What are statutory accounts and when are they due?

If you run a limited company, statutory accounts are the official annual accounts you must file with Companies House every year, due nine months after your financial year end. Miss the deadline and automatic penalties start at £150. This guide explains what they are, who has to file, and how to stay on the right side of the rules, all in plain English.

So, what are statutory accounts?

Statutory accounts are the formal annual accounts every UK limited company must prepare and file with Companies House. They cover your full financial year and show, in a set legal format, how the business has performed and what it is worth on paper.

They are not the same as your day to day bookkeeping or the spreadsheets you run the business from. A set of statutory accounts typically includes:

• A profit and loss account, showing whether the business made or lost money during the year
• A balance sheet, showing what the company owns, what it owes, and what is left for shareholders
• Notes to the accounts, explaining the key figures in more detail
• A directors' report, depending on your company size

In short: statutory accounts are the legal version of your numbers. They follow a fixed format, they are filed publicly at Companies House, and every limited company has to produce them, profitable or not.

Who has to file statutory accounts?

Every limited company registered in the UK, full stop. It does not matter whether you made a profit or a loss, traded all year or barely at all, or run the whole thing from your kitchen table in Lisvane. If you have a limited company, the obligation applies.

That includes owner managed companies, family businesses, contractors, tradespeople, hospitality businesses, clinics, salons and service firms. Even companies that did not trade at all must file dormant company accounts.

When is the deadline?

For most limited companies, statutory accounts are due at Companies House nine months after your financial year end.

Deadline at a glance

• Year end 31 March: file by 31 December the same year
• Year end 31 December: file by 30 September the following year
• First ever set of accounts: 21 months from the date of incorporation
• Corporation tax return (CT600): 12 months after the year end, and the tax itself is payable after nine months and one day

Your accounts also feed into your corporation tax return, so getting the accounts done promptly makes the tax side much smoother too.

What happens if you file late?

Companies House does not give much leeway. Penalties are automatic and rise the longer you leave it:

How late	Penalty
Up to 1 month	£150
1 to 3 months	£375
3 to 6 months	£750
More than 6 months	£1,500

These figures are correct as at June 2026. The current rates are always on the Companies House late filing penalties page.

It gets worse the second time. Penalties double if your accounts are late two years in a row. Persistent late filing can also damage your company's credit rating, attract attention from HMRC, and in serious cases lead to the company being struck off the register.

The good news: every one of those penalties is avoidable. Getting your records to your accountant in good time is really all it takes.

Micro-entity and small company accounts

Smaller companies can file reduced accounts at Companies House, which means less of your information is made public. Since 2016 the options are abridged accounts (a simplified balance sheet and profit and loss) and filleted accounts (where you choose not to file the profit and loss at all). You may still hear people say "abbreviated accounts", but that regime was abolished in 2016. Our guide to abbreviated vs abridged accounts covers the difference.

Thresholds changed in April 2025. For financial years starting on or after 6 April 2025, your company is a micro-entity if it meets two of these three: turnover of no more than £1 million, balance sheet total of no more than £500,000, no more than 10 employees. A small company must meet two of: turnover no more than £15 million, balance sheet no more than £7.5 million, no more than 50 employees. The thresholds rose by roughly 50%, so a company that was "small" last year may now be a micro-entity.

Whichever category you fall into, you still need a full set of accounts prepared internally and for HMRC. The saving is in what gets published, not in the work behind it. Most owner managed companies in Cardiff and South Wales now fall within the micro-entity limits.

What do you need to pull together?

Your accountant does the heavy lifting, but they need your records to work from. Typically that means:

• Your bookkeeping file or spreadsheets for the year
• Bank statements for all company accounts
• Sales and purchase invoices
• Payroll summaries if you have employees or pay yourself a salary
• VAT returns if the company is VAT registered
• Details of any loans or finance agreements
• Dividends paid and any director's loan balance

The cleaner your records, the faster and cheaper the process. If the books are a bit behind, monthly bookkeeping keeps next year's accounts from becoming a scramble, and our guide to what records HMRC expects you to keep sets out the essentials.

What does the process actually look like?

1. Your accountant confirms your year end date and filing deadline
2. They review your records and flag anything that needs sorting first
3. A draft set of accounts is prepared and sent to you for review
4. They walk you through the key numbers so you understand what you are signing
5. You approve and sign the final version
6. The accounts are filed with Companies House electronically

You should always know what you are signing. If your accountant just puts documents in front of you without explaining what the numbers mean, that is worth questioning.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file statutory accounts myself?

Legally, yes. Directors can file directly with Companies House. In practice the accounts must comply with the relevant accounting standards, and errors are public once filed. For anything beyond a very simple dormant company, having an accountant prepare them usually costs less than fixing a mistake.

Are statutory accounts the same as a tax return?

No. Statutory accounts go to Companies House and are public. Your corporation tax return (CT600) goes to HMRC with a full set of accounts attached and is private. They use the same underlying figures, which is why it makes sense for one accountant to handle both.

Does a dormant company still need to file?

Yes. Dormant companies must file dormant accounts at Companies House every year and confirm their status with HMRC. The format is much simpler, but the deadline and the late filing penalties are exactly the same.

What if my accounts are going to be late?

Act before the deadline, not after. In limited circumstances you can apply to Companies House for more time, but only before the due date and only with a genuine reason. Once the deadline passes, the penalty is automatic.

Ready to get your accounts sorted?

At HLS Accounts in Cardiff, we prepare and file statutory accounts for owner managed limited companies across South Wales, including shops, clinics, trade businesses, salons and service firms. We turn your records into compliant year end accounts, explain the figures in plain English, and handle the filing for you.

Book a free consultation or call us on 02922 805941.