When a limited company's financial year ends, the directors have several connected but separate obligations. Statutory accounts go to Companies House. A Company Tax Return goes to HMRC. Corporation Tax has its own payment date. Mixing these up is one of the most common reasons year-end deadlines are missed.
This guide explains the difference, the usual deadlines, what records the year-end relies on and what is changing with Companies House accounts filing from April 2028. Facts were checked against GOV.UK on 5 November 2026.
Two filings, two organisations
Annual accounts for Companies House
Your company's annual accounts, called statutory accounts, are prepared from the company's financial records at the end of its financial year. GOV.UK explains that statutory accounts usually include:
- a balance sheet, showing what the company owns, owes and is owed on the last day of the financial year
- a profit and loss account, showing sales, running costs and the profit or loss for the year
- notes about the accounts
- a directors' report, unless the company is a micro-entity
- an auditor's report, depending on the size of the company
Copies must be sent to shareholders, people who can attend general meetings, Companies House, and HMRC as part of the Company Tax Return.
Small companies and micro-entities may be able to send simpler accounts to Companies House. GOV.UK sets out that a small company can send abridged accounts only if all members agree, and that small companies and micro-entities must still send full statutory accounts to their members and HMRC.
The Company Tax Return for HMRC
The Company Tax Return (form CT600) is where the company works out its profit or loss for Corporation Tax and its Corporation Tax bill. GOV.UK states that a company must file a return if it receives a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return, and must still file if it makes a loss or has no Corporation Tax to pay. HMRC requires commercial software to file the return online.
The usual deadlines
GOV.UK lists the standard deadlines for a private limited company:
| Obligation | Usual deadline |
|---|---|
| Annual accounts to Companies House | 9 months after the company's financial year ends |
| Pay Corporation Tax, or tell HMRC none is due | 9 months and 1 day after the Corporation Tax accounting period ends |
| Company Tax Return to HMRC | 12 months after the Corporation Tax accounting period ends |
Note that Corporation Tax is usually payable before the return is due. Companies with taxable profits over £1.5 million pay in instalments instead, and HMRC may charge interest if tax is paid late.
First-year exceptions
The first year often works differently:
- First accounts. GOV.UK says the first accounts are due at Companies House 21 months after the date the company registered.
- Accounting periods. A Corporation Tax accounting period cannot be longer than 12 months. It is normally the same as the financial year covered by the accounts, but it can differ in the year the company is set up.
- Two returns for one set of accounts. If the first financial year is longer than 12 months, it is split into two accounting periods, and you must file two Company Tax Returns to cover the period of the accounts.
Shortened periods and company-specific notices can also change dates, so check your company's actual deadlines in its Companies House and HMRC records.
What records the year-end needs
Accounts and tax returns are only as good as the records behind them. GOV.UK lists the accounting records a company must keep, including:
- all money received and spent by the company
- details of assets owned by the company
- debts the company owes or is owed
- stock the company owns at the end of the financial year
- all goods bought and sold, and who they were bought from and sold to, unless it is a retail business
Company records also cover shareholders and the results of shareholder votes and resolutions, share purchases, and loans or mortgages secured against the company's assets. Records must generally be kept for 6 years from the end of the last financial year they relate to, and longer in some situations.
In practice, a smooth year-end usually also needs reconciled bank accounts, sales and purchase ledgers, payroll reports where relevant, loan and director's loan account balances, and details of any assets bought or sold in the year.
Directors' responsibilities
Directors remain responsible for the company's obligations, even when an accountant helps. GOV.UK's guidance on running a limited company says directors must, among other duties:
- keep company records and report certain changes
- prepare the annual accounts
- complete the Company Tax Return
- file the accounts and the Company Tax Return
- pay Corporation Tax
Directors review and approve the accounts before they are filed. It is worth agreeing early who prepares each item, who reviews it and how each filing will be made.
Penalties for filing late
Penalties apply separately to each filing. For a private limited company, Companies House late filing penalties range from £150 for accounts up to 1 month late to £1,500 for more than 6 months late, and the penalty is doubled if accounts are late 2 years in a row.
HMRC's penalties for a late Company Tax Return start at £200 on the day after the deadline, with another £200 at 3 months. At 6 months, HMRC will estimate the Corporation Tax bill and add a penalty of 10% of the unpaid tax, with another 10% at 12 months.
The move to software-only accounts filing from April 2028
On 23 October 2026, Companies House published an update to accounts filing from April 2028. The key points are:
- from April 2028, companies must file accounts in iXBRL format using commercial software
- Companies House's web and paper-based filing systems will close for accounts filings from that date, although web filing remains available for other filings such as confirmation statements
- companies will still be allowed to file abridged accounts
- the government has paused the planned requirement for small companies and micro-entities to file profit and loss accounts
- the changes also include a stronger audit exemption eligibility statement, a requirement to file accounts and reports together, and a limit on how often a company can shorten its accounting reference period
If your company currently files accounts through the Companies House web service or on paper, it is sensible to plan how you will file in future. The detail may develop before April 2028, so check the current Companies House guidance closer to the time.
Sources
- Prepare annual accounts for a limited company
- Accounts for micro-entities, small and dormant companies
- Company Tax Returns
- Accounts and tax returns for private limited companies
- File your accounts and Company Tax Return
- Pay your Corporation Tax bill
- Corporation Tax accounting period
- Running a limited company: company and accounting records
- Running a limited company: directors' responsibilities
- Companies House late filing penalties
- Company Tax Returns: penalties for late filing
- Companies House: update to accounts filing from April 2028
TaxSpex can prepare year-end accounts, Corporation Tax computations and a CT600 for directors to review, with filing support only where agreed and authorised. See Annual accounts and Corporation Tax or Accounting for limited companies. This article is general information, not advice for your circumstances.