Can I change my company’s accounting date / year end date?
Yes you can, by completing Companies House Form 225. If you are considering changing yours, please contact us and we can advise and assist.
A company can shorten its accounting period but there are restrictions on extending it:
- You cannot extend a period so that it lasts more than 18 months from the start date of the accounting period
- You cannot extend the period more than once in a five year period. There are rare exceptions to this rule which can be found on the Companies House website.
Are there any penalties for delivering accounts late?
Yes, and they vary depending how late your accounts are – from £100 for less than 3 months to £1000 for more than 12 months. A word of warning, they are not negotiable!
What is the Accounting Reference Date?
The Accounting Reference Date (ARD) is the date of your financial year end. This date also determines when your accounts must be delivered to Companies House.
If you form a new company, your company’s ARD will be the last day of the month in which you incorporated your company. For example, if you incorporated your company on the 8th March its ARD, or financial year end date, would be set to 31st March.
How long do I have to file my accounts?
A company’s first set of accounts normally has to be delivered to the Companies House Registrar within 22 months of the date of incorporation, or 3 months from financial year end, whichever is longer. For example, a company incorporated on 1st Jan 2005 with an Accounting Reference Date (ARD) of 31st Jan has until midnight on 1st Nov 2006 (22 months from the date of incorporation) to deliver its accounts.
All subsequent accounts need to be delivered within 9 months from the Accounting Reference Date / financial year end. If, however, the accounting reference period has been shortened, the time allowed for filing the accounts is the longer of:
- 9 months from the ARD or
- 3 months from the date of the notice (Form 225).
What is a Company Tax Return, CT600?
A Company Tax return details the Corporation Tax payable to HMRC. It consists of a completed CT600 form plus information, accounts, computations, statements and reports which the company has drawn up.
When must I pay my corporation tax?
Corporation Tax has to be paid within nine months of the company year end. If it isn’t paid in time, interest is charged by HMRC.
With inniAccounts, an alert will be shown on your home page when your Corporation Tax payment is due.
When is my company tax return due?
The Corporation Tax return must be sent with the annual accounts and tax computations to the HMRC within nine months of the company’s year end. An automatic penalty will be charged if they are not filed in time.
What is Corporation Tax?
Corporation tax is paid by limited companies on their profits.
Your company’s profit is the total turnover for the financial year, minus all outgoings – including salaries, mileage and expenses. You must then pay corporation tax on the remaining profit. Corporation tax is currently 19% at the small profits rate. The profit available after paying corporation tax is available to be paid as dividends.
Corporation tax is entered on a Corporation Tax Return (CT600), which is due 9 months after the end of the company accounting year.
Please see here for further information on Corporation Tax changes applying from 1st April 2023.
When do I need to pay my self assessment tax bill?
Two deadlines are applicable for Self Assessment payments to HMRC:
- 31 January – for any tax you owe for the previous tax year and your first payment on account for the current tax year
- 31 July – for your second payment on account for the current tax year
Payments on account are advance payments towards your tax bill for the current tax year.
What is a Self Assessment tax form SA100?
Most people pay tax on their earnings through a PAYE scheme where tax is deducted on behalf of HMRC by their employer. Those that are employed don’t usually have to complete a Self Assessment tax return.
If you are not on a PAYE scheme or need to pay tax on other income earned such as from property, dividends or investments, you account for your income using Self Assessment. It is mainly for the self employed, sole traders or company directors.
How do I know how much tax to put aside?
If you subscribe to the Professional or Business package, our software will help you with this.
Your LiveCash report shows you exactly how much money has been kept to one side to meet your liabilities. When you pay out company profits via dividends you are shown how much profit and cash your company has available, so you can be confident that you have enough money set aside to meet your tax liabilities.