Statutory preparation
Financial statements prepared from your digital bookkeeping records under the rules that fit the company's size category.
Year-end accounts
Statutory year-end accounts, filed on time.
What the accounts you sign are used for
Year-end accounts are the legal record of your company's financial year. They dictate your Corporation Tax liability and prove to HMRC that your dividend extractions were legally supported by available profit.
We prepare the accounts under the rules that fit the company: the rules for the smallest companies (micro-entity) for the simplest cases, and the small-company rules above that. We reconcile your balance sheet, so issues like an overdrawn Director's Loan Account (DLA) are identified and resolved before they trigger the 35.75% S455 tax charge that applies if a director's overdrawn balance is not cleared within nine months of year-end. Where there are capital allowances to claim, we advise on timing and structure so you claim the relief available rather than missing it.
Want the figures before the year closes? A year-end report tells you what happened months ago. Many clients pair it with our management accounts service so the position is known throughout the year, not reconstructed at the close.
Three deadlines that follow your year-end date
Missing any of these is a breach of director duties and triggers automatic penalties. The filing dates are recorded in our practice management system, and the file is prepared before the deadline when the records and approvals are with us in time.
- Accounts filing
- After the company's financial year ends. Strict automatic penalties for late filing.
- Corporation Tax payment
- After the end of the accounting period. Paid to HMRC separately from the return itself.
- CT600 return
- After the end of the accounting period to file the formal Corporation Tax return.
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Companies House
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HMRC
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HMRC
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What year-end accounts show
Year-end accounts are used to calculate the company's Corporation Tax bill and confirm that dividends were paid from available profits.
They also give HMRC a clear starting point if there is ever an enquiry.
Outside tax, they can support finance applications, show lenders how the business is performing, and give a buyer or investor a clear view of the company.
- Profit overstated
- If costs are missed off, profit looks higher than it was, and the Corporation Tax bill follows it up. The company ends up paying tax on profit it never earned.
- Reserves overstated
- Distributable reserves overstated mean the dividends already voted against them were unlawful. The company can claim them back, and the directors are personally liable for the shortfall.
- Balance sheet misclassified
- A misclassified balance-sheet position turns a routine HMRC compliance check into a full enquiry. The fix is preparing accounts knowing what each line is being used to prove.
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A clean set of accounts gives you reliable numbers for the following year.
What's covered at year-end
Corporation Tax return
Accurate preparation and submission of CT600 returns to HMRC, ensuring all capital allowances are correctly applied to reduce your bill.
Director Self Assessment
Your personal Self Assessment based on the same set of figures: the dividends declared and the salary run through PAYE, so the two returns line up rather than telling different stories.
Distributable reserves check
Reviewing your balance sheet to evidence that past dividends were legally supported by distributable reserves, with any shortfall flagged before it becomes an unlawful distribution.
Companies House filing
Submission of your accounts to the public register, prepared and signed off ahead of the applicable deadline, normally nine months with separate first-account rules.
ACSP authorisation
As an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, we assist with mandatory ECCTA director identity verifications alongside your standard filings.
Year-end accounts questions
When must year end accounts be filed?
A private company normally files within nine months of its financial year end. First accounts covering more than twelve months are normally due 21 months after incorporation or three months after the accounting reference date, whichever is later. Check the registered deadline where the period has changed.
What happens if accounts are filed late?
Companies House penalties for late filing start at £150 and rise to £1,500 for accounts filed more than six months late. We record the filing dates and prepare the accounts before the deadline, provided the records and approvals are with us in time.
Are year end accounts different from management accounts?
Yes. Year end accounts are statutory, backwards-looking documents formatted for HMRC and public record. Management accounts are internal reports prepared during the year to help directors make informed commercial decisions.
What is the difference between a micro-entity and a small company?
They are two different size categories under UK company law, and they decide how much detail your accounts have to disclose. A micro-entity is the smallest tier: very simplified accounts, minimal notes, and no requirement for a directors' report on the public file. A company qualifies as a micro-entity if it meets two of these three: turnover not more than £1m, balance-sheet total not more than £500k, and not more than 10 employees on average. Above that, a company is small if it meets two of: turnover not more than £15m, balance-sheet total not more than £7.5m, and not more than 50 employees. These thresholds apply to financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, subject to the two-year, group and exclusion rules. Small-company accounts include more disclosures; eligible companies can currently omit permitted documents from the public filing copy. Abridgement is a separate choice. From 1 April 2028, small and micro companies must file profit and loss accounts but may opt out of publication. We confirm which category applies before each year-end and prepare the file to the right level.
What is an overdrawn Director's Loan Account (DLA)?
If you take more money out of the company than you have put in or are owed through salary or dividends, your DLA becomes overdrawn. In effect, the company has lent you money. If the overdrawn balance is not repaid within nine months of the company's year-end, S455 of the Corporation Tax Act applies a 35.75% temporary tax charge on the outstanding balance. For advances from 6 April 2022 to 5 April 2026 the rate is 33.75%; 35.75% applies to advances from 6 April 2026. After a late repayment, relief is not due until nine months and one day after the end of the accounting period containing it. We review the DLA closely during account preparation, flag any overdrawn balance well before the deadline, and explain the options to clear it (a dividend declaration, a salary top-up, or a personal repayment).
Do I need to do anything before my year-end?
If your bookkeeping is up to date on cloud software, very little. We reconcile your records, review the balance sheet, and prepare everything. If you use our management accounts service, the year-end file is already close. Directors who maintain their own records should ensure bank feeds are connected and receipts are captured before year-end to avoid delays.
Keep reading
Plan your year-end before the deadline.
Starting from your accounting reference date, we go through what is still open before the year closes: timing of expenditure, capital allowance claims, director extraction, and any iXBRL or disclosure issues HMRC tends to flag.
Request a filing quote
Locations
Sheffield and Mansfield
Year-end and statutory accounts for UK limited companies in South Yorkshire, the East Midlands and across the UK, with the work run through secure cloud records and scheduled calls.
Section 455 checked 6 September 2026: HMRC rates by loan date. The rate is 35.75% for advances from 6 April 2026 and 33.75% for advances from 6 April 2022 to 5 April 2026. Repay within nine months of the accounting period end to avoid payment, subject to anti-avoidance rules. Any charge is payable nine months and one day after that period ends.