Limited time left for limited company filing

Is your business a limited company? Does it have the very common year end date of 31^st March?  That’s a very popular year end for companies because it coincides with the end of the financial year in the UK, writes Emily Coltman ACA, chief accountant at online accounting provider FreeAgent.

If you answered Yes to both those questions, then don’t forget that your company accounts must be filed and accepted at Companies House by December 31^st.

Private companies in the UK used to have 10 months from the company’s year-end to file the accounts.  Now it’s only 9 months so don’t get caught out.

And potentially, if this is your company’s first set of accounts and those accounts cover more than a year, then you have 21 months from the exact date the company was incorporated to file your accounts. So you might have even less time than 9 months from the year end!

For example: Company ‘A’ Ltd was incorporated on December 5^TH 2009.

It prepares its first set of accounts to 31^st March 2011, so its first accounts cover more than a year.

The accounts must be filed by 21 months from the date of incorporation – so in other words by September 5^th 2011.  So ‘A’ Ltd is already late with filing its accounts!

What happens if I file my accounts late?

You’ll get a late filing penalty.

For private limited companies, the penalty starts at £150 for accounts less than a month late, increasing further for companies that file later than that. If your company files its accounts more than 6 months late then the penalty would be £1,500.

Companies House is very strict about enforcing late filing penalties. Although the Registrar of Companies has discretion to cancel penalties, this is only applied in very rare circumstances, such as the only director of a company falling seriously ill or suffering a family bereavement just before the deadline.

Problems with the company’s accountant are not an acceptable reason for filing late as far as Companies House is concerned, as the legal responsibility for the accounts always remains with the director(s) of the company.

So if it’s your accountant’s fault that your accounts go in late, Companies House’s view is that you should pay the penalty and claim it back from your accountant!

These penalties are civil penalties payable by the company. Filing accounts late is a criminal offence and directors can be prosecuted in extreme circumstances.  Don’t risk it!

What if my accounts are due at the weekend, or on a Bank Holiday?

Companies House says you should make sure your accounts arrive before these dates.

Because of the Christmas holidays and the enormous amounts of additional post that are sent in December, my suggestion would be that you send your accounts by recorded delivery so that there is proof of when they arrived, and send them well before Christmas.

How can I be sure my accounts are OK?

Companies House can’t help you with this.  Your accountant would be able to assist.

Some common traps to watch out for are:

• Preparing accounts to a date other than what Companies House expect.  (Be careful if your year end is February – is it a leap year or not?  Seriously.  I’ve had accounts rejected because they said 28^th February instead of 29^th.)
• Not signing the balance sheet.
• A person other than a director of the company signing the balance sheet.

Remember, your accounts must be accepted by Companies House before the filing deadline.  So don’t be late!