Deadlines & penalties

Every filing deadline a UK limited company has

Everything a limited company owes in a year, on one page — because the deadlines don't arrive together.

6 min readUpdated 13 July 2026

The short version

Annual accounts
First set: 21 months after incorporation. Thereafter: 9 months after your accounting reference date.
Corporation Tax
Pay: 9 months + 1 day after the period. File CT600: 12 months after the period.
Confirmation statement
Every 12 months, filed within 14 days of the review period ending. £50 online.
The catch
Two registers, separate acknowledgements. Done means both accepted — not one.

The four things you file each year

A UK limited company has four recurring statutory obligations, and they fall on different dates to two different registers. That's the whole difficulty — not any single one of them, but keeping all four in view at once.

Annual accounts
Companies House. First set 21 months after incorporation; then 9 months after your accounting reference date.
Corporation Tax + CT600
HMRC. Pay 9 months + 1 day after the period; file the CT600 12 months after the period.
Confirmation statement
Companies House. Every 12 months, within 14 days of the review period ending. £50 online.

Two registers, and why it matters

Accounts go to Companies House. The CT600 goes to HMRC. These are two separate submissions with two separate acknowledgements, and one accepting your filing says nothing about the other.

A year is done when both registers say yes

The classic trap: you file your accounts, see them accepted, and believe you've finished — while the CT600 sits unfiled at HMRC and a £100 penalty builds. "Filed" isn't a feeling; it's two acknowledgements.

The first year is different

A newly-incorporated company doesn't get a clean 12-month cycle. First accounts are due 21 months after incorporation, the first accounting period usually runs past 12 months and so splits into two CT600s, and the confirmation statement and Corporation Tax start their own clocks from incorporation. Three of our guides cover the first-year specifics in detail.

How WrenTax does it

WrenTax pulls your company's real accounting periods and due dates straight from the register, puts every obligation on one calendar, and tracks each register's acknowledgement separately — so a deadline only clears when that register actually accepts. Look up any company free, no account needed. General information, not tax advice.

Common questions

What does a limited company have to file every year?

Four recurring ones: your annual accounts to Companies House, your Corporation Tax payment, your CT600 return to HMRC, and your confirmation statement to Companies House. They fall on different dates and go to two different registers, which is exactly why they're easy to miss individually.

When are my first accounts due?

First accounts are due 21 months after the date of incorporation. After that, accounts are due 9 months after your accounting reference date each year. Your confirmation statement and Corporation Tax run on their own separate clocks.

Are Companies House and HMRC filings separate?

Yes. Filing your accounts at Companies House and filing your CT600 at HMRC are two separate submissions to two separate registers — each with its own acknowledgement. A year is only actually done when both say yes, which is how directors pay a £100 penalty believing they'd finished.

Keep reading

Corporation Tax deadlinesReadThe confirmation statementReadFiling dormant accountsRead

This guide is general information about UK company filing, not tax or legal advice. Figures and deadlines are current for 2026; always check your own dates against Companies House and HMRC. Register data © Companies House.