Guides

Company Filing for Business Owners: Start Here

Updated 10 Jun 2026

Running a limited company means three recurring filings: accounts to Companies House, a Company Tax Return to HMRC, and a confirmation statement to Companies House. Each has its own clock, and none of them waits for the others. This page is the owner's map — what applies to you, in the order most people need it.

First: are you definitely a company?

If there's any doubt — you trade under a business name, someone else set things up, you registered something once — settle it in two minutes: sole trader or limited company? If it turns out you're a sole trader, your obligations are different and simpler: sole trader accounts. For anything other than a standard limited company — sole trader, community interest company or charity — start with other organisation types.

The three filings, in one view

Company accounts — to Companies House, due 9 months after your year end. Which type depends on your size:
- Micro-entity accounts — the simplest, for the smallest companies
- Small company accounts — most owner-managed companies, including the audit exemption
- Dormant company accounts — if the company isn't trading
The Company Tax Return (CT600) — to HMRC. The catch: the tax is due before the return (9 months and 1 day vs 12 months). Your own dates: deadline checker.
The confirmation statement — the annual registry check-in. Not accounts, still mandatory, even for dormant companies.

And one personal extra: the company's return doesn't cover you. As a director you may also need Self Assessment — Self Assessment vs company tax return explains when.

The changes worth knowing about

The free joint filing service closed on 31 March 2026 — accounts and tax return are now two separate software filings. What changed.
April 2028 (Companies House): all accounts become software-only in iXBRL format, small and micro companies must file a profit and loss account, and abridged accounts are removed.
MTD for Corporation Tax is not happening — scrapped in July 2025. Companies keep filing annually.

DIY or get help?

Both are legitimate. Do I need an accountant? gives the honest version of when self-filing works and when help pays for itself. And if you'd rather it simply got handled — deadlines tracked, both filings done, someone accountable — that's what we do →