Company Accounts & Tax Returns

A team meeting to discuss company accounts in a large open plan office.

Filing Accounts

Running your business as a limited company or a limited liability partnership (LLP) means you and the business are separate legal beings. In return for this potential protection, you’re required to make certain information about your business publicly available. This includes your financials.

The level of detail you must publish depends on your business size and structure. The larger the business, the more information you’re required to share – both in terms of content and depth.

Your company or LLP must file accounts at Companies House within nine months of your accounting period end. In addition, shareholders of companies and members of LLPs must receive a full set of company accounts or LLP accounts each year.

Filing late doesn’t just lead to fines from Companies House. It can also harm your credit rating and affect how professionally you appear to customers, suppliers, lenders and investors.

How We Work on Your Accounts

At Composure, we typically start working on your accounts around six weeks after your year-end. Our goal is to file them within six weeks of starting, meaning we’re filing six months ahead of the deadline. We will also make sure your accounts are filed in the right format. Sometimes it’s actually better to file more detail – for example, if you’re trying to attract investment.

Dormant Company Accounts

Even if your company isn’t trading, it still needs to file dormant company accounts at Companies House. Each year, we’ll check whether your company qualifies for dormancy status, and then prepare and file the accounts for you. Our work management system automatically generates a job for us each year, so you don’t have to keep track. With Composure, you’re in good hands, we make sure nothing gets missed.

Company Tax Returns

Limited companies must prepare a company tax return (CT600) under the Corporation Taxes Act. Your company is responsible for paying the tax, which is due nine months and one day after the end of the chargeable accounting period.

LLPs must submit an LLP tax return (SA800). It’s essential to understand your LLP’s partnership agreement to make sure that the profits are accurately allocated between the partners.

Understanding the relevant tax legislation – including how to claim tax relief on assets via capital allowances – can be complex and subjective. (Not all tax rules are cut and dry). For example, there’s no relief for a manually opening window, but there is for one that opens with a motor. Go figure. We will make sure you get all the reliefs and exemptions available to you. We’ll also ensure that you don’t claim expenses that aren’t allowable. For example, gifts for suppliers or pension contributions paid after the year-end.

We make sure your returns are filed on time and guide you through the process of paying your tax. This might mean using the right references or telling you exactly when your tax payment is due. We also track the payment through HMRC’s systems to confirm that it has been applied to the correct debt.

Research & Development Claims

Where your company tax return includes complex areas such as R&D claims, we’ll liaise directly with your specialist advisor. Typically, they will provide us with the details of the claim. Our team will then ensure that it is correctly entered into the CT600 return and reflected in your accounts. This can be handled either during the current year or by filing amended accounts.

Interest & Patent Payments

If your company makes interest or patent payments, it must deduct basic rate tax before paying the recipient. A CT61 form must be submitted to HMRC, along with the payment, within 14 days of the end of the calendar quarter. We’ll handle this for you and issue tax certificates to the recipients.