Would you rather someone else handled this? Our limited company accounts service means year end accounts and the CT600 prepared and filed for you.
This case study is based on genuine client work carried out by our practice. Names, figures and identifying details have been changed to protect confidentiality, and the numbers shown are representative of the situation rather than the exact amounts. Your own position will differ.
The scenario
A company has been trading for two years. The director thinks of the accounts as an annual chore: something the accountant produces, they sign, and it goes off to Companies House. They have never really read one.
That is a shame, because the accounts are the only complete picture of the business anyone ever produces, and they are also the version of the business that the outside world sees.
What actually has to be filed, and by when
There are three separate obligations and people routinely merge them into one.
Annual accounts to Companies House, due 9 months after the year end. Late filing is an automatic penalty. For a private company it is £150 up to a month late, £375 from one to three months, £750 from three to six months, and £1,500 beyond six months. It doubles if you filed late the previous year too. It is not negotiable and there is no discretion for having been busy.
A corporation tax return to HMRC, due 12 months after the year end.
Payment of the corporation tax, due 9 months and 1 day after the year end. Note that this is before the return is due. You pay before you have to tell them what you owe, which is one of the more counterintuitive things about running a company.
Plus the confirmation statement annually, which is separate again and only confirms who owns and runs the company.
The part directors do not expect
Your accounts are public. Anyone can look them up for free: competitors, customers, suppliers deciding your credit terms, a prospective employee.
Small companies can file abridged accounts, which show less, and most do. But your balance sheet is still out there. If you are pitching to a large customer, they will look, and what they see is a snapshot that may be nine months out of date.
That cuts both ways. It is why accounts are worth producing thoughtfully rather than treating as a compliance chore.
What is worth reading in your own accounts
The director loan account. If it is overdrawn, there is a 35.75% charge nine months and a day after the year end. This rate applies to loans made on or after 6 April 2026. For loans made between 6 April 2022 and 5 April 2026 the rate is 33.75%. This is the single most common unpleasant surprise and it is sitting in the notes.
Distributable reserves. This is what you can legally pay as dividends. Not the bank balance. Paying dividends you do not have reserves for makes them unlawful and repayable.
The corporation tax provision. Money in the account that is not yours.
The point of this example
The accounts are not a formality. They tell you whether you can take a dividend, whether you owe the company money, and how much of your bank balance belongs to HMRC. They are also the version of your business a stranger will judge you on.
If you sign your accounts without reading them, ask your accountant to walk you through those three numbers. If you would like an accountant who does that as a matter of course, get in touch.
First company accounts due?
We prepare and file your accounts and CT600, claim every allowance, and give you a clear routine, so the company side never becomes a worry.