Limited company filing deadlines and increased fines
As you may be aware, the Companies Act 2006 has brought in changes to the way limited companies operate. Recent major changes have been made reducing the time in which accounts need to be filed at Companies House by one month and increasing the fines for late filing of accounts.
Deadline for filing accounts
The filing deadline for all limited company accounts has been reduced. For accounting periods beginning on or after 6 April 2008, the accounts of a private limited company must be filed within 9 months of the year end (previously 10 months).
Late filing penalties
Fines for late filing of accounts have also increased significantly.
The new table of penalties for private limited companies is as follows:
How late are the accounts filed
Current
Previous
Not more than one month
£ 150
£ 100
More than one month but not more than three months
£ 375
£ 100
More than three months but not more than six months
£ 750
£ 250
More than six months
£1,500
£ 500
More than twelve months
£1,500
£1,000
In addition where there was a failure to comply with filing requirements in relation to the previous financial year (and that the previous financial year had begun on or after 6th April 2008), the penalty will be double that shown in the table.
To ensure that your company’s accounts are filed within the 9 month deadline please let us have the relevant books and papers as soon as possible after the year end.