Year-end accounts lead to three separate deadlines, not one. One applies to your Companies House filing, while two relate to HMRC. Missing any one of them can result in a separate penalty, even if the other filings were submitted on time.
Preparing year-end accounts involves more than putting together a balance sheet at the end of the financial year. The figures come from a full year of reconciled records and year-end adjustments. The records available to your accountant also determine what information they need from you and when they need it.
This covers what year-end accounts include, when each deadline falls, what is changing in the filing process and what your accountant needs from you. It’s aimed at directors and finance teams running UK limited companies.
Key takeaways
- Year-end accounts involve three separate deadlines, not one.
- Missing a Companies House deadline and an HMRC deadline can result in separate penalties.
- A newly incorporated company has 21 months to file its first accounts, rather than the usual 9 months.
- The 2026 HMRC filing closure and the 2028 Companies House software requirement are separate changes with different timelines.
- Incomplete records usually mean more follow-up queries before the accounts can be finalised.
What are Year-End Accounts?
Year-end accounts, also known as statutory accounts, are the financial statements prepared from a company’s accounting records at the end of its financial year. They provide the figures used for the Companies House filing and form the basis for working out the company’s Corporation Tax position.
Preparing the accounts and filing them are two different stages. Before the financial statements are finalised, the underlying records need to be reviewed, reconciled and adjusted for year-end items. These adjustments produce the finished accounts, which then provide the figures needed for the relevant filings.
The Companies House filing is the final step in that process. It comes after the accounting records have been reconciled and the necessary year-end adjustments have been made.
What do Year-End Accounts include?
Year-end accounts contain the financial statements and supporting information required under the accounting and company law rules that apply to the business. The exact contents depend on the company’s size, whether it qualifies for a reporting exemption and the accounting framework used.
For most UK limited companies, the main components can include:
| Component | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Balance sheet | The company’s assets, liabilities and shareholders’ funds at the year-end |
| Profit and loss account | The income, expenses and resulting profit or loss for the accounting period |
| Notes to the accounts | Additional information explaining accounting policies and figures in the financial statements |
| Director’s report | Information about the company’s activities and performance, where required |
Small and micro-entities may be able to use reduced reporting requirements. For example, a qualifying micro-entity can prepare simpler accounts and may not need to prepare a profit and loss account or directors’ report for filing at Companies House.
The accounts prepared for the company and the accounts filed at Companies House are therefore not always identical. Some information may be required for the company’s own records or for HMRC but not included in the public filing.
The profit shown in the accounts is also not automatically the amount on which Corporation Tax is charged. The accounting profit is adjusted for tax purposes to arrive at the company’s taxable profit.
Which Accounting Standard Applies?
The accounting framework used for year-end accounts depends on the company’s circumstances, including its size and whether it qualifies for a reduced reporting regime. The framework determines how financial information is recognised, measured and presented, as well as how much information needs to be disclosed.
| Standard | Who it applies to | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| FRS 105 | Eligible micro-entities | A simplified accounting framework with reduced recognition, measurement and disclosure requirements |
| FRS 102, Section 1A | Eligible small companies | Reduced presentation and disclosure requirements compared with full FRS 102 |
| FRS 102 | Companies that do not qualify for a reduced regime | The main UK GAAP framework, with more extensive recognition, measurement and disclosure requirements |
The framework used affects how items such as revenue, fixed assets, leases and financial instruments are recognised and presented in the accounts.
Micro-entities may be eligible to use the simpler FRS 105 regime, while other companies may fall under FRS 102 depending on their circumstances.
The applicable framework should be confirmed before the accounts are prepared, particularly where a company has changed size, structure or reporting requirements.
What are Year-End Adjustments?
Year-end adjustments are accounting entries made before the accounts are finalised to ensure income, expenses, assets and liabilities are recorded in the correct accounting period.
The bookkeeping records do not always show the final position, so these adjustments bring each item into the correct accounting period.
Key Year-End Accounting Adjustments Before Finalising Accounts
- Unpaid Bills & Invoices: Record as an Accrual to account for unbilled expenses.
- Upfront Payments: Record as a Prepayment for future service periods.
- Asset Usage: Apply Depreciation to reflect loss of asset value over time.
- Uncollectible Debts: Create a Bad Debt Provision for unpaid customer balances.
- Remaining Inventory: Calculate a Stock Adjustment for year-end inventory value.
- Owner Transactions: Reconcile Director’s Loan Accounts for personal-company transfers.
These adjustments help ensure the accounts reflect the company’s financial position and performance for the period covered by the accounts.
They can also affect the Corporation Tax calculation. The accounting profit is adjusted further for tax purposes because some accounting expenses are not deductible for Corporation Tax, while certain tax allowances are calculated separately.
Who needs to prepare and File Year-End Accounts?
Whether a company needs to file statutory accounts and where, depends on its legal structure rather than its size or turnover. Limited companies and LLPs both answer to Companies House. Sole traders do not file statutory accounts in this sense at all.
