When are first accounts due for a new limited company?

When are a new company's first accounts due?

You can check the accounts and confirmation statement dates recorded for your company by company name or number. The checker shows Companies House dates; it does not show HMRC tax deadlines.

A new private limited company's first accounts are due at Companies House 21 months after the date it was registered. That is a different rule from later years: every set of accounts after the first is due 9 months after the end of the company's financial year. Public companies have shorter limits.

The 21-month rule exists because the first accounting period is usually longer than a normal year. It runs from the day the company was incorporated to its first accounting reference date. The deadline is counted from incorporation, not from the end of that first period.

Source: Prepare and file annual accounts for a limited company

How is a new company's first year end set?

A new company's first year end, called its accounting reference date, is set automatically by Companies House. It is the last day of the month in which the first anniversary of incorporation falls. Each later financial year normally ends on the same date, unless the directors file a change.

GOV.UK gives this example: if your company was set up on 11 May, its accounting reference date will be 31 May the following year. After that, each financial year normally ends on the same date every year.

So your first accounts start on the day the company was incorporated and end on the accounting reference date. For a company set up on any day other than the first of a month, that first period is longer than 12 months. GOV.UK says first accounts usually cover more than 12 months for this reason.

Source: Your limited company's first accounts and Company Tax Return

A worked example with dates

These dates are an illustration only. They assume the company started trading on the day it was incorporated, did not change its year end and has taxable profits up to £1.5 million. Always check the dates shown for your own company on the register and in your HMRC account.

Say a company was incorporated on 11 May 2025. Its first accounting reference date is 31 May 2026. Its first accounts cover 11 May 2025 to 31 May 2026, which is 12 months and 3 weeks.

The first accounts are due at Companies House 21 months after incorporation, so by 11 February 2027. The next accounts cover 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027 and are due 9 months after that year ends.

Source: Your limited company's first accounts and Company Tax Return

How the first Company Tax Return is different

Companies House and HMRC work to different rules. A Corporation Tax accounting period cannot be longer than 12 months. So when your first accounts cover more than 12 months, you may have to file 2 Company Tax Returns for that one set of accounts. You will then also have 2 payment deadlines.

If your taxable profits are up to £1.5 million, Corporation Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after the end of each Corporation Tax accounting period. Larger companies pay in instalments under different rules. Each Company Tax Return is due 12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers.

In our example, the first Corporation Tax period runs from 11 May 2025 to 10 May 2026. The second runs from 11 May 2026 to 31 May 2026. GOV.UK uses the same pattern in its own example.

If your company did not start trading on the day it was set up, the Corporation Tax periods may start later. Its first period starts on the day it began to do business, which is the date you give HMRC when you register the company for Corporation Tax. GOV.UK has separate guidance for that case, so check it before you work out your tax dates.

Source: Your limited company's first accounts and Company Tax Return

Changing your first year end

You can change your accounting reference date. You can shorten the financial year as many times as you like, by as little as 1 day. You can lengthen it to a maximum of 18 months, and normally only once every 5 years. GOV.UK lists exceptions, such as a company in administration or one lining up its dates with a parent or subsidiary company.

Changing the year end also changes your accounts filing deadline, unless you are lengthening the company's first financial year. In that case the 21-month deadline still applies. If the new deadline has already passed when you make the change, you will have to pay a late filing penalty. You cannot change the year end when the company's accounts are already overdue.

If you shorten the first period to 12 months or less, it can line up with a single Corporation Tax period. A shorter first period can bring the accounts deadline forward. Make the change before the accounts are due, and check the new deadline on the register straight after. Our guide to the rules for changing a company year end covers the limits and exceptions in more detail.

From 1 April 2028, Companies House will need a business reason if you shorten your accounting reference period more than once in 5 years. This is one of the accounts filing changes from April 2028.

Source: Change your company's year end

Can I get more time to file my first accounts?

You can only get more time to file your first accounts if an event outside your control, such as unexpected illness or a fire destroying records, stops you filing. You must apply online to Companies House before the deadline. Extensions are not automatic, are granted only for exceptional reasons, and cannot be requested once the deadline has passed.

A Sunday or bank holiday does not move the deadline: Companies House says you must still file by that date. Lengthening the first financial year does not give you longer either, because the 21-month deadline still applies.

Source: Applying for more time to file your company's accounts

Late filing penalties for first accounts

Companies House charges an automatic penalty if accounts arrive late. The same scale applies to first accounts, and Companies House says an appeal based only on these being your first accounts is unlikely to succeed. The penalty doubles if your accounts are late 2 years in a row. See Companies House late filing penalties for appeals and payment.

Source: Late filing penalties for annual accounts

Common mistakes with first accounts

Assuming the deadline is 9 months after the first year end. For the first accounts it is 21 months after incorporation, which in our example is just over 8 months after the first period ends.

Assuming the first Company Tax Return covers the same period as the first accounts. It cannot cover more than 12 months, so a long first period usually means 2 returns and 2 tax payments.

Paying Corporation Tax on the accounts deadline. In our example the first tax payment and the first accounts fall on the same day, but the second payment is due later. Diary each date separately.

Shortening the year end late in the day without checking the new deadline. A shorter period can bring the deadline forward.

Waiting until the deadline has passed to ask for more time. An extension can only be applied for before the deadline, and only for exceptional reasons.

Thinking a company with no trading does not need to file. Dormant companies still file accounts with Companies House; see the dormant accounts deadline.

Source: Dormant companies: dormant for Companies House

Get help filing your first accounts

If your company qualifies as dormant throughout its first accounting period, SimpleFilings can check, prepare and file its dormant accounts for our £4.99 service fee. For trading or micro-entity accounts, speak to an accountant or use the official Companies House filing route. We do not offer those accounts or Company Tax Returns. If you want to move your first year end, we can also file the change of accounting reference date for you. Starting with us does not itself meet the deadline. Accounts count as filed only once Companies House accepts them, so leave enough time.