Limited Company Year-End Checklist: Tasks and Deadlines in Date Order

Quick answer: a company's deadlines are measured from its year end, the accounting reference date (ARD) on the Companies House register. Accounts are due at Companies House 9 months after it; a first set covering more than 12 months is due 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months after the ARD if later. Corporation Tax is payable 9 months and 1 day after the period ends (for taxable profits up to £1.5 million), and the Company Tax Return (CT600) is due at 12 months. The confirmation statement runs on its own cycle, due within 14 days of the end of its review period. From 1 April 2028, accounts can only be filed using commercial software, and Companies House already won't accept a confirmation statement until every director has verified their identity.

This is the director's own list, in date order: what to decide before the year end while you can still change the numbers, how to close the books, and what falls due afterwards. It ends with a printable checklist and a worked timeline for a 31 March 2026 year end. For the pack you hand over, see what your accountant actually needs from you at year end.

First, find your dates

For a new company, the ARD is the last day of the month in which the first anniversary of incorporation falls. Incorporate on 6 April 2025 and your year end is 30 April, every year, unless you change it. The register shows the ARD, the next accounts due date and the confirmation statement date.

Two calendars run side by side. The company's year drives accounts, Corporation Tax and the director's loan. The tax year, 6 April to 5 April, drives payroll, benefits and your personal dividend tax. A 31 March year end keeps them almost in line.

Before the year end: decisions you can still change

These only count for this year if they happen by the last day of it. Start about three months out.

Pay any dividends properly

Dividends can only be paid out of available profits, after tax. Check the books are current enough to show those profits exist; if they don't, the dividend is unlawful and the shareholder may have to repay it. For each dividend, hold a directors' meeting to declare it and minute it, even if you're the only director, and give each shareholder a voucher showing the date, company, shareholder and amount. Dividend tax runs on the tax year: for 2026/27 it's 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35% depending on your band, after a £500 allowance. Our guide to paying dividends from a UK limited company covers the paperwork.

Settle the director's salary and pension contributions

• Salary goes through payroll and is reported to HMRC on or before each payday, so set it early rather than trying to fix it at the end.
• A bonus accrued in this year's accounts is only deductible this year if it's paid within 9 months of the year end.
• Employer pension contributions reduce Corporation Tax in the period they're actually paid. For relief this year, the money must leave the company's account by the year end; an accrual doesn't count.

For how salary, dividends and pension fit together, see how to pay yourself from a limited company; the current figures are on our 2026/27 tax rates page.

Time any capital purchases

If you were buying equipment anyway, buying before the year end brings the relief forward a year. The Annual Investment Allowance gives a full deduction for most plant and machinery, up to £1 million a year (scaled for periods longer or shorter than 12 months). Cars don't qualify. The date that counts is when you sign the contract if payment is due within 4 months, otherwise the date payment is due. Don't buy only for the relief: spending £1,000 to save £190 of tax at 19% still leaves the company £810 down.

Clear or plan the director's loan account

If you owe the company money at the year end and don't repay it within 9 months, the company pays extra Corporation Tax under section 455: 33.75% of loans made between 6 April 2022 and 5 April 2026, and 35.75% of loans made from 6 April 2026. It's refunded only 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period in which you repay, without interest.

You can repay from your own money, or declare a dividend or bonus and credit it to the account, taxed on you as normal. Repaying £5,000 or more and borrowing £5,000 or more again within 30 days doesn't count. Owing more than £10,000 at any point also makes the loan a benefit in kind. The director's loan s455 calculator shows what an overdrawn balance would cost and when to clear it by.

Check the VAT position

If you're registered, agree the year's VAT returns to the books and know what's owed to or by HMRC at the year end. Look at old unpaid sales invoices: once a debt is 6 months past the later of its due date and the date of supply, and written off in your VAT account, you can usually reclaim the VAT on it (not under the cash accounting scheme). If you're not registered, check the last 12 months' taxable turnover against £90,000.

Closing the books: at the year end

Each task has a test that tells you it's done. Aim to finish within four to six weeks.

1. Bank reconciliation. Agree every account to its statement at the ARD, including cards, PayPal, Stripe and foreign currency accounts. Done when every balance matches and nothing old is unexplained.
2. Sales ledger. Chase old invoices and write off any you won't collect. A provision against a specific customer, based on evidence, normally reduces taxable profit; a blanket percentage doesn't. Done when aged debtors equals the debtors balance.
3. Purchase ledger. Enter every supplier bill dated on or before the ARD and remove duplicates. Done when aged creditors equals the creditors balance.
4. Stock count. Count on or near the ARD and value at the lower of cost and selling price. Done when signed count sheets support the figure.
5. Accruals and prepayments. Costs that belong to this year but aren't billed yet, such as the accountancy fee, and payments covering next year, such as annual insurance. Set a minimum so you're not chasing £20 items.
6. Fixed asset register and depreciation. Add purchases, remove disposals, check the rest still exist, post depreciation. Depreciation is added back for tax and capital allowances deducted instead, so the register feeds both.
7. Payroll year to date. Done when payroll reports agree to the ledger and the PAYE balance matches what's owed to HMRC.
8. Director's loan account. Confirm the final balance, which way it runs and every movement. The s455 decision rests on it.
9. Share capital and cap table. The books, the register of members and Companies House should agree, with any new shares filed on form SH01.
10. Loans and hire purchase. Agree balances to lender statements, split between due within a year and after, and record the interest.
11. Provisions. Only for obligations that existed at the year end, such as a dispute you expect to lose. Done when each has a reason and a number.

