBP 130,000 and GBP 45,000 were removed. If any Filing annual accounts with Companies House answer is weak, keep the amount in the exception list rather than forcing it into a filing, resolution or account.
Worked example 2 — reconcile the approved filing pack. For Filing annual accounts with Companies House, assume GBP 1,575,000 as the directors’ approved submission total, GBP 140,000 as the amounts or records already accepted, and GBP 70,000 as the documented post-balance-sheet items. The open item requiring Companies House follow-up for Filing annual accounts with Companies House is GBP 1,365,000.
WORKING 2 GBP 1,575,000 - GBP 140,000 - GBP 70,000 = GBP 1,365,000
For Filing annual accounts with Companies House, place the GBP 1,575,000 directors’ approved submission total, the GBP 140,000 support for the amounts or records already accepted, and the GBP 70,000 schedule for the documented post-balance-sheet items beside the final GBP 1,365,000 balance. A Filing annual accounts with Companies House reviewer should be able to move from source evidence to control total, from control total to decision, and from decision to the submitted figure without a hidden spreadsheet or oral explanation.
The final quality-control questions
- Has the file for Filing annual accounts with Companies House identified the controlling law and the version effective for the relevant date?
- Are the Filing annual accounts with Companies House assumptions visibly labelled and separated from enacted rates, thresholds and deadlines?
- Do the GBP 325,000 and GBP 1,365,000 results reconcile to source evidence and the general ledger?
- Is every Filing annual accounts with Companies House exception assigned to a person and date rather than buried in a note?
- Has the client or responsible officer approved the Filing annual accounts with Companies House facts before submission?
This is the standard that makes Filing annual accounts with Companies House useful in practice: the conclusion is stated, the law is named, the numbers can be recomputed, and the evidence survives after the person who prepared the file has moved on.
Sources
This guide is written against the official and clearly labelled professional references below. Rates, thresholds and portal procedures change between reviews, so open the primary source before relying on a figure.
Questions people also ask
When are annual accounts due?
The deadline is set by your accounting reference date, with a longer window for a first set of accounts than for subsequent ones. Check the exact date on the company's Companies House record rather than calculating it.
Is the late filing penalty automatic?
Yes. It applies without discretion once the deadline passes, escalates with the length of delay, and doubles if you file late in two consecutive years.
Do small companies file full accounts?
Small companies and micro-entities can generally file reduced information, which limits what appears publicly. The exemptions have conditions, so confirm eligibility rather than assuming.
Does a dormant company file?
Yes. Dormant company accounts are simplified but still required, and the late filing penalty applies to a dormant company exactly as it does to a trading one.
Is this the same as the Corporation Tax return?
No. Different document, different deadline, different recipient. Companies House receives the accounts; HMRC receives the tax return. Both are required.
Send the tax year and the transaction or filing involved, and we will tell you what is actually required.
Talk to Chartered Advisory Open the tax calculators