Limited Company Accounts

A limited company is a separate legal entity from its directors and shareholders. Its accounts record the company's financial activity, assets, liabilities and results. They are not a personal tax return and they do not report every part of a director's own tax position.

Howarths prepares company accounts and Corporation Tax work for owner-managed businesses. We review the records behind the figures, explain significant adjustments and consider the links with bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and the directors' personal tax affairs.

Statutory accounts are the annual financial statements prepared from a company's accounting records. They normally include a balance sheet, a profit and loss account and notes, with other reports or exemptions determined by the company's size and circumstances. Accounts prepared for members and HMRC are not necessarily identical to the information filed publicly at Companies House.

Eligible small and micro-entity companies may use specific reporting frameworks and filing options. Those options do not remove the need for accurate underlying records. The applicable rules and available exemptions should be checked for the company and the financial year concerned.

These are different obligations. Annual accounts report the financial position and performance. A Company Tax Return reports the information HMRC requires to calculate Corporation Tax, including tax adjustments to the accounting result. A confirmation statement checks specified company information held by Companies House; it is not a set of accounts or a tax return.

Submitting one does not complete the others. The company's directors remain responsible for the company's records and statutory duties, even where an accountant prepares the documents. We can explain the accounting and tax work needed and which responsibilities sit alongside it.

• Preparing annual statutory accounts from the bookkeeping records and supporting documents.
• Corporation Tax calculations and Company Tax Return preparation.
• Reviewing bank balances, debts, assets, stock and amounts owed at year end.
• Identifying accounting and tax adjustments and explaining the resulting figures.
• Considering director transactions, salary, dividends and loans in the wider company picture.
• Connecting the accounts to the relevant payroll, VAT and personal tax information.

Provide the bookkeeping records and statements for all company bank accounts, credit cards and borrowing. Sales and purchase invoices support the transaction entries. A list of unpaid customer and supplier invoices helps establish what the company was owed and what it owed at year end.

Stock counts, equipment purchases, finance agreements, payroll reports and VAT information may also be needed. Explain director payments, money introduced into the company, unusual transactions and changes in ownership. If this is the first year we are preparing, previous accounts and opening balances are important so the records join up correctly.

Not necessarily. Accounting rules and Corporation Tax rules can treat an item differently. Depreciation in the accounts, for example, is not generally the tax deduction used for equipment: capital allowances may instead be relevant. Some expenses are not deductible for tax, and losses or other reliefs can affect the calculation.

This is why Corporation Tax should not simply be calculated by applying a percentage to the bank balance or the accounting profit without review. We explain the adjustments relevant to the company's actual transactions rather than treating the tax return as a copy of the accounts.

Salary, dividends, expense reimbursements and loans are different transactions. Salary is considered through payroll. Dividends can only be paid from available distributable profits and need the appropriate records. Money borrowed from or lent to the company should be recorded as such, rather than disguised as income or an expense.

A director's loan account can have company and personal tax consequences. The timing and balance matter, so it should be reviewed before year-end figures are finalised. A regular transfer to a director is not automatically a lawful dividend. See our tax planning guidance for the considerations behind remuneration decisions.

A dormant company can still have Companies House filing obligations. Dormancy for Companies House and dormancy for Corporation Tax are not identical tests. Before assuming nothing needs to be submitted, check whether there have been transactions and whether HMRC expects a return.

A business that has stopped trading is not necessarily dormant if it still has financial activity. Tell us about interest, charges, outstanding liabilities and asset disposals so that the correct position can be established.

For a private company, the normal Companies House filing period is nine months after the financial year ends. First accounts normally have a different period, commonly 21 months from incorporation. Changes to the accounting reference date and other circumstances can affect the position.

A Company Tax Return is normally due 12 months after the end of the Corporation Tax accounting period. Corporation Tax payment is normally due nine months and one day after that period ends; larger companies can have instalment-payment rules. Filing and paying are separate obligations, with different dates.

Company money is not the director's personal money. Keep a clear separation between company and private transactions, with explanations for money moving between them. The accounts must include records of income and expenditure, assets, debts, stock where relevant and the evidence needed for the annual accounts and tax return.

The general company record-retention period is six years from the end of the financial year concerned. Certain transactions, long-lived assets, late returns and HMRC checks can require longer retention. Our bookkeeping service can help establish reliable day-to-day records before the annual accounts are prepared.

Guidance reviewed on 5 October 2026. Reporting options, exemptions and tax treatment should be checked for the company's circumstances.

• GOV.UK: accounts and tax returns for private limited companies
• GOV.UK: company records and responsibilities
• GOV.UK: taking money out of a limited company
• HMRC: Company Tax Returns
• HMRC: paying Corporation Tax