At the outset, late filing penalties are introduced in order to encourage directors to file their accounts and reports on time. Here, we will discuss the late filing penalties and help you to understand your accounts filing dates.
Let's start with Companies House
All companies must send annual accounts to Companies House every year whether they are: private or public, large or small, trading or non-trading.
Find out mores about Companies House filing requirements.
Important Dates
In order to avoid receiving penalty by Companies House lets discuss the accounting periods and due dates for Private Limited Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships.
Your accounts filing date for Companies House falls 21 months of your company’s incorporation date to file your First Year accounts to Companies House. Then in subsequent periods you have 9 months from the end of the accounting period to deliver accounts.
You can always check your company on the Companies House website and review your filing history as well as due dates for your accounts and Confirmation statement.
What are the late Filing Penalties
If accounts have been filed late, then the law imposes an automatic penalty, and the level will depend on the length of period after the due date.
|
Not more than 1 month |
£150 |
|
More than 1 month but not more than 3 months |
£375 |
|
More than 3
months but not more than 6 months |
£750 |
|
More than 6
months |
£1,500 |
How will I be informed if a late filing penalty has been imposed?
If you file your accounts late, you will automatically receive a penalty notice at your company's registered address, and it will include the level of penalty, the last date of filing and the date accounts were actually filed.
Important!
Even if your company is dormant, you still have to submit accounts as well as Confirmation statements to Companies House every year.
Now, lets take a closer look at HMRC
Companies have to submit a CT600 (corporation tax return) and a set of statutory accounts – Income statement and Balance sheet every year, unless they have communicated with HMRC that the company is dormant and a notice to deliver corporation tax return has not been received.
Filing Due Dates for HMRC
You have 12 months after the accounting period end date to
file your corporation tax returns accompanied by the full set of accounts. For instance, your accounting period starts
on 1 May 2021 and ends on 30 April 2022 – you will have to deliver your
corporation tax return by 30 April 2023.
However, it is important to remember that corporation tax is payable 9 months + 1 day after the accounting period end, therefore from the example above for period ending on 30 April 2022, corporation tax should be paid by 31 January 2023.
What are the late filing penalties?
|
1 day after
the deadline |
£100 |
|
3 months
after the deadline |
Another £100 |
|
6 months
after the deadline |
HMRC will
estimate the CT bill and add a penalty of 10% the unpaid tax |
|
12 months
after the deadline |
Another 10%
of any unpaid tax |
If corporation tax returns are late 3 times in a row, the
£100 penalties will increase to £500.
If tax return is 6 months late, HMRC will issue a ‘Tax determination’ informing you how much corporation tax they assume you must pay. Once issued, you cannot appeal against it.
What about late payment of corporation tax due?
If you do not meet the deadline of paying corporation tax,
then you will be charged an interest. HMRC interest rates are set in legislation
and are linked to the Bank of England base rate.
Late payment interest rate is 6.75% from 13 April 2023.
Important!
If you have contacted HMRC and they are informed that your
company is dormant, as well as notice to deliver corporation tax return has not
been received, then you will not be required to submit a CT600 and accounts
until you start trading again.
