Accounts & tax returns
Limited company accounts
A private limited company has two annual filing obligations that never go away while the company exists. The first is a set of statutory accounts delivered to Companies House within nine months of the accounting reference date; these become public and are the record lenders, suppliers and HMRC look at. The second is the company tax return, the CT600, with a full Corporation Tax computation and iXBRL-tagged accounts, delivered to HMRC within twelve months of the year end, with the tax itself payable three months earlier. The two filings draw on the same figures and have to agree, and in an owner-managed company they also have to agree with the director's own Self Assessment return.
from £299 · fixed, per year
Next deadlines
- Company tax return (CT600) due 12 months after your year end (a 31 December year end files by 31 December)
- Confirmation statement due within 14 days of your review date, at least once every 12 months
- Companies House accounts due 9 months after your year end (a 31 December year end files by 30 September)
- Corporation Tax payment, 9 months and 1 day after your year end (a 31 December year end pays by 1 October)
Fees
Packages, fixed and published
£49
Dormant company accounts
£299
Micro-entity accounts + CT600
£449
Small company full accounts + CT600
£389
Accounts + director Self Assessment bundle
Who this is for
Limited Company Accounts
Owner-managed limited companies in the UK of every kind: contractors and consultants trading through a company, trades and retail businesses, property companies, family firms with a handful of staff, and dormant companies that still owe Companies House a filing. If your company is small enough to file micro-entity or small company accounts, this is the service for you.
What is included
Inside the fixed fee
- Statutory accounts in the correct format (micro-entity, small company or dormant) with the notes Companies House requires
- Corporation Tax computation and CT600 return, including capital allowances and loss relief claims
- iXBRL tagging and electronic filing with both Companies House and HMRC
- A director's summary of profit, tax due, retained reserves and how much can safely be taken as dividends
- Director's loan account review and section 455 tax check
- Companies House and HMRC deadline tracking with reminders before each date
In detail
How limited company accounts works
The format of the accounts depends on size. From April 2025 a micro-entity is a company meeting two of three tests: turnover not more than £1 million, balance sheet total not more than £500,000, and not more than 10 employees. Micro-entities may file very abbreviated accounts with minimal notes, which is quicker to prepare and discloses less publicly. Small companies, with turnover up to £15 million, prepare fuller accounts under FRS 102 Section 1A with more notes and, usually, a directors' report. Our fee follows that distinction: £299 for micro-entity accounts with the CT600 included, £449 for small company full accounts with the CT600, and £49 for a dormant company's AA02. The £389 bundle adds the director's Self Assessment to the micro-entity package.
Preparation starts with the records. Companies that keep their books in cloud software give us access and we reconcile from there; companies that do not send bank statements and we rebuild the year from them, which is more work and may move a borderline company to the small company fee. Either way the output is the same: a draft set of accounts, a Corporation Tax computation showing how taxable profit differs from accounting profit, capital allowances claimed on equipment and vehicles, any losses carried forward or back, and a director's summary that translates it all into the questions directors actually ask. How much tax is due and when. How much is left in reserves. How much can be taken as dividend without creating a director's loan problem.
The director's loan account deserves particular attention because it is where owner-managed companies most often create unexpected tax. Money drawn from the company that is neither salary nor a properly declared dividend sits on the loan account, and if the director owes the company money nine months after the year end the company pays section 455 tax at 35.75% of the balance, recoverable only when the loan is repaid. We review the account before finalising, explain the position and the options, and where a dividend can be declared to clear the balance before the deadline we prepare the paperwork.
Filing is electronic to both bodies and happens only after you have approved the draft and settled the fee. Companies House accepts the accounts within minutes; HMRC acknowledges the CT600 the same day. You receive both receipts, the final accounts, the computation and a payment note with HMRC's reference and bank details for the Corporation Tax. The deadlines for the following year are diarised, and you receive reminders as each approaches. Where accounts are already late when you come to us, we work them as a priority and advise on the Companies House penalty, which is automatic and doubles if the previous year was also late, so that the position is understood before anything is filed.
Process
From first message to filed
Tell us your situation
A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.
Fixed fee in writing
You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.
Send records, review the draft
Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.
We file, you get the receipts
Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Confirmation statements and identity verification
The confirmation statement is the annual check that the public register is right: officers, registered office, SIC codes, shareholders and the PSC register. It carries a £50 fee and no financial penalty for lateness, but failure to file leads to compulsory strike-off. The identity verification regime introduced in November 2025 has added a further check to every statement.
CIS deductions
The Construction Industry Scheme affects both sides of a construction payment. Contractors must verify subcontractors, deduct the right amount, issue statements and file monthly, with penalties from £100 for each late return. Subcontractors suffer deductions on turnover and recover the excess at the year end. Limited company subcontractors offset deductions against PAYE monthly instead.
Late filing penalties
Penalties are the clearest reason to work to deadlines. A Self Assessment return one day late costs £100 regardless of whether any tax is due; three months late adds £10 a day. Late company accounts start at £150 and reach £1,500, and double if the previous year was also late. None of this is negotiable afterwards except through a narrow reasonable-excuse appeal.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
The biggest change to Self Assessment in a generation is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, now live for higher-earning sole traders and landlords and arriving for the rest in stages. Quarterly updates are due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, built from digital records. The practical consequence is that spreadsheet-and-shoebox bookkeeping is ending for anyone above the threshold.
The Self Assessment calendar
Four dates govern Self Assessment: 5 October to register, 31 October for paper returns, 31 January to file online and pay, and 31 July for the second payment on account. Missing the January date triggers an automatic £100 penalty before any tax is even considered, so we treat it as the fixed point around which the rest of the year is planned.
Payments on account
A common surprise in Self Assessment is the January payment that is far larger than expected. That is the balancing payment for the year just ended plus the first payment on account for the year ahead, which HMRC sets at half of the bill just calculated. We put the figure in your hands months ahead and tell you how to adjust it legitimately when circumstances change.
Salary versus dividends
The salary-and-dividend split is the central planning decision for an owner-managed company. Salary costs employer National Insurance above £5,000 but is deductible; dividends are not deductible but attract lower personal rates and no National Insurance. The optimum changes each April with the thresholds and depends on the director's other income, so it should be set deliberately every year.
Questions
Limited Company Accounts: your questions answered
What is the difference between micro-entity and small company accounts?
A micro-entity has turnover under £1 million, a balance sheet under £500,000 and up to 10 employees (thresholds from April 2025) and may file abbreviated accounts with very few notes, at our £299 fee. Companies above those limits but still "small" file fuller accounts with more disclosures, at £449. We confirm which you are from your figures.
What do you need from me to prepare the accounts?
Bank statements for the full year, sales and purchase records or your bookkeeping software login, details of any assets bought or sold, loans, and the previous year's accounts and CT600 if we did not prepare them. If your books are not kept, the "from bank statements" approach works but may move you to the small company fee.
When are company accounts due?
Nine months after your accounting reference date for Companies House, and the Corporation Tax payment is due nine months and one day after the year end. The CT600 itself is due twelve months after the year end. A first set of accounts is due 21 months after incorporation. We track all of these and remind you.
What happens if accounts are filed late?
Companies House penalties are automatic and double if you were late the previous year too: £150 up to one month late, £375 up to three months, £750 up to six months and £1,500 beyond that for a private company. HMRC adds £100 for a late CT600, rising with time. Our fee includes filing rescue at no extra charge if we have your records in time.
Does the fee include Corporation Tax?
Yes. Both the £299 micro-entity and £449 small company packages include the Corporation Tax computation, the CT600 and electronic filing with HMRC. The standalone CT600 at £199 is for companies whose accounts are prepared elsewhere.
Can you include my personal tax return?
The £389 bundle covers micro-entity accounts, the CT600 and the director's Self Assessment return together. It is cheaper than buying them separately and ensures the dividends and salary on the personal return match the company's records exactly.
How do dividends work and how much can I take?
Dividends can only be paid from accumulated profits after Corporation Tax. We calculate the distributable reserves in your accounts and tell you the figure. Dividends need a board minute and a voucher each time; we provide templates. The personal tax on dividends depends on your other income, and the planning review covers that.
What is a director's loan account and why does it matter?
It records money moving between you and the company that is not salary or dividend. If you owe the company money at the year end and have not repaid it within nine months, the company pays 35.75% section 455 tax on the balance, refundable later. We review the account before finalising and tell you the options.
My company is dormant. Do I still need accounts?
Yes. A dormant company still files annual accounts with Companies House, in the simplified AA02 format, and a confirmation statement. Our dormant accounts fee is £49. HMRC usually does not require a CT600 once told the company is dormant, and we handle that notification.
Do you file with iXBRL?
Yes. Both Companies House and HMRC require accounts and computations in iXBRL format, which tags every figure electronically. We produce and validate the tagged files as part of the service; you never see or pay for this separately.
What if my year end is awkward or I want to change it?
You can shorten your accounting period as often as you like and extend it once every five years, by filing form AA01 with Companies House. Extending a period can push the first filing deadline back. We advise on this before the first year end if it helps, at no extra charge.
What rate of Corporation Tax will my company pay?
Profits up to £50,000 are taxed at the 19% small profits rate, profits over £250,000 at the 25% main rate, with marginal relief in between so the effective rate rises gradually. The thresholds are divided by the number of associated companies, which catches directors who own more than one company.
Where
Limited Company Accounts across the UK
This service has a local page for every one of the 60,946 places we cover. A selection:
- Accrington
- Barrow-in-Furness
- Botwell
- Burnley
- Bush Hill
- Carlisle
- Chiswick Homefields
- Colne
- Cowley, Hillingdon
- Faraday
- Forest Gate North
- Great Harwood
- Greenford Broadway
- Grimsby
- Halesowen
- Harmondsworth
- Hayes End, Hillingdon
- Hillingdon East
- Kendal
- Kirkham
- Lee Green, Lewisham
- Macclesfield
- Nelson
- Nightingale
- Northolt West End
- Runcorn
- Scunthorpe
- South Street Romford
- St Helens
- St. Michael's
- Stourbridge
- Surrey Docks
- Sutton Coldfield
- Wallasey
- Wennington, Havering
- Whitehaven
- Widnes
- Wilmslow
- Woolwich Riverside
- Worthing
England: Central London · East London · East Midlands · East of England · M25 Fringe · North East · North East London · North London · North West · North West London · South East · South East London · South London · South West · South West London · West London · West Midlands · Yorkshire
Scotland: Scotland
Wales: Wales
Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland
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Get limited company accounts for a fixed fee
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.