Companies House gets tough

Companies House is increasing the penalties it charges for the late submission of accounts.

From 1 February 2009, the fine for filing your accounts late (even by a single day) increased from £100 to £150.

But that's only the start of it. It used to be the case that the fine did not increase until your accounts were 3 months late. Now there's a new threshold.

If your accounts are more than 1 month late, you will be fined £375. That's a hefty amount of money.

And it gets worse... If your previous year's accounts were also filed late, your fine will be doubled.

Here's a summary of the situation:

Your accounts are due 10 months after the end of your financial year (this is known as the Accounting Reference Date).

The deadline is getting shorter too. For accounting periods starting on or after 6th April 2008, the deadline is being cut to 9 months.

Corporation Tax also has to be paid 9 months after year-end, so you need to have your accounts pretty much finalised by this date in any case.

If you don't know when your accounts are due, you can check this out online using the Companies House webcheck service .

If you're heading for trouble... there are things we can do. Get in touch with us on 0845 652 5220 or use our contact form and we will talk through the options with you.