How to File Year-End Accounts With Companies House (2026)
Filing your company’s year-end accounts on time, and correctly, avoids automatic penalties and keeps your company in good standing. This guide from Filing Accounts UK walks through the process step by step, using only verified facts from official Companies House and HMRC guidance.
At Filing Accounts, we prepare and file annual accounts for UK small businesses. Official guidance is available at Companies House guidance on preparing and filing accounts.
Know Your Accounting Reference Date
Your company’s Accounting Reference Date (ARD) — usually the last day of the month you incorporated — sets your filing timeline. Your first accounts have a longer deadline (21 months from incorporation); every year after that, accounts are due 9 months after your ARD.
| Requirement | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Annual Accounts (Companies House) | 9 months after ARD (21 months for first accounts) |
| Corporation Tax payment (HMRC) | 9 months and 1 day after accounting period ends |
| CT600 tax return (HMRC) | 12 months after accounting period ends |
| Confirmation Statement | 14 days after review period ends (annual) |
Step 1: Gather and Organise Your Records
Incomplete records are the single biggest cause of delays and errors. Before preparing accounts, pull together:
- All sales invoices, receipts, and bank statements, reconciled against your accounting software
- Business expense receipts — personal expenses mixed in will trigger disallowances
- Payroll records, including RTI submissions and auto-enrolment pension contributions
- Any director’s loan account activity
- VAT records, if registered
- A list of fixed assets for depreciation and capital allowances
Step 2: Prepare Your Statutory Accounts
What you need to prepare depends on your company’s size:
- Micro-entities — simplified balance sheet only, no profit and loss published, no directors’ report required
- Small companies — abridged accounts with reduced notes
- Larger companies — full accounts, including a detailed profit and loss account, directors’ report, and auditor’s opinion where required
Dormant companies use a simplified filing instead — see form AA02 on the Companies House WebFiling service.
Step 3: Complete Your Corporation Tax Return (CT600)
The CT600 is filed separately with HMRC, due 12 months after your accounting period ends (though payment itself is due earlier, at 9 months and 1 day). See our Corporation Tax for small companies guide for current rates and marginal relief.
Step 4: Handle Dividends Correctly
Dividends can only be declared from distributable profits, and should be properly documented with board minutes and dividend vouchers for every declaration — an undocumented or unaffordable dividend can be treated as an illegal dividend.
Step 5: File With Companies House and HMRC
- File accounts online via Companies House WebFiling, using your company’s authentication code
- File your CT600 using HMRC-approved software
- If you spot an error afterward, file amended accounts clearly marked “amended” — see our Companies House Filing FAQs for how corrections work
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Leaving Preparation Until the Deadline
Gathering records months in advance avoids a last-minute scramble and reduces the risk of errors.
Confusing the Accounts Deadline With the Corporation Tax Deadline
Accounts are due 9 months after your ARD; Corporation Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after your accounting period, and the CT600 return itself isn’t due until 12 months after — three separate dates, easily confused.
Declaring Dividends Without Sufficient Profit
Always confirm distributable reserves before declaring a dividend, and document it properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my company is dormant?
File simplified dormant accounts (form AA02) — the deadline is the same as for a trading company.
Do I need an accountant to file accounts?
Not legally required, but strongly recommended to avoid errors that could trigger HMRC or Companies House queries.
What are the penalties for late filing?
From £150 up to £1,500 for private companies depending on how late, doubling if late in two consecutive years, with a risk of strike-off for persistent non-compliance.
How do I change my Accounting Reference Date?
File form AA01 with Companies House.
Need Help Filing Your Company Accounts? Talk to Filing Accounts UK
At Filing Accounts, we prepare and file annual accounts and Corporation Tax returns for UK small businesses on a fixed fee basis.
You may also find these related guides helpful: