What Are the Filing Requirements for a Limited Company? (Full Guide)
Annual accounts and confirmation statements are required to be filed every year. These are called annual accounts because they show you what happened over the course of the whole year. They include information about the company’s finances such as earnings, profits and losses; assets and liabilities; shareholders’ equity; and cash flows.
Confirmation statements are used to confirm the accuracy of the annual accounts. If there are any changes to the accounts, a confirmation statement needs to be sent out to the directors and shareholders.
Corporation Tax Return (CT600): This form must be submitted within 3 months of the end of the accounting period. A CT600 is usually prepared by a chartered accountant or qualified person. You don’t need a separate accountant to prepare it.
VAT Returns: VAT returns are due to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) every quarter. For example, VAT returns for the current accounting period are due to HMRC by 5th April 2020.
Employer (PAYE) Return: This form is due to HMRC every quarter. Your employer sends this form to HMRC on behalf of each employee.
Annual accounts
An annual accounts is a summary report of all financial data related to a company. A director prepares it every year and files it with Companies House. They include balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements and notes to shareholders.
Confirmation statement (form CS01)
The confirmation statement is one of the most important documents you file with Companies House. This document confirms the status of your company, including changes to directors, shareholders or any other information about the company.
A confirmation statement is required to report changes to the company’s name, address, registered office, principal place of business, trading activities, number of employees, VAT registration number, and whether it is carrying on a trade under section 804(1)(a) of the Companies Act 2006.
Shareholders and share transfers can also be reported via the confirmation statements. You can use the form to report shares held by another person, such as a trustee, executor, administrator or liquidator.
If you want to know what else you need to do, check out our guide to filing a confirmation statement.
Corporation tax return (CT600)
A corporation tax return is submitted every year by companies to the Australian Tax Office (ATO). This document covers the financial information of a company for the previous calendar year.
The ATO requires corporations to file a corporation tax report each year. This includes certain information about the company such as the name of the company, address, contact details, directors, shareholders, trading history, etc.
When you open your bank account, you usually provide some personal information. Similarly, when you register a company, you need to provide information regarding the company’s structure, ownership, management, and activities. You also need to declare the type of entity you operate under.
You can find out how much tax you owe by comparing what you declared on your corporation tax return against the actual income earned by the company.
If you don’t know where to start, we’ve written a guide to help you understand the process.
VAT returns
The UK government recently announced that it plans to make VAT returns easier to file. This includes making filing online possible and allowing companies to file their return electronically. However, there is one catch: you must be VAT registered to take advantage of this change.
If you’re not VAT registered, you’ll still be able to submit your returns manually via paper form, but you won’t be able to use the online system. If you fail to file your return within three months of the end of each quarter, HMRC will automatically deduct the amount due from the next payment you receive.
Employer (PAYE) returns
HM Revenue & Customs has published detailed instructions on preparing and submitting employer (payroll) returns. These include information about what employers must do to comply with the requirements of the Employment Rights Act 1996, such as keeping records of employment and paying wages correctly. HMRC has also updated guidance on how to report and process PAYE data submitted electronically.
The government agency says it expects to receive around 8 million electronic PAYE returns each month by April 2020.
Event-based filings
The Companies House website states that directors must file certain kinds of report within a specified period following an event that affects the company. These include changes to the company’s articles, accounts and shareholder lists. However, there are exceptions where directors don’t need to make such filings. For example, directors don’t need to file reports if the company name changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must a confirmation statement be submitted?
Every twelve months, companies are expected to file at least one confirmation statement, known as a “review period.” This review period begins on the date of incorporation for new companies. Subsequent review periods commence the day following the filing of the most recent confirmation statement. The filing deadline for confirmation statements is fourteen days after the conclusion of the relevant review session. Early filing of a confirmation statement resets the 12-month review period.
Do inactive corporations still have to file a confirmation statement?
Yes. Even though dormant companies are no longer required to file accounts under current legislation, they must still make sure that their financial information is accurate and up to date. A dormant company is one where it hasn’t been carrying out activities for 12 months or more. This includes being a dormant company for corporation tax purposes.
The annual confirmation statement is used to confirm whether the company is dormant or not. If you don’t file an annual confirmation statement, HMRC could take action against you.