Limited Companies
A limited company must file annual accounts with Companies House every year, along with a Company Tax Return (CT600) to HMRC. This applies even where the company is dormant, though a dormant company does not need to file a Corporation Tax return once HMRC has been informed of its dormant status.
LLPs and Sole Traders
LLPs generally follow the same Companies House obligations as limited companies. Sole traders report income and expenses through Self-Assessment instead, with the tax year running to 5 April.
Key Year-End Accounts Deadlines
A limited company has three year-end deadlines covering its accounts, Corporation Tax payment and Company Tax Return. None of these deadlines share the same date and confusing them is one of the most common causes of an avoidable penalty.
| Obligation | Deadline | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual accounts (existing company) | 9 months after the financial year ends | Companies House |
| Annual accounts (first accounts after incorporation) | 21 months after the date of incorporation | Companies House |
| Corporation Tax payment | 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends | HMRC |
| Company Tax Return (CT600) | 12 months after the accounting period ends | HMRC |
Companies House Filing Deadline
Annual accounts are due at Companies House 9 months after the end of the financial year, for most established private companies. Public limited companies have a shorter window of 6 months.
Corporation Tax Payment Deadline
Corporation Tax must be paid 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends. It goes directly to HMRC, separate from both the Companies House filing and the CT600 return itself.
Company Tax Return (CT600) Deadline
The Company Tax Return has a longer window of 12 months after the accounting period ends. Because the tax payment is due before the return that calculates it, most companies prepare both together rather than treating them as separate tasks.
First Accounts Deadline for New Companies
A newly incorporated company has 21 months from its date of incorporation to file its first accounts, rather than the usual 9. Every filing after that follows the standard 9-month deadline.
These deadlines do not align because Companies House and HMRC are different bodies with different responsibilities. Companies House exists to keep the public register accurate. HMRC exists to collect Corporation Tax and check the return behind it. Companies House and HMRC use the same accounting information but apply different filing deadlines.
These deadlines assume a fixed year-end date. Where that date changes, every deadline calculated from it changes too.
Changing your Company’s Year-End
A company’s accounting reference date (ARD) determines the date on which its financial year ends and helps determine its Companies House accounts filing deadline. A company can change its ARD by shortening or extending its accounting reference period, subject to Companies House rules.
Extending your Accounting Reference Period
A company can extend its accounting reference period to a maximum of 18 months. An accounting reference period generally cannot be extended more than once in a five-year period.
There are limited exceptions to this restriction, including where the company is in administration or where the change is made to align the company’s year-end with that of a parent or subsidiary company.
Shortening your Accounting Reference Period
A company can shorten its accounting reference period more than once, provided the relevant Companies House requirements are met. The change must be made before the existing accounts filing deadline has passed.
The company changes its accounting reference date with Companies House. This does not automatically change the Corporation Tax accounting period used by HMRC. The company’s Corporation Tax position and filing deadlines therefore need to be considered separately.
Changing the accounting reference date can affect the Companies House accounts filing deadline. It does not, by itself, change every HMRC deadline calculated from the company’s accounting records.
What happens if you miss a Deadline?
Companies House and HMRC apply penalties independently, so missing one deadline does not excuse the other. A company could face an escalating fine from Companies House while separately accruing daily interest with HMRC, for the same late set of accou nts.
Companies House Late Filing Penalties
Companies House issues an automatic penalty as soon as accounts are filed late, without any prior warning.
| Time after the deadline | Penalty (private limited company) |
|---|---|
| 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 accounts are filed late two years in a row.
HMRC Penalties for Late Corporation Tax
A late Company Tax Return can result in a separate HMRC penalty, in addition to any interest on unpaid Corporation Tax. The penalty is £200 if the return is one day late and increases to £400 after three months. These penalties apply even if no Corporation Tax is due. If the return is six months late, HMRC can issue a tax determination and add a further 10% penalty. For three consecutive late returns, the fixed penalties increase to £1,000 and £2,000.
Persistent late filing brings risks beyond the fines themselves. Companies House can take steps to strike a company off the register for continued non-compliance.
What’s changing for filing in 2026 and 2028?
The HMRC change took effect in 2026. The Companies House software requirement comes in 2028. They’re often reported as a single change and they’re not.
HMRC’s Joint Filing Service Closure (2026)
HMRC’s free joint service for filing accounts and Company Tax Returns together closed on 31 March 2026. From 1 April 2026, filing a Company Tax Return with HMRC requires commercial software, unless the company has a reasonable excuse or is filing in Welsh.
Companies House’s move to Software-Only Filing (2028)
Companies House accounts filing has not closed. WebFiling and paper submission both remain available. From 1 April 2028, Companies House will require all UK registered companies to file accounts using commercial software, tagged in iXBRL format. This change was originally planned for 2027, but the date has since been moved back to give companies more time to prepare.
A company that relied only on the free HMRC service needs to act now. A company filing through Companies House WebFiling or an accountant has until 2028.
What does an Accountant need for Year-End Accounts?
