Every UK limited company has to prepare annual accounts once a year. Almost every one then has to file them twice — once with Companies House and once with HMRC.
Same underlying figures. Two recipients. Two deadlines. Two formats. That duplication is the single thing most first-time directors miss, and it is why “I’ve filed my accounts” so often turns out to mean only half the job is done.
Here is what a set of annual accounts actually contains, who receives it, who signs it, and how the Companies House filing differs from the HMRC one.
What annual accounts are
Your company’s annual accounts — the law calls them statutory accounts — are prepared from your company’s financial records at the end of its financial year. They are a formal report on what the company owns, owes and earned over that period.
Under the Companies Act 2006, a full set of statutory accounts must include:
- a balance sheet, showing the value of everything the company owns, owes and is owed on the last day of the financial year
- a profit and loss account, showing sales, running costs and the profit or loss made over the year
- notes to the accounts
- a directors’ report — unless the company is a micro-entity
- an auditor’s report, unless the company is exempt from audit
Most small UK companies are exempt from audit. For financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, a company qualifies as small if it meets at least two of: turnover not more than £15 million, balance sheet total not more than £7.5 million, and not more than 50 employees.
Your accounts must be prepared under a recognised framework — either UK GAAP (FRS 102 for most small companies, FRS 105 for micro-entities) or International Financial Reporting Standards.
Statutory accounts vs management accounts
These are not the same document and they are not interchangeable.
| Statutory accounts | Management accounts | |
|---|---|---|
| Required by law | Yes | No |
| Prescribed format | Yes — set by the Companies Act and accounting standards | None. Whatever you find useful |
| Frequency | Annual | Monthly or quarterly, typically |
| Audience | Companies House, HMRC, shareholders | Directors, lenders, investors |
| Filed publicly | Yes, at Companies House | No |
| Purpose | Compliance and public record | Running the business |
| Typical content | Balance sheet, P&L, notes | KPIs, cash flow forecast, budget variance, debtor ageing |
Management accounts are the more useful document for actually running a company. They are also entirely optional. Statutory accounts are the opposite: rarely useful for decision-making, legally compulsory, and expensive to get wrong.
A lender or a mortgage underwriter asking for “your accounts” almost always means the statutory ones, because those carry a director’s signature and a filing record.
Who receives your accounts
Statutory accounts do not just go to Companies House. Section 423 of the Companies Act requires a copy to be sent to:
- every member (shareholder) of the company
- every holder of the company’s debentures
- every person entitled to receive notice of general meetings
And separately, copies go to:
- Companies House, where they are published on the public register
- HMRC, as part of your Company Tax Return
The two filings, side by side
This is the part worth understanding properly.
| Companies House | HMRC | |
|---|---|---|
| What you send | Accounts only (balance sheet, plus P&L and reports depending on size) | Full accounts plus a CT600 and a Corporation Tax computation |
| Format | Online via WebFiling, or iXBRL via software | iXBRL, via commercial software |
| Deadline | 9 months after the accounting reference period ends | 12 months after the accounting period ends |
| Payment deadline | None — filing is free | Corporation Tax due 9 months and 1 day after the period ends |
| Public? | Yes | No |
| Cost to file | £0 | Cost of commercial software |
Two points fall out of that table.
The Companies House deadline comes first. Nine months versus twelve. A 31 March year end means accounts due at Companies House by 31 December, and the CT600 due to HMRC by 31 March the following year.
The Corporation Tax payment falls before the tax return. Nine months and one day after the period ends — roughly three months before the return itself is due. For a 31 March year end, tax is payable by 1 January but the return is not due until 31 March. You are expected to work out and pay a liability before you are required to declare it.
And since 1 April 2026, the HMRC side needs commercial software. HMRC’s free joint filing service closed on 31 March 2026. Paper CT600s are accepted only where you have a reasonable excuse or are filing in Welsh. Companies House filing, by contrast, is still free on every route.
What a micro-entity files
Most owner-managed companies qualify as micro-entities: at least two of turnover not more than £1 million, balance sheet total not more than £500,000, and not more than 10 employees, for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025.
These size tests run over two years, not one. A company qualifies in its first financial year if it meets the conditions in that year; in any later year it must meet them in that year and the year before — section 384A(3) of the Companies Act 2006 for micro-entities, and the equivalent rule for the small company test above.
A micro-entity using FRS 105 currently delivers to Companies House a balance sheet only, with four notes at the foot of it: off-balance-sheet arrangements, average employee numbers, advances and credit granted to directors, and financial commitments, guarantees and contingencies. No directors’ report. No accounting policies note.
HMRC still needs the full picture — accounts including the profit and loss account, a tax computation and a CT600. So even a micro-entity prepares more than it publishes.
Who approves and who signs
The board of directors approves the accounts. That approval is a formal act, and the directors are collectively responsible for the accounts giving a true and fair view.
One director then signs the balance sheet on behalf of the board, and the signatory’s name must be printed on it. Companies House rejects unsigned balance sheets, and a rejection close to the deadline is how a lot of late filing penalties happen.
For a micro-entity there is an extra requirement: a statement immediately above the director’s signature confirming that the accounts have been prepared in accordance with the micro-entity provisions. Leaving it out is a genuine compliance failure and one of the more common errors in self-filed accounts.
What changes in April 2028
From April 2028, under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act:
- micro-entities and small companies must file a profit and loss account alongside the balance sheet, plus an auditor’s report unless exempt
- abridged accounts are abolished
- all accounts must be filed using commercial software in iXBRL format — Companies House web filing and paper submission close for accounts, though both remain open for confirmation statements and other filings
- small and micro companies can opt out of publishing the P&L on the public register; Companies House, HMRC and law enforcement retain access, competitors and credit agencies do not
The date matters. This package was originally announced for April 2027 and confirmed as April 2028 by a Written Ministerial Statement on 9 June 2026. A great deal of published guidance still shows the old date.
A small-company directors’ report filing requirement was originally part of the same package. Companies House now expects it to fall away, because the government has said it intends to remove the requirement for any company to produce a directors’ report. Treat that element as unsettled.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to file accounts if my company has not traded?
Yes. A dormant company still files accounts with Companies House every year, using a simplified dormant format. Filing is free, and the late filing penalty applies to dormant companies exactly as it does to trading ones.
Are annual accounts the same as a tax return?
No. The accounts are one component of the Company Tax Return. The full return is the CT600 form, the tax computation and the accounts, filed together with HMRC.
Does Companies House charge to file accounts?
No. Filing annual accounts is free on every route — online, by software or on paper. Companies House charges for other filings, such as the confirmation statement, but not for accounts.
Can I file the same document at Companies House and HMRC?
The underlying accounts are the same, but the packages differ. Companies House usually receives less — a micro-entity files only the balance sheet — while HMRC needs the full accounts plus a CT600 and computation in iXBRL format.
What happens if I file my annual accounts late?
Companies House imposes an automatic penalty, starting at £150 for private companies filing up to a month late and rising to £1,500 beyond six months. It doubles if you file late in two successive financial years. There is no discretion.
Getting your accounts prepared and filed
Preparing accounts is the work. Filing them twice, in two formats, to two deadlines, is the admin that trips people up — and the part where a rejected submission turns into an automatic penalty.
SmartFiling prepares and files micro-entity accounts from £299, covering FRS 105 accounts, the CT600, iXBRL tagging and submission to both Companies House and HMRC. Every filing is reviewed and signed off by an ICAEW Chartered Accountant, with a seven working day turnaround from receiving your records.
