When you’re running a company in the UK there’s a lot to stay on top of. Let's demystify that ..
- You have obligations with Companies House, for an annual Confirmation Statement and lodgement of your annual accounts
- You need to lodge your company tax return (CT600) annually and pay any tax owing
- If you’re registered for VAT, you’ll typically need to lodge a VAT return, quarterly
- If you have employees, you’ll need to report on PAYE as well taking care of pensions, NIC and ELI
Phew!
And a lot of this depends on things like the date your company was originally setup, when your company's financial year is, and when you registered for VAT or PAYE.
Let’s try and break this down for you, below.
First up let’s talk generally about some key dates to be aware of:
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Tax Year |
Officially, the UK tax year runs from 6 April to the following 5 April. While this is good to be aware for personal taxes 9see below), it’s the company end of financial year date that is more relevant to business. |
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Date of Incorporation |
This is the date your company was officially, originally incorporated on Companies House and is used as a default date for other dates, unless you choose to override them, as shown below. |
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End of Financial Year (EOFY) Date also known as your Accounting Reference Date (ARD) |
Also known as your Accounting Reference Date (ARD). Unless you specify otherwise, this is automatically set by Companies House as the anniversary of the last day of the month of company incorporation. eg if you incorporate on 06 August, your ARD would be set to 31 Aug. If this date makes sense to you, no need to do anything different but we encourage you to make this a conscious choice when setting up your company from the start. eg if you are establishing a subsidiary company from Australia or the US it’s easier all round if the UK company ARD aligns with the parent company date |
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Companies House Due Dates |
Your Confirmation Statement is due every 12 months (+14 days) Your annual accounts are due 9 months after your EOFY date |
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HMRC Due Dates |
You must pay HMRC any taxes due 9 months after EOFY Lodgement of annual accounts are due with HMRC 12 months after EOFY. |
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VAT |
One calendar month and 7 days after the end of a quarterly accounting period. We prefer to use the following quarterly setup: Jan-Mar due 30Apr+7, Apr-Jun due 31Jul+7, Jul-Sep due 31Oct+7, Oct-Dec due 31Jan+7 |
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PAYE |
A P60 is a statement that shows how much income your employer has paid you in the tax year (which runs from 6 April to 5 April). It also tells you how much tax you paid that year, and what your National Insurance Contributions were. |
Practically, it’s easier all round if all annual accounts are prepared, lodged and tax paid all at the same time - i.e. 9 months after the end of the financial year.
It may also help to check out the below visual guide, including a worked example of your annual lodgement dates
Even if you’re working with an accountant to stay on top of this, ultimately you, as a director, are responsible for your obligations so make sure you understand what’s due when in any case, and talk to your accountant to get it done, so you can stay focused on growing your business.