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Why it’s important to file your company accounts on time

Why it’s important to file your company accounts on time
Thursday, August 09, 2018

The thought of the prospect of dealing with additional paperwork for a limited company may seem quite daunting if you’ve just set one up. The good news is that, with the right accountant by your side, it’s not that difficult to comply. In fact, the job of an accountant is to save you nearly all of additional hassle of paperwork and compliance and the goal of an accountant is to save you more in taxes by making sure that you claim for everything than you spend on their fees every year.

In this article, Panthera looks at why it’s important to file your company accounts on time, what you have to file, and what the penalties are if you get it wrong.

Year-end accounts

All limited companies have their own tax years. Normally, but not always, it’s the twelve months following the incorporation of your business with Companies House.

So, for example, if you registered your business on August 10th 2018, it would work like this. Your first tax year would run from August 10th 2018 to August 9th 2019. Then, you’d have a mini-year lasting from August 10th 2019 to August 31st 2019. You’d submit two sets of accounts, one to HMRC and one to Companies House, for both periods at the end of the June 2020.

Your tax year following the mini-tax year would now run from September 1st 2019 to August 31st 2020, repeating the same pattern every year. Your year-end accounts would then be due on June 30th of each year from 2021.

What you send to HMRC

At the end of every tax year, you have 9 months and 1 day in which to compile, submit and pay your corporation tax.

When you’re submitting your year-ends to HMRC, they’ll want to see:

  • your balance sheet (what the company owes, what the company owes, and what others owe your company (for example, invoices which have been issued but not paid before year end))
  • your profit and loss account
  • unless your business is a micro-entity, something called a director’s report
  • notes on guarantee, contingencies, financial commitments, directors’ loans, advances, and so on.

In addition to this, you file a company tax return from which HMRC then work out how much corporation tax the company owes.

What you send to Companies House

You have a different set of requirements on the documentation you must submit to Companies House.

Your accounts must be filed with Companies House 9 months after the end of your company’s tax year. There are four different types of accounts you can file:

  • micro-entity accounts for business who meet two of the following conditions: a) 10 or less staff, b) balance sheet less than £316,000, and c) turnover of less than £632,000
  • abridged accounts for business who meet two of the following conditions: a) 50 or less staff, b) balance sheet of less than £5,100,000, and c) turnover of less than £10,200,000
  • full accounts – for small companies not requiring an audit but who are required to file full accounts to both HMRC and Companies House
  • dormant company accounts – for companies which have never or which are currently not trading.

Your Company Tax Return must be filed within 12 months of the end of your accounting period to Companies House.

Late fines

Submitting your accounts late to either HMRC or Companies House will mean that your company will be fined.

The current fine structures are as follows:

Time period

HMRC

Companies House

1 day-3 months

£100

Up to 1 month

£150

1 month

Fine goes up to £375

3 month

Fine goes up to £200

Fine goes up to £750

6 months

Fine goes up by 10% of tax bill estimate

Fine goes up to £1,500

12 months

Fine goes up by 10% of unpaid tax

Fines you pay to Companies House are doubled if you submit your accounts late 2 years in a row.

Keeping on top of it all

A good accountant gets back to you as soon as possible after your year end to ask you to update your records so that they can work out your corporation tax bill. Part of the reason you have nine months to settle your corporation tax after year-end is that HMRC knows the ebbs and flows of business cash flow and they understand that most businesses need time to save up enough to meet their tax payment obligations.

If you’re doing your own accounts or you’re finding that you’re chasing your current accountant up for your year-ends weeks before the deadline and nothing has been forthcoming, it’s time to change to Panthera Accounting. Call us on 01235 768 561 or drop us an email to enquiries@pantheraaccounting.com – we’ll be back in touch with you shortly.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

For us, there is nothing better than a happy customer. Here are just a few that let us know how much we mean to them.

Pete Dungey

Simple, efficient and most importantly, hassle-free.

We found Panthera via our search for a Xero expert. We knew the software we wanted to use, and needed a forward-thinking accountancy partner who could get us up and running, and teach us the ropes moving forward. Tory and her team have always been on hand to answer our questions, and help us to grow as a business, particularly during periods of big change, such as becoming VAT registered. They are always on hand to alleviate any concerns and help to keep our records in order, which makes our year-end accounts an absolute breeze! Being based in Bristol, our relationship is entirely email based, alongside one consolidation meeting at year end - this keeps things simple, efficient and most importantly, hassle-free.

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An Asset to my Business!

The whole team at Panthera are great! Working with them has been a huge support to my growing business. They help me to understand the numbers I need to know. They give me technology solutions like Xero so that I can process things quickly and have access to my own figures. They are quick to reply, highly knowledgeable, nothing is too much trouble and as well as making sure that everything is compliant and on time, they are enthusiastic, professional and fun to work with.

Jayne Johnson | Better People
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Working with Tory and the team at Panthera is an absolute joy - they provide a first class service on every level; from simple Xero issues through to more complicated tax enquiries, they’re always on-hand to help me get it right. I’m certainly not their biggest customer, but I’m always made to feel like their most important one.

John Baker | BKR Solutions
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I would like to say that Panthera Accounting have helped me with my business accounts for more than 4 years now. They have consistently offered an excellent competitively priced service that works both professionally and in such a friendly way that I would highly recommend them to everyone considering using their services.

John Castle | Ilexanna Limited & Birch Castle Homes Limited
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I had been with Mr Dunn for 20 years when upon his death Panthera took over the business. They now play a bigger part in the running of my business, they do all the stuff that has to be done but I don't like doing ie book keeping, VAT, wages, and returns. They are always there to answer queries and sort out issues and make sure all Tax deadlines are met. Their costs are fair, service is great and I have and would highly recommend them.

Jonathan Morrison | Wallingford Builders
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Panthera Accounting have gone above and beyond the call of duty to guide and support our Company. They offer a professional, friendly and personal service that can take the stressful and sometimes frightening feelings out of running a business. They have guided us through the working of Xero and have offered “teaching sessions” on the day to day running of the accountancy package. Our only regret is that we didn’t join their team earlier.

Pippa Scott | Scott's Commercial Services Limited
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Tory and her team have provided a friendly, approachable and helpful service from the start. They have delivered a quality service, above and beyond anything I could have expected. Panthera, with the help of the Xero package, have taken the stress, strain and confusion out of managing my company and personal accounts. I look forward to working with them for many years to come.

Sara Southey | Bluestones Garden Design
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Panthera are fantastic. Always professional, going the extra mile for their clients and delivering superb service. I recommend them all the time to my clients.

Tracey Miller | Bigger, Brighter, Bolder BBB

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