After its financial year ends, a private limited company must prepare statutory accounts and a Company Tax Return. The accounts go to Companies House within 9 months of the year end, Corporation Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period, and the tax return (CT600) goes to HMRC within 12 months. Separately, the company files a confirmation statement at least once a year. Each has its own deadline and its own penalties, so it helps to see them side by side.
This guide is for directors of small, owner-managed companies, with the rules as GOV.UK set them out on 26 October 2026.
What year-end accounts include
Your year-end accounts, called statutory accounts, are prepared from the company's financial records at the end of its financial year. According to GOV.UK, they must include:
- a balance sheet, showing what the company owns, owes and is owed on the last day of the year
- a profit and loss account, showing sales, running costs and the profit or loss for the year
- notes to the accounts
- a directors' report, unless the company is a micro-entity
The balance sheet must have a director's name printed on it and be signed by a director. The board must approve the accounts before they are sent to shareholders. The accounts are prepared under UK accounting standards (or international ones), and a company that qualifies as small can usually use the exemption from audit.
Statutory accounts are not the figures you use to run the business month to month; our post on management accounts vs statutory accounts explains the difference.
Who receives the accounts
GOV.UK says you must send copies of the statutory accounts to:
- all shareholders
- anyone entitled to attend the company's general meetings
- Companies House
- HMRC, as part of your Company Tax Return
Micro-entity and small company accounts
How much you file at Companies House depends on the size of the company. Under the GOV.UK rules, a company is a micro-entity if it meets any two of these:
- turnover of £1 million or less
- £500,000 or less on its balance sheet
- 10 employees or fewer
It is small if it meets any two of these:
- turnover of £15 million or less
- £7.5 million or less on its balance sheet
- 50 employees or fewer
A micro-entity can prepare simpler accounts and send only a balance sheet, with less information, to Companies House. A small company can choose not to send its profit and loss account and directors' report, and can send abridged accounts if all its members agree. A dormant company still files accounts, but may be able to file simpler dormant accounts. Either way, the full statutory accounts still go to shareholders and to HMRC with the tax return.
The Company Tax Return
The second year-end filing goes to HMRC. A company that receives a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return must file one, even if it made a loss or has no tax to pay, according to GOV.UK. HMRC's own filing service closed on 31 March 2026, so companies now use commercial software, which should be able to file the CT600 form, the Corporation Tax computation and your company accounts. A paper return is only allowed with a reasonable excuse or if filing in Welsh.
The taxable profit is not the same as the profit in the accounts; our corporation tax guide covers how the tax itself is worked out.
Year-end accounts deadlines
These are the main dates for a private limited company that does not pay Corporation Tax in instalments, from GOV.UK:
- Accounts to Companies House: 9 months after the company's financial year ends.
- First accounts to Companies House: where they cover more than 12 months, 21 months after the date of incorporation, or 3 months from the accounting reference date if that is later.
- Corporation Tax payment: 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period. Companies with taxable profits over £1.5 million pay in instalments instead.
- Company Tax Return to HMRC: 12 months after the end of the accounting period.
The tax is due before the return, so in practice the accounts and computation need finishing by the 9 month point.
Companies House counts the deadline to the exact day: a year end of 4 April means accounts are due by midnight on 4 January, not 31 January. A filing only counts when Companies House receives accounts it accepts, and a rejection close to the deadline does not earn extra time. You can check your own dates on the Companies House register.
The confirmation statement
The confirmation statement is a separate annual filing, often mixed up with the accounts. It confirms that your company's details on the register are correct, and it runs to its own review period and deadline, not your year end. Every director now needs a Companies House personal code before it can be filed.
Penalties for filing late
Companies House and HMRC charge penalties separately.
Companies House charges these for a private company's late accounts, according to GOV.UK:
- up to 1 month late: £150
- 1 to 3 months late: £375
- 3 to 6 months late: £750
- more than 6 months late: £1,500
The penalty is doubled if the accounts are late two years in a row. GOV.UK says an appeal may not succeed if the delay was your accountant's fault.
HMRC charges these for a late Company Tax Return, according to GOV.UK:
- 1 day late: £200
- 3 months late: another £200
- 6 months late: HMRC estimates the tax bill and adds a penalty of 10% of the unpaid tax
- 12 months late: another 10% of any unpaid tax
If the return is late three times in a row, the £200 penalties become £1,000 each. HMRC may also charge interest on Corporation Tax paid late.
A change coming in 2028
From 1 April 2028, GOV.UK says all companies must file their accounts with Companies House using commercial software. The web and paper routes will close for accounts, with no transition period. If you file your own accounts through the Companies House website today, you will need software before then.
What to hand your accountant at year end
Before the year closes, or soon after, gather:
- bank statements for every company account, covering the whole year
- sales and purchase invoices, or access to your bookkeeping software
- details of any assets bought or sold, such as vans, equipment or computers
- loan statements, stock and amounts owed to and by the company at the year end
- payroll records
- dividend paperwork, including board minutes and vouchers
- any money the directors took out or paid in, other than salary or dividends
The last two need care. A dividend paid without the right paperwork, or an overdrawn director's loan account, can have tax consequences that are easier to deal with before the accounts are signed off.
Hiring an accountant does not move the responsibility: directors remain legally responsible for the company's records and accounts.
Help with your year-end accounts
At Affinity Associates Isaacs & Co, our year-end accounts service prepares your statutory accounts and Company Tax Return together, files them with Companies House and HMRC, and tracks each deadline. George Isaacs works with limited companies across Eccles, Salford and Greater Manchester. Get in touch to talk about your company's year end.