Year End Accounts and how they work.
Statutory accounts to Companies House, a CT600 to HMRC, and a confirmation statement. Three separate filings with different deadlines, and the reporting standard you choose affects your credit score and what you can pay as dividends.
Three filings, not one
Statutory accounts to Companies House, CT600 to HMRC, and the confirmation statement, each with its own deadline and cross-checks.
Jump to section 02FRS 105 vs FRS 102
Micro-entity brevity or small-entity transparency. The standard you pick shapes your credit score and investor-readiness for years.
Jump to section 03Where quality matters
Creditworthiness, dividend legality, director loan s455, and investor due diligence all hinge on what your filed accounts actually show.
Jump to section 04Confirmation statement
Not a tax document, but missing it is a top cause of strike-off. £50, 14-day filing deadline, cheap to comply, disproportionate to neglect.
Jump to sectionThe Three Filings That Must Happen
"Year-end" is shorthand for three separate but interlocking obligations. A company cannot close a year correctly by meeting one and ignoring the others, the filings cross-reference each other, and HMRC and Companies House compare submissions.
- Statutory accounts to Companies House, within 9 months of the accounting period end (21 months for a first year after incorporation).
- Company Tax Return (CT600) to HMRC, within 12 months of the accounting period end, with Corporation Tax payable 9 months and 1 day after.
- Confirmation statement to Companies House, annually, confirming registered office, directors, shareholders, PSCs, and SIC codes.
Choosing a Reporting Standard
UK GAAP offers three routes for small companies: FRS 105 for micro-entities, FRS 102 Section 1A for small entities, and full FRS 102 for medium-sized entities. The choice is not neutral. FRS 105 minimises disclosure and is popular with one-director service companies, but it limits the story your accounts tell to banks, investors, and acquirers. FRS 102 Section 1A reveals more, the trade-off is transparency vs effort.
Where year-end quality matters
- Creditworthiness: credit reference agencies read the filed accounts. Thin micro-entity accounts can cap your credit score regardless of actual trading performance.
- Dividend legality: interim dividends paid during the year must be supported by distributable reserves visible in the year-end accounts. Miscounted reserves can make dividends illegal and recoverable from directors.
- Director's loan accounts: balances at year-end trigger s455 tax if overdrawn and unpaid within 9 months and 1 day.
- Investor readiness: any serious fundraising requires FRS 102 accounts with full disclosures, a micro-entity history makes due diligence painful.
The Confirmation Statement, Often Forgotten
The confirmation statement is not a tax document, it is a public register update. Yet missing it is one of the most common causes of a company being struck off the register. The £50 online filing fee (£110 paper) and 14-day filing period after the review period ends make compliance cheap; the consequences of neglect are disproportionate.
Go Deeper
FRS 105 vs FRS 102 for Small Companies
How FRS 105 and FRS 102 differ for small companies, including disclosure, filing choices and what directors should check.
GuideFiling Statutory Accounts at Companies House
How statutory accounts are filed at Companies House, including deadlines, micro-entity accounts, small company accounts and penalties.
Related Tools & Services
Plan your year-end before the deadline catches up.
We map the timeline from your accounting reference date through to filing, identify the planning levers still open at this point in the year, and quote the work in writing.
Plan your year-end with a Chartered Management AccountantAccounts filing questions
What is the deadline to file year-end accounts?
For a private limited company, statutory accounts must reach Companies House within 9 months of the accounting period end. For first accounts covering more than twelve months, the deadline is normally 21 months after incorporation or three months after the accounting reference date, whichever is later. Check changed-period deadlines.
What is the difference between FRS 105 and FRS 102?
FRS 105 is a simplified reporting standard for micro-entities (at least two of turnover no more than £1m, balance sheet no more than £500k and no more than 10 employees on average, for periods beginning from 6 April 2025, subject to eligibility and subsequent-year rules). FRS 102 is the main UK GAAP standard for small and medium entities and requires more detailed disclosures.
Do I need to file accounts even if my company is dormant?
Yes. Dormant companies must still file a simplified set of dormant company accounts (form AA02) with Companies House each year, alongside a confirmation statement. Failure to do so triggers late-filing penalties.
How much is the late filing penalty?
Companies House penalties start at £150 for up to 1 month late, rising to £1,500 over 6 months. Penalties double if you filed late in the previous year. HMRC also charges separate penalties for late CT600 filing.
Confirmation statement fees checked 6 September 2026: £50 digital or £110 paper, from 1 February 2026. Accounts software and profit and loss filing reforms start on 1 April 2028; see the full timetable.