What happens if my company accounts are late?
If your company accounts arrive at Companies House after the deadline, a late filing penalty is applied automatically, with no discretion involved. The penalty amount increases the longer the delay continues, and it doubles if your accounts were also filed late the previous year.
Separately, if your Company Tax Return (CT600) is late with HMRC, a different set of penalties applies, starting from the day after the filing deadline and increasing at set intervals the longer it remains outstanding.
How much is a Companies House late filing penalty?
For a private limited company, the penalty is £150 if accounts are up to 1 month late, £375 if 1 to 3 months late, £750 if 3 to 6 months late, and £1,500 if more than 6 months late. These figures double if your accounts were filed late in the previous year too, so a second consecutive late filing is far more costly.
The penalty is separate from, and in addition to, any HMRC penalty for a late CT600, so a company that is late with both filings can face two sets of charges.
HMRC penalties for a late Company Tax Return
HMRC charges £100 if your CT600 is filed even one day late, with a further £100 added if it's still outstanding after 3 months. If the return is 6 or 12 months late, HMRC can also charge 10% of any unpaid corporation tax, on top of the flat penalties.
These HMRC penalties apply regardless of whether tax is actually owed, so a dormant or loss-making company that misses the CT600 deadline can still face charges.
- £100 penalty from day one of being late
- A further £100 at 3 months late
- 10% of unpaid tax added at 6 months
- A further 10% of unpaid tax added at 12 months
How quickly can overdue accounts be filed?
We treat overdue accounts as urgent. Once we have your complete accounting records, we aim to prepare and file both your accounts and CT600 within 24–48 hours, to stop further penalties accruing as quickly as possible.
The £549 + VAT fee applies per overdue year, so a company with two years outstanding would be quoted for both. Any Companies House fee shown is charged at today's rate; if Companies House changes it, we charge the new fee separately.
Can a Companies House late filing penalty be appealed?
Companies House will only consider an appeal in limited circumstances, generally where something exceptional and outside your control prevented filing on time, such as a serious illness or a fire destroying your records. Simply forgetting, or a lack of funds, is not normally accepted.
If you believe your circumstances genuinely qualify, we offer a separate appeal service to help you put the strongest possible case to Companies House, alongside getting your overdue accounts filed straight away.
Stopping this happening again
We are an independent firm of Chartered Accountants, not Companies House or HMRC. Once your overdue accounts are filed, we set up reminders ahead of your next accounts and confirmation statement deadlines, so you don't end up back in the same position.
Many clients who come to us with a late filing penalty move onto our ongoing year-end accounts and corporation tax service, so their deadlines are managed proactively rather than reactively.