What to know when preparing your first Limited Company Accounts.
When you set up your limited company, you’ll automatically have different reporting dates for:
- your company’s accounts for Companies House
- Company Tax Returns for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
After the end of your company’s first year, your reporting dates will normally align when you send 2 Company Tax Returns to HMRC.
You’ll then be able to:
- put together one set of statutory accounts each year
- send your company’s accounts and Company Tax Returns in one transaction
You can hire a professional to help with your tax.
Why you get different reporting dates
Companies House gives your company an ‘accounting reference date’ – this is when they expect your company’s year end to be.
It’s the last calendar day of the month your company was set up (incorporated) – eg if your company was set up on 12 May, its first accounting reference date will be 31 May the following year. So your company’s first accounts for Companies House will often be for a period of longer than 12 months.
For your Company Tax Return and Corporation Tax, your company has an ‘accounting period’ which:
- begins when your company starts business activities.
- usually ends on your company’s accounting reference date
Your company’s accounting period for Corporation Tax can’t be longer than 12 months.
If you need to speak to an adviser, please contact us on 0208 679 4690 or need more information about preparing Limited Company Accounts, please Visit our website.
Categories: Company Accounts, Limited Companies
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