File your company accounts early this December to avoid a penalty
All limited companies, whether they trade or not, must deliver accounts to Companies House each year, including dormant companies.
Understanding your responsibilities
It’s the directors’ responsibility to file a company’s accounts and make sure they’re filed on time. It's important to understand your role as a director and how late filing could affect your company.
Missing your filing deadline could affect your credit score or access to finance. It can affect how others view your company and whether they want to do business with you. There are also financial penalties and legal consequences - you could get a criminal record, a fine, or disqualification.
If you employ an accountant to file your company’s accounts, it’s still your responsibility, as director, to make sure they’re filed on time.
File online
There are a variety of software providers that offer a range of accounting packages to prepare and file accounts. Most types of accounts can be filed using software, depending on the functionality of the software package you’re using.
If you file using Companies House online services they’ll send you an email to confirm that they’ve received your accounts. Companies House will send you another email when they’ve registered your accounts.
File your accounts online before your deadline.
To file online, you’ll need your company authentication code. If you need to request a new code, you should allow up to 5 days for this to arrive at the company’s registered office.
Avoid rejections
You should only send paper accounts if your company cannot file online or by software.
Accounts filed on paper need to be manually checked. Companies House can only check them during office opening hours, and they can take over a week to process.
If you need to file your accounts on paper, you should send them to Companies House well before the deadline. This will give you plenty of time to correct your accounts and resend them if they are rejected.
It’s also important to make sure you send all documents to the correct Companies House office. This will help avoid any delays, as your documents may be re-directed and they’ll take longer to reach Companies House.
You should consider using a guaranteed next-day delivery and note any industrial disputes or other factors, which may make it difficult for a carrier to deliver on time.
Companies House cannot accept postal delays as a reason to appeal a late filing penalty.
Changes to UK company law
On 26 October 2023, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill achieved royal assent and became law. This is one of the most significant moments for Companies House in their long history.
As a director, it’s important that you understand how these changes will affect you and your company. There are new rules for all companies, including changes to the way you file your annual accounts.
Visit Changes to UK company law.
Guidance and support
Register for email reminders to know when your accounts are due. You can also check your filing deadline on the Companies House find and update company information service.
Watch Companies House YouTube videos for guidance on how to use their online services.
More information about:
- preparing your accounts
- filing your Companies House information online
- filing Companies House accounts and late filing penalties
- applying for more time to file your company’s accounts
- using software to file your accounts
- being a company director
First published 4 December 2023