Question 1

When is corporation tax due for a UK limited company?

Accepted Answer

Nine months and one day after the end of your accounting period, for any company whose profits keep it out of quarterly instalments. A company with a 31 March year end must have paid by 1 January. This catches people out because the CT600 return that reports the tax is not due until twelve months after the period end, three months LATER than the payment. The money comes before the paperwork, and interest runs from the day after the payment deadline.

Question 2

What is the deadline for filing annual accounts at Companies House?

Accepted Answer

Nine months after your accounting reference date for a private limited company, or twenty one months after incorporation for a first set of accounts. Rather than recompute it, this tool reads the exact date Companies House holds for your company, because the registrar is the authority on its own deadline and a company that has shortened its period or filed early will not match the general rule. The late filing penalty is automatic: it starts at 150 pounds and doubles if you were also late the year before.

Question 3

When is my VAT return due?

Accepted Answer

One calendar month and seven days after the end of each VAT period, for both the return and the payment. In practice that is the seventh day of the second month after your quarter ends, so a quarter ending 31 December is due by 7 February and one ending 30 November is due by 7 January. HMRC need cleared funds by that date, so a bank transfer on the day itself can already be late.

Question 4

What happens if I miss my confirmation statement?

Accepted Answer

This is the one that is genuinely dangerous. There is no automatic fine, but Companies House can begin the process of striking the company off the register, and a struck off company has its bank accounts frozen and its assets passed to the Crown. The statement itself takes about ten minutes and costs 34 pounds online. It simply confirms that your registered office, directors, shareholders and people with significant control are still what the register says they are.

Question 5

Does the calendar stay up to date after I add it?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you subscribe rather than download. Subscribing gives your calendar a link that it re-reads every few hours, and each time it does we look your company up on the Companies House register again. So when you file your accounts and your next deadline moves, the date in your diary moves with it, and next year's dates appear without you coming back here. A downloaded file is a snapshot of today and will silently go out of date.

Question 6

Do I have to be VAT registered or run a payroll to use this?

Accepted Answer

No. Both are optional and you can skip either one. If you are not VAT registered, no VAT dates go in your calendar at all. If you do not run a payroll, no PAYE dates go in. You will still get your annual accounts, corporation tax payment, CT600 and confirmation statement, which every UK limited company has regardless.