Guides
Company Accounts Filing: Deadlines, Types & Penalties
Published 9 Jun 2026 · Updated 18 Jul 2026
Every UK limited company must file annual accounts with Companies House — even a dormant one. For a private company, the deadline is 9 months after your financial year end (6 months for a public company). This guide covers who has to file, when, the different types of accounts you can file, and what happens if you miss the deadline.
A quick orientation first, because it trips a lot of people up: filing your accounts with Companies House and filing your tax return with HMRC are two separate jobs, in two places, with two different deadlines. This page is about the accounts. The Company Tax Return (CT600) is the other half.
Who has to file company accounts?
Every company registered at Companies House must file annual accounts each year — whether it is trading, making a loss, or completely dormant. Filing the accounts is a legal duty of the directors. You can prepare and file them yourself, or have an accountant do it; using an accountant is common but not required.
When are company accounts due?
| Situation | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Private company / LLP — annual accounts | 9 months after your financial year end |
| Public company — annual accounts | 6 months after your financial year end |
| Your first accounts (private company) | 21 months after the date you registered |
The deadline is met only when Companies House actually receives acceptable accounts — not when you post or submit them, and weekends and bank holidays don't extend it. For how those dates land from your year end (including the end-of-month quirk that can give you a day's headroom), see Companies House filing deadlines, or work out your exact dates with the company deadline checker.
What types of accounts can you file?
The accounts you file depend on your company's size. You qualify for a size category if you meet at least two of the three conditions. These thresholds were raised for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025:
| Type | Turnover | Balance sheet total | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity | ≤ £1,000,000 | ≤ £500,000 | ≤ 10 |
| Small | ≤ £15,000,000 | ≤ £7,500,000 | ≤ 50 |
- Micro-entity accounts — a reduced reporting regime for companies within the micro thresholds.
- Small company accounts — the reporting regime for companies within the small thresholds.
- Abridged accounts — currently available to a qualifying small company if every member agrees to the abridgement for that year.
- Full accounts — required where a company does not qualify for the micro-entity, small-company or dormant options. Medium and large companies use fuller reporting requirements; parent companies may also need group accounts.
- Dormant company accounts — a simplified filing for companies that have had no significant transactions in the period. Dormant companies still have to file.
These describe the main private-company routes rather than every specialist filing. Audit requirements are a separate question: being small can make a company eligible for audit exemption, but it does not automatically settle the accounts format, and some companies are excluded from the small-company regimes.
A change worth knowing about: from April 2028, small companies and micro-entities will have to file a profit and loss account, and the option to file abridged accounts is being removed. We cover this on the abridged accounts page.
What happens if you file your accounts late?
Companies House charges an automatic penalty based on how late the accounts are — for a private company, £150 within the first month, rising in bands to £1,500 more than six months late. It's a single banded penalty (the bands don't add together), and it's doubled if you file late two financial years in a row. Public companies face a higher scale.
These penalties are entirely avoidable with a bit of forward planning. For the full penalty bands and how each company accounts filing deadline is worked out from your year end, see the dedicated deadlines guide.
How do you file company accounts?
- Prepare your accounts for the financial year — gather your bookkeeping records, bank statements and supporting documents.
- Choose the right format for your company size (micro-entity, small, or full).
- File with Companies House — currently by commercial software, the online WebFiling service, or by post. From April 2028, accounts will have to be filed using commercial software in iXBRL format, and the WebFiling and paper routes will close for accounts.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an accountant to file my company accounts? No — it isn't a legal requirement, and many small companies file their own. An accountant is worth it when your affairs are more involved or you'd simply rather not handle it. See do I need an accountant?
Do dormant companies have to file accounts? Yes. A dormant company still files (simplified) dormant accounts each year to avoid a penalty.
Can I file my accounts and tax return together? Not any more. The free joint "file your accounts and Company Tax Return" service closed on 31 March 2026. You now file your accounts with Companies House and your Company Tax Return with HMRC separately — see filing accounts and tax return together: what changed.
What's the deadline for my first accounts? For a private company, your first accounts are due 21 months after the date you registered with Companies House.
I'm a sole trader, CIC or charity — does this apply to me? This page covers ordinary limited companies. Sole traders file nothing with Companies House, charities report to the Charity Commission, and CICs file company accounts plus a CIC34. See other organisation types to find the right guide for you.
Rather not deal with this yourself? See how we file company accounts for you →