Annual accounts and reports for UK companies

Every year, a limited company sends its accounts to Companies House and files a confirmation statement. Larger companies and charities also publish an annual report.

It is not connected with any company whose name includes the words Annual Reports.

What the accounts contain

GOV.UK calls a company's annual accounts its "statutory accounts". They are prepared from the company's financial records at the end of its financial year.

They must include a balance sheet, a profit and loss account and notes about the accounts. They must also include a director's report, unless the company is a micro-entity. Depending on the company's size, an auditor's report may be needed too. The balance sheet must have a director's name printed on it, and a director must sign it.

Copies must always go to the shareholders, to the people who can attend the company's general meetings, to Companies House, and to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with the Company Tax Return.

Small companies and micro-entities

For financial years that begin on or after 6 April 2025, a company is small if it meets any two of these: a turnover of £15 million or less, £7.5 million or less on its balance sheet, and 50 employees or fewer. For years that began before then, the limits were a turnover of £10.2 million and £5.1 million on the balance sheet. After its first year, a company has to meet the size conditions in that year and the year before. A small company can use an exemption so its accounts do not need an audit, and it can send simpler, abridged accounts to Companies House. It can only send abridged accounts if all its members agree.

For the same years, a micro-entity meets any two of these: a turnover of £1 million or less, £500,000 or less on its balance sheet, and 10 employees or fewer. For years that began before 6 April 2025, the limits were a turnover of £632,000 and £316,000 on the balance sheet. A micro-entity can prepare simpler accounts and send Companies House only its balance sheet. A charitable company cannot use the micro-entity rules.

Both still have to send statutory accounts to their members, and to HMRC with the Company Tax Return.

When they are due

Apart from its first accounts, a private company has 9 months from its accounting reference date to deliver accounts to Companies House. Companies House works the deadline out to the exact day. What it records is the date acceptable accounts reach it, not the date they were sent.

Companies House gives an example. A private company with an accounting reference date of 4 April has until midnight on 4 January the following year. Where the reference date is the last day of a month, the deadline is the last day of the matching month.

The Company Tax Return has a separate deadline. GOV.UK says it is due 12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers. The Corporation Tax bill usually has to be paid sooner, 9 months and one day after the end of the accounting period.

If the accounts are late

A company that files its accounts late gets a penalty notice automatically. For a private limited company, the penalty is £150 up to 1 month late, £375 for 1 to 3 months, £750 for 3 to 6 months, and £1,500 for more than 6 months. The penalty is doubled if the accounts are late 2 years in a row.

A company can be fined and struck off the register if it does not send Companies House its accounts or confirmation statement. Companies House says failing to deliver accounts on time is also a criminal offence, and every director of the company risks prosecution.

A director can appeal a penalty. The appeal must give a specific reason, with dates and times, and prove the circumstances were out of the company's control. GOV.UK lists reasons that may not succeed, including that these were the first accounts, that the company cannot afford to pay, or that an accountant was at fault.

The confirmation statement and identity checks

Every company, including a dormant one, must file a confirmation statement at least once a year, even if nothing has changed. It confirms that Companies House's information about the company is up to date. Each statement also confirms that the company's intended future activities will be lawful. A company can file it up to 14 days after its review period ends.

Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. Companies House says that date began a 12-month transition period. A director gives their personal code as part of the company's next confirmation statement. A person who verifies gets a Companies House personal code. If the company has more than one director, whoever files the confirmation statement must have each director's personal code. Missing the identity requirements on time is an offence.

What is changing in 2028

Companies House says that all accounts filed on or after 1 April 2028 must be filed through commercial software, in a format called iXBRL. From that date, its web and paper routes close for accounts, though they stay open for other filings. The online service for filing accounts and the Company Tax Return together closed on 31 March 2026.

The government has paused a plan to make small companies and micro-entities file a profit and loss account with Companies House from April 2028. Companies House updated its guidance on 23 October 2026. During the pause, they can keep filing abridged and filleted accounts, which leave out the profit and loss account.

The annual report of a larger company or charity

Under section 414A of the Companies Act 2006, "The directors of a company must prepare a strategic report for each financial year of the company." That duty does not apply to a company entitled to the small companies exemption.

Section 414C says the strategic report is there to inform members and help them judge how the directors have performed their duty to promote the success of the company. It must contain a fair review of the business and describe its principal risks and uncertainties. Section 423 says a company must send its annual accounts and reports to every member, every debenture holder and everyone entitled to notice of general meetings. It need not send them to someone for whom it has no current address.

A charity registered in England or Wales must write a trustees' annual report. The Charity Commission says the report must set out the charity's purposes and describe its main activities in the year. It must be dated and signed by one or more trustees authorised by the others. Medium and large charitable companies must also prepare a strategic report. A charity that prepares accruals accounts follows the Charities SORP 2026 for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2026.

For publishing a report so that everyone can read it, the Government Digital Service says, "HTML is the most accessible format for publishing documents. It should be your first choice whenever possible."

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