Your company year end:
accounts, Corporation Tax and confirmation statement

Your company’s financial year has ended, or is about to. Three things follow from it: accounts for Companies House, a tax return and payment for HMRC, and, on its own timetable, the confirmation statement. Each has a different deadline, so it helps to see them side by side.

Your year end

Your company’s year end is its accounting reference date, set by Companies House when the company was formed. Your first accounts run from the day the company was set up to that date, so they often cover more than 12 months.

For Corporation Tax, a period can’t be longer than 12 months. If your first accounts cover more, you’ll file two Company Tax Returns for them.

What’s due, and when

For a private limited company:

What	Who to	Deadline
Corporation Tax payment	HMRC	9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period
Annual accounts	Companies House	9 months after the year end
First accounts	Companies House	21 months after the company was registered
Company Tax Return (CT600)	HMRC	12 months after the end of the accounting period

Notice that the tax is due before the tax return. It makes sense to finish the accounts and return early, so you know the figure before you pay it.

Corporation Tax rates

Company profit	Rate
£50,000 or less	19%
£50,000 to £250,000	Between 19% and 25%, using Marginal Relief
Over £250,000	25%

Marginal Relief means a company in this band pays somewhere between the two rates. The limits are shared between associated companies and cut for a short accounting period.

Penalties for late accounts

Companies House charges a penalty for late accounts, based on how late they are:

How late	Penalty
Up to 1 month	£150
1 to 3 months	£375
3 to 6 months	£750
More than 6 months	£1,500

The penalty doubles if your accounts are late two years in a row. You can apply for more time, but you must do it before the deadline and have a good reason.

Penalties for a late tax return

HMRC charges £200 the day after the return is due, and another £200 at 3 months. At 6 months HMRC estimates your tax and adds 10% of what’s unpaid, with another 10% at 12 months.

If your return is late three times in a row, each £200 penalty becomes £1,000. Interest runs on late tax too.

The confirmation statement

Every company, including dormant ones, must file a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months. It confirms the details Companies House holds, such as your officers, shareholders and registered office. It’s due within 14 days of the end of your review period, which runs for 12 months from incorporation or from your last statement.

Each director, and each person with significant control, needs a Companies House personal code before the statement can be filed. If you don’t file it, the company can be fined up to £5,000 and may be struck off.

Records

Keep the company’s accounting records for 6 years from the end of the financial year they relate to, and longer in some cases, for example if HMRC opens a compliance check.

What you need to do

• Find your accounting reference date on the Companies House register.
• Send your bookkeeping, bank statements and year-end figures to whoever prepares your accounts.
• Plan the Corporation Tax payment for 9 months and 1 day after the year end.
• File accounts and the tax return together if you can, well before the deadlines.
• Make sure every director, and anyone with significant control, has a Companies House personal code.
• Check the date your next confirmation statement is due.

Key dates

• 9 months and 1 day after the year end: Corporation Tax payment.
• 9 months after the year end: accounts to Companies House.
• 12 months after the year end: Company Tax Return to HMRC.
• 14 days after your review period ends: confirmation statement.

For a reminder of what’s coming up, see our tax calendar.