What happens if you miss the late filing deadline for company accounts | Late Filling Penalties

Who’s responsible for filing company accounts?
The directors are responsible for filing their company’s accounts and ensuring they’re filed before the filing deadline. Understanding your role and how late filing could affect your company is important.

What happens if I miss the filing deadline for my company accounts?
Missing your company accounts filing deadline could affect your credit score or access to finance. It can affect how others view your company and whether they want to do business with you. There are also financial penalties and legal consequences – you could get a criminal record, a fine or disqualification.
If you employ an accountant to file your company’s accounts, it’s still your responsibility, as director, to ensure they’re filed on time.

Over 65% of companies use software filing as their preferred method.

How to prepare and file your company accounts?
Various software providers offer a range of accounting packages to prepare and file accounts. Most types of accounts can be filed using software, depending on the functionality of the software package you’re using.
If you file using the Companies House online services, you will be emailed to confirm safe receipt. You will also be sent a further email when your accounts are registered at Companies House.

When do company accounts need to be filed?
Private Company and LLP accounts must be filed nine months after the accounting year end. Public company accounts are usually required to be filed six months after the accounting period end. Please note the filing date for the first accounting period following incorporation is set at exactly 21 months after the date of incorporation meaning this may not be at a month end .

This means before the end of December 2023, your filing deadline for your company accounts with a year-end of 31 March 2023.

And on or before the 1 January 2024, you will need to pay any Corporation Tax due for the same year, to 31 March 2023.
 
What are the late filing penalties?
A penalty is imposed automatically if the accounts are submitted late. The level of penalty is based on the type of company and how late the accounts are filed:
 

The penalty will be doubled if accounts are filed late in successive years.
 
Contact us
Moore (South) help business across the South coast file their Company accounts before the filing deadline. Contact our specialist accounts team today to discuss how Moore (South) can help your business meet their filing requirements.