Last update date: July 4, 2023
You have established a limited company and now have a list of company dates. You don’t know what they are or what will happen when they pass by. Don’t worry. In this blog, we will define company dates, look at the consequences of missing those dates, and show you how we can help. Let’s get started.
Date of confirmation statement
The confirmation statement is an annual reporting obligation for all active limited companies. It is used to confirm whether the information kept in the company home is up to date.
example
- You registered a company on January 8, 2023
- Set report date to 31/07/2024
- The review period is from August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024
- You should submit a confirmation statement before August 14, 2024-Declaration “Deadline”
- The next confirmation date is July 31, 2025, and the next report deadline is August 14, 2025
The declaration date is the deadline for which your confirmation statement should be reported. It will automatically set to subtract one day from your founding anniversary.
The company’s first confirmation statement should cover the period from the date of incorporation to the date of the statement (review period). If your company has previously submitted a confirmation statement, the review period will cover the last statement date until the next statement date.
Declaration “Deadline” is the deadline for submitting confirmation statements to the Companies Registry. This date is 14 days after the confirmation date.
If you wish, you can submit a confirmation statement in advance. For example, you may have had a change in equity and want to notify the Company Registry. This is allowed, but will affect the declaration date of your subsequent confirmation statement.
Confirmation statement penalty
If no action is taken after the statement is due, you are violating the Companies Act 2006 and therefore the law. Each officer may be fined up to £ 5,000 and your company will eventually be removed from the register.
Fortunately, none of this will happen immediately-if you miss the deadline, take action quickly to avoid costly penalties and company closures.
Annual account date
Annual accounts are submission obligations consisting of financial information. Whether or not your company is trading, you must still submit annual accounts to the Registrar of Companies and UK Revenue and Customs. If your company has never traded, you can submit a set of accounts called dormant company accounts.
Annual accounts must be submitted to the Companies Registry before the “due date” of the accounts. The first set of accounts should be submitted 21 months after the date of establishment of the company. Subsequent accounts should be submitted within 9 months from the accounting reference date.
example
- You registered a company on January 8, 2023
- The accounting reference date is set as August 31, 2024
- You should submit the first set of annual accounts-account due date before January 5, 2024
- The following accounting reference date is 31/08/2025, and the next due date is 31/5/2026
The accounting reference date (ARD) indicates the period for which annual accounts should be reported. It automatically becomes the last day of the company’s founding month.
You can change your company’s accounting reference date; however, this will affect your company’s fiscal year.
Annual account penalty
If you do not take any action on your account by the deadline, you are in violation of the law and face penalties for paying late submission fines. The total amount of the fine depends on how long you are late (the fine may increase by £ 1,500 and double if you are late twice in a row).
Choosing not to file at all will result in the closure of the company and may lead to criminal prosecution.
Corporate taxes and corporate tax returns
If your company is engaged in trade, you need to know about corporate taxes, corporate tax returns and related deadlines. This is because British companies need to pay corporate tax on the profits they earn.
A corporate tax return is a report produced by you that outlines how much corporate tax you need to pay. Company taxes must be paid before the corresponding company tax return is delivered.
- You need to register corporate tax with HMRC within 3 months of starting the transaction
- You must pay corporate tax 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period
- You need to prepare and submit your company tax return to HMRC within 12 months after the end of the accounting period
Corporate tax and corporate tax return penalties
The penalty for late paying corporate tax depends on the amount of unpaid tax-or “potential loss of revenue.” However, UK Revenue and Customs will listen to any “reasonable excuse” for missing the deadline.
If you miss the company’s tax return deadline, you will have to pay a £ 100 fine, which will increase based on how late you are and how often you are.
Important information about corporate tax accounting periods
Your corporate tax accounting period begins on the day you start trading. This may or may not be the date of establishment of your company. The accounting period ends on the above accounting benchmark date.
However, the accounting period shall not exceed 12 months. This means that if you start trading in the same month as the company is incorporated, you will have to prepare two company tax returns.
example
- You registered a company on January 8, 2023
- You start trading on 01/08/2023
- Your first corporate tax accounting period starts on 01/08/2023 and ends on 31/07/2024
- The second accounting period for your corporate tax starts from 01/08/2024 and ends on 31/08/2024
- The following corporate tax accounting periods begin on September 1, 2024 and end on August 31, 2025
Finally, where to check your company dates
If you formed a limited company through 1st Formations, you can find your confirmation statement and annual account dates in the free online company manager. If you have not formed 1 st Group, you can find key dates at Companies House.
When it comes to your corporate tax and corporate tax returns, you can view certain information from your Government Gateway account (if you don’t already have an account, it will be created when you register for corporate tax).
The article was transferred from 1st Formations and translated into Chinese