An accountant preparing year-end accounts needs complete, reconciled records covering the full accounting period.
| Category | What’s needed |
|---|---|
| Bank records | Final statements for every business account, plus petty cash records |
| Sales and purchases | Sales invoices, purchase receipts, supplier bills, aged debtor and creditor reports |
| Tax and payroll | VAT returns submitted during the year, end-of-year payroll summaries, P60s and P11Ds where applicable |
| Assets and stock | Physical stock count and valuation, capital asset purchases or disposals during the year |
| Director and loan records | Loan and finance agreement statements, director’s loan account and dividend details |
Financial records and bank statements
These need to cover the full financial year, not just the closing balance. Petty cash records should be included even where the amounts are small, since the accountant needs them to reconcile the petty cash balance against the bookkeeping.
Sales, purchase and payroll documents
Aged debtor and creditor reports matter here because they show what remains unpaid at year-end, not just what moved during the year. VAT returns and payroll summaries confirm figures that have already been submitted.
Asset, stock and director account details
Stock counts should be taken as close to the year-end date as practically possible, since valuations can move quickly in some sectors. Director’s loan account and dividend records matter because they affect both the balance sheet and any personal tax position.
Where bookkeeping is already held in cloud software, the accountant will typically need direct access to that platform rather than a separate export of the same data.
Incomplete debtor and creditor reconciliations, missing stock counts and unreconciled director’s loan accounts are the records that most commonly delay this stage, since each one usually requires a follow-up query rather than a straightforward handover.
How to prepare for Year-End Accounts?
A few steps make this process faster once records are handed over:
- Bring bookkeeping fully up to date
- Reconcile bank accounts against accounting records for the full year
- Chase unpaid invoices so debtor figures reflect what is genuinely owed
- Count and value physical stock, as close to year-end as possible
- Gather loan, finance and director account records together
- Confirm payroll figures and VAT returns match what was actually submitted
Completing this before the handover gives the accountant fewer missing items to chase.
What happens after the Accounts are prepared?
Once the accountant has completed the accounts, they are returned as a draft for review and approval. A director then signs the balance sheet.
After approval, the accounts are filed with Companies House and the figures feed into the Company Tax Return submitted to HMRC. Copies are also sent to shareholders and anyone entitled to attend the company’s general meetings, as required under company law.
How Daniel Wolfson & Co can help?
Daniel Wolfson & Co, part of the DNS Group, prepares and files year-end accounts for businesses across London and the UK, from consolidating financial records through to submission with Companies House and HMRC.
The service includes calculating and consolidating financial records, then compiling the full set of accounts. The team checks bank statements and reviews unpaid invoices for accuracy, flags discrepancies and tax-planning opportunities and prepares the tax return for HMRC. Draft accounts are returned for review before anything is filed and copies are sent to Companies House, shareholders and HMRC as required.
Packages include free cloud-based bookkeeping software with bank integration and a mobile receipt app, along with a dedicated accountant throughout the process rather than a rotating set of contacts.
Conclusion
Year-end accounts are prepared from the company’s records for the financial year. Those records need to be reconciled and adjusted before the statutory accounts can be finalised and filed.
Keeping the three deadlines in view and giving your accountant complete records early, makes the year-end process much easier to manage.
If this sounds like where your business is right now, with deadlines approaching and records not yet fully reconciled, it is worth acting before those deadlines pass. Book a consultation with Daniel Wolfson & Co or reach the team directly at office@danielwolfson.co.uk.
FAQs
Do dormant companies need to file year-end accounts?
Yes, a dormant company must still file accounts with Companies House every year. It does not need to file a Corporation Tax return once HMRC has been informed of the dormant status, but the Companies House filing obligation remains.
Can I prepare year-end accounts myself or do I need an accountant?
Business owners can prepare their own year-end accounts, but this requires a solid understanding of accounting standards and current filing requirements. Many businesses use an accountant to reduce the risk of errors and ensure the accounts meet the correct reporting standard.
How long does it take to prepare year-end accounts?
This depends on how complex the business is and how quickly complete records are provided. Most accountants give a specific estimate once they have reviewed what is involved.
What is the difference between the Companies House deadline and the Corporation Tax deadline?
The Companies House deadline covers filing annual accounts on the public register, generally 9 months after year-end. Corporation Tax has two separate dates: payment at 9 months and 1 day and the CT600 return at 12 months.
What happens if a company’s accounts are wrong after they have been filed?
Amended accounts can be submitted to Companies House, clearly marked so they are not treated as a duplicate. If only one part needs correcting, a signed note explaining the change is filed together with a copy of the original.
Do smaller companies get simpler year-end accounts requirements?
Yes, micro-entities and small companies can generally prepare simpler accounts than larger businesses, though these requirements are set to change under Companies House’s 2028 reforms.
Will filing software be compulsory for Companies House accounts this year?
Not yet, WebFiling and paper submission both remain available. Software-only filing for Companies House accounts is planned for 1 April 2028, separate from the HMRC joint service that closed in 2026.
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