Filing your company accounts and annual returns

As a provider of a Registered Office Service and Mail Forwarding, our companies get lots of mail from Companies House and HMRC to remind them to file their company accounts and annual returns.

If you are a Director of a Limited Company or Partner in a LLP (limited Liability Partnership) it is your responsibility to ensure that the company has submitted the accounts and an annual return to Companies House. These have to be submitted whether your company is trading or not. Although you may use the services of an Accountant – it is still your responsibility.

Accounts

When you start your company you will receive notification when your accounts must be filed, which will be within a specific time after the accounting reference date.

For your first accounts they must be delivered within;

21 months of incorporation for a private company or LLP

Afterwhich, the filing period is 9 months after the accounting reference date for a private company  or LLP.

Public companies have different timescales.

Annual Returns

This is completed every year, either within 28 days, after the anniversary of the incorporation of the company, or the made up date of the last annual return.

The annual return provides an overview of the company’s or LLP officers, directors, registered offices and possibly shareholders and share capital.

This can be done online or via paper forms – by you or your authorised agent.

Failure to provide accounts can result in fines, which increase the later they are delivered. This starts at £150 up to £1500. If you fail to file accounts in time two years in a row the penalties are doubled.

On our website we have some easy to understand videos from HMRC and Companies House that help explain annual returns and filing accounts for a dormant company.