Every UK limited company has to produce a set of year-end accounts, file them with Companies House, and send a version to HM Revenue and Customs. These are its statutory accounts, and the obligation applies whether the company made a profit, made a loss, or did not trade at all. Get the deadlines wrong and the penalties are automatic.
This guide explains, in plain English, exactly what statutory accounts are, who has to file them, what they must contain, when they are due, how your company size changes what you file, and what it costs if you miss the deadline. Every figure is checked against gov.uk so you can act on it with confidence.
What are statutory accounts?
Statutory accounts, also called annual accounts, are the formal year-end financial statements a UK limited company prepares from its accounting records. They report the company's financial position and performance for the financial year, and copies must go to the company's members (shareholders), to Companies House, and to HM Revenue and Customs with the Company Tax Return.
They are prepared under the Companies Act 2006 and a recognised accounting standard, almost always FRS 102 or, for the smallest companies, FRS 105. Statutory accounts are a legal filing, not a management report: they follow a prescribed format, carry a director's signature, and once filed at Companies House they become a public document that anyone can view. If you are new to the wider framework, our guide to what Companies House is and whether you need to register sets the scene.
Who needs to file statutory accounts?
Every UK limited company must prepare and file statutory accounts every year, including dormant and non-trading companies. Sole traders and ordinary partnerships do not file accounts at Companies House at all; they report their profits through Self Assessment instead. Limited liability partnerships and charitable companies follow their own, broadly similar, filing regimes.
The duty sits with the company's directors, who are personally responsible for making sure accounts are prepared and filed on time, even where an accountant does the work. A company that has never traded still files: it simply files dormant company accounts, which are a much shorter balance sheet. Accounts are a separate obligation from the annual confirmation statement, which confirms your company details rather than its finances, so you need to file both.
What do statutory accounts include?
Full statutory accounts include a balance sheet, a profit and loss account, notes to the accounts, and a director's report, plus an auditor's report where the company requires an audit. The balance sheet must show the printed name of a director and be signed by a director on behalf of the board, per GOV.UK.
| Component | What it shows | Who can leave it out |
|---|---|---|
| Balance sheet | What the company owns, owes and is owed on the last day of the financial year | No one, every company files this |
| Profit and loss account | Sales, running costs and the resulting profit or loss for the year | Micro and small companies can currently withhold it from the public register |
| Notes to the accounts | Supporting detail behind the headline figures | Reduced for small companies and micro-entities |
| Director's report | A short narrative from the directors on the year | Micro-entities are exempt |
| Auditor's report | An independent auditor's opinion on the accounts | Companies that qualify for audit exemption |
If you want to understand the single most important page in that bundle, our guide to how to read a balance sheet walks through it line by line. The amount of detail you have to publish depends on your company size, which we cover below.
When are statutory accounts due?
For an existing private limited company, annual accounts are due at Companies House nine months after the end of the financial year. A brand-new company's first accounts are due 21 months after the date it registered. The Company Tax Return goes to HMRC within 12 months of the accounting period, but Corporation Tax is payable earlier, at nine months and one day.
These four dates, confirmed on GOV.UK, catch out more directors than any other part of the process because the Companies House and HMRC deadlines are different:
| Obligation | Sent to | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| First accounts (new company) | Companies House | 21 months after the date you registered |
| Annual accounts (thereafter) | Companies House | 9 months after your financial year ends |
| Company Tax Return (CT600) | HMRC | 12 months after your accounting period ends |
| Pay Corporation Tax | HMRC | 9 months and 1 day after your accounting period ends |
Note the trap in the last two rows: the money is due before the return that calculates it, so you work out what you owe early even though you file the return later. For a fuller calendar of the dates a company has to hit, see our guide to limited company filing deadlines. Our Corporation Tax service keeps both clocks in sync for clients.
What are the company size thresholds?
Your company size decides how much detail you must file and whether you need an audit. For financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, you qualify for a size band by meeting any two of three tests: annual turnover, balance sheet total (gross assets before deducting liabilities) and average number of employees. The thresholds, set out on GOV.UK, are:
| Size | Turnover not more than | Balance sheet total not more than | Employees not more than |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity | £1 million | £500,000 | 10 |
| Small | £15 million | £7.5 million | 50 |
| Medium-sized | £54 million | £27 million | 250 |
A company larger than the medium limits is a large company and files full accounts. Most owner-managed companies are micro-entities or small, so they can file simpler accounts with less detail.
Do small companies need an audit?
A company can usually claim audit exemption if, for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, it meets at least two of three conditions: turnover of no more than £15 million, assets of no more than £7.5 million, and 50 or fewer employees on average, per GOV.UK. Some companies, such as certain regulated firms, cannot use the exemption and must be audited whatever their size.
What is changing from April 2028?
Under reforms confirmed for April 2028, small companies and micro-entities will have to file a profit and loss account, the option to file abridged or filleted accounts will be removed, and accounts will have to be filed using commercial software rather than the current web or paper routes. We track the detail in our guide to the Companies House profit and loss filing changes.
What happens if you file accounts late?
Companies House charges an automatic late-filing penalty the day after the deadline, with no need to prove any loss and limited grounds for appeal. For a private company the penalty starts at £150 if accounts are up to a month late and rises to £1,500 if they are more than six months late. The penalty doubles if you file late two years in a row, per GOV.UK.
| How late the accounts are | Private company penalty |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 month | £150 |
| 1 to 3 months | £375 |
| 3 to 6 months | £750 |
| More than 6 months | £1,500 |
Late or missing accounts can also lead to the company being struck off and the directors being prosecuted, so the filing date matters as much as the figures. If preparing and filing year-end accounts feels like a stretch, our statutory accounts service handles the whole process for limited companies, and our dedicated support for limited companies keeps every deadline covered. Prefer to talk it through first? Book a free call and we will map out your filing year with you.
Frequently asked questions
Do dormant companies have to file statutory accounts?
Yes. A dormant company, one that has had no significant accounting transactions in the year, still has to file annual accounts at Companies House. It files simplified dormant accounts, essentially a short balance sheet, rather than full accounts, but the filing obligation and the deadline both still apply.
Do sole traders have to file statutory accounts?
No. Statutory accounts are a Companies Act obligation for incorporated companies. Sole traders and ordinary partnerships are not registered at Companies House and do not file accounts there. Instead they report their business profits to HMRC through a Self Assessment tax return each year.
What is the difference between statutory accounts and management accounts?
Statutory accounts are the formal year-end filing required by law, prepared to an accounting standard and filed publicly at Companies House. Management accounts are internal reports, often monthly or quarterly, that help owners run the business. Management accounts are not filed anywhere and follow no prescribed format.
Can small companies file simpler accounts?
Yes, for now. Micro-entities and small companies can currently file reduced accounts and withhold their profit and loss account from the public register. From April 2028 that changes: small companies and micro-entities will have to file a profit and loss account and the abridged and filleted options are being removed.
What is the deadline to file statutory accounts?
For an existing private company, annual accounts are due at Companies House nine months after the end of the financial year. A new company's very first accounts are due 21 months after the date of registration. The separate Company Tax Return is due to HMRC 12 months after the accounting period ends.
