One of the most common questions people have when setting up a business is what their obligations are including the deadlines and what they need an accountant or bookkeeper to help with.
At least initially most business owners who set up a limited company will come under the rules for a micro-entity.
What is a micro-entity business?
Micro-entities are the smallest category of companies. As at the time of writing, your company qualifies as a micro-entity if it has any 2 of the following:
- A revenue of £632,000 or less
- £316,000 or less on its balance sheet
- 10 employees or less
If your company is a micro-entity, you can:
- Prepare simpler accounts, meeting minimal statutory requirements
- Send only your balance sheet with less information to Companies House
- Benefit from the same exemptions available to small companies
Confirmation statement to Companies House
Failure to prepare a simple confirmation statement has negative repercussions that can easily be avoided by doing this on time. This includes substantial automatic fines.
- DUE: Annually, around the anniversary of your incorporation
The confirmation statement to Companies House gives basic information about your company including shares issued and directors etc. You can check when your next one is due by simply looking at your Companies House record. There is a fee of £13 paid on filing it.
At Holy Brook we help some clients with their with confirmation statements; but many of our clients chose to file these themselves.
Annual accounts and corporation tax return
It is a requirement for you to complete both your annual accounts and corporation tax return annually. This can be done together by your accountant, although the accounting profit and taxable profit may be different.
- DUE: Your first accounts will usually be due 8 months following your company year-end.
It is possible to file these accounts yourself. However, in most cases, firms opt to take on the benefits of working with an accountancy practice.
Personal tax return
Your personal tax return is not an obligation of the company, but as a company director you are likely to have a personal requirement to submit on.
- Due: personal tax returns are due every financial year for submission by 31st January the following year.
We recommend to our clients that that they file their personal tax returns prior to Christmas to get it out of the way.
Some people complete their tax returns themselves while others use their company’s accountant or another accountant to help with this.
More help
For more bookkeeping tips take a look at our blogpage and if you have any questions about our year end services contact Rachel Eden.