What are annual accounts?
Annual accounts are financial reports prepared by a company at the end of each financial year. They provide a comprehensive overview of a company's financial activity during the year. As a director of a limited company, you are legally obliged to provide annual accounts to Companies House.
Annual accounts for small companies typically include:
- A ‘balance sheet’ that shows the value of everything your company owns, owes and is owed on the last day of your financial year. You can view your balance sheet in the Countingup app from the ‘Accounting’ tab
- A ‘profit and loss account’ that shows your company’s sales, running costs and the profit or loss made over the financial year. You can view your profit and loss report in the Countingup app from the ‘Accounting’ tab
- Notes about the accounts which provide additional information about your company’s financial performance
When are they due?
The deadline for filing your first annual accounts with Companies House is 21 months after the date your company was incorporated. For subsequent years annual accounts are due 9 months after your company’s financial year ends.
There are penalties and fines for filing annual accounts late which increase the more your accounts are overdue.
How do I file annual accounts?
- First, prepare your accounts by gathering all your financial records, invoices, receipts, and bank statements for the financial year
- File your accounts with Companies House online or by post. Filing online is quicker and you’ll get instant confirmation that your accounts have been received
First year and subsequent years
For limited companies in the UK, the process of submitting annual accounts in the first year of trading differs from subsequent years due to the different periods covered by the accounts and the Company Tax Return.
In the first year of trading, your company's annual accounts usually cover more than 12 months. This is because they start on the day your company was set up (incorporated or registered) and end on the 'accounting reference date' that Companies House sets for the end of your company's financial year. This date is the last day of the month your company was set up. For example, if your company was set up on 11 May, the accounting reference date will be 31 May the following year. So your company’s first accounts must cover 12 months and 3 weeks.
However, the period covered by your tax return (your ‘accounting period’ for Corporation Tax) cannot be longer than 12 months. So you may have to file 2 tax returns to cover the period of your first accounts. If you do, you’ll also have 2 payment deadlines.
In following years, your accounts will normally cover your company’s financial year from 1 June to 31 May (if we continue with the example above). You then normally only file one tax return - and it will usually cover the same financial year as your accounts.
Learn more about filing annual accounts on gov.uk