After the year end, in date order

Months 1 to 3: draft accounts

The accounts are drafted from the closed books, by you or your accountant, and the handover pack goes over. Drafts within three months leave time for questions and corrections.

Months 2 to 4: the Corporation Tax computation

It starts from accounts profit, adds back costs that aren't deductible (depreciation, client entertaining, general provisions) and deducts capital allowances. The rate is 19% up to £50,000 of profit and 25% over £250,000, with marginal relief between; the limits are shared between associated companies and reduced for short periods. Estimate it with the Corporation Tax calculator and set the cash aside.

By 9 months: approve and file the accounts

The directors approve the accounts, a director signs the balance sheet, a copy goes to every shareholder, and the accounts reach Companies House within 9 months of the ARD. From 1 April 2028 the web and paper routes close, and small companies and micro-entities must also file a profit and loss account, with an option to keep it off the public register. This is also the last day to repay an overdrawn director's loan without s455.

9 months and 1 day: pay the Corporation Tax

Late payment carries interest at the Bank of England base rate plus 4%. If the date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the money must reach HMRC on the last working day before, unless you pay by Faster Payments. Any s455 tax is due the same day. Companies with taxable profits over £1.5 million pay in instalments instead.

By 12 months: file the CT600

HMRC's free online accounts and tax return service closed on 31 March 2026, so the CT600 goes in through commercial software or your accountant's. Most companies file it with the accounts; there's no benefit in waiting.

Whenever it falls: the confirmation statement

Not tied to the year end. The review period ends 12 months after incorporation or your last statement date, and you have 14 days after that to file, for £50 online. Check the registered office, business activity codes, officers, shareholders and people with significant control first. Since 18 November 2025 directors must verify their identity, and Companies House won't accept the statement until every director has. See the Companies House identity verification deadline for who must verify and by when.

April to July: payroll year-end, on the tax year

• Final Full Payment Submission on or before the last payday of the tax year.
• P60s to employees, directors included, by 31 May.
• P11D for anyone with taxable benefits, plus the P11D(b), by 6 July.
• Class 1A National Insurance on those benefits paid by 22 July (19 July by cheque).

If the company didn't trade

A dormant company still files accounts (dormant accounts, if it's small) and a confirmation statement. Once HMRC knows it's dormant, it only files a CT600 if HMRC sends a notice to deliver one. See filing accounts when you made no money.

What missing a deadline costs

Companies House charges £150 for accounts up to a month late, rising to £375, £750 and then £1,500 after six months, doubled if you're late two years running. HMRC charges £200 for a CT600 a day late and another £200 at three months; at six months it estimates the tax and adds 10% of the unpaid amount. Not filing a confirmation statement risks a fine of up to £5,000 and strike-off. The guide to Companies House late filing penalties covers appeals.

Your printable checklist

Dates are measured from your ARD.

Before the year end

• Check available profits; declare, minute and voucher any dividend
• Set the director's salary and decide on any bonus
• Pay any employer pension contribution you want relief for this year
• Sign contracts for planned equipment purchases
• Clear the director's loan account, or plan to within 9 months
• Agree VAT returns to the books, or check the £90,000 threshold

At the ARD (within four to six weeks)

• Reconcile every bank, card and payment account
• Review aged debtors and aged creditors
• Count and value stock
• List accruals and prepayments
• Update the fixed asset register and post depreciation
• Agree payroll, the director's loan, share capital and loans
• Record any provisions, with reasons

After the ARD

• +3 months: draft accounts ready
• +4 months: Corporation Tax computation agreed, cash set aside
• +9 months: accounts filed; overdrawn director's loan repaid
• +9 months and 1 day: Corporation Tax and any s455 paid
• +12 months: CT600 filed, ideally much earlier
• Confirmation statement within 14 days of its review period ending
• Payroll: P60s by 31 May, P11D by 6 July, Class 1A by 22 July

Worked timeline: a 31 March 2026 year end

Illustration only: taxable profits under £1.5 million, VAT quarters ending in March, June, September and December, and a confirmation statement date of 10 June. Your dates will differ.

Where Ledgers fits

The closing list is shorter when the books are already current. From the Starter plan (£29 a month ex VAT), Ledgers adds year-end close tools, accruals and prepayments, a draft Corporation Tax computation as a working paper and Companies House deadline tracking, and it keeps a fixed asset register that proposes depreciation for you to approve. It doesn't file the accounts, the CT600 or the confirmation statement; you or your accountant still do. See how it works for limited companies, or start free and connect your bank well before your next year end.

Frequently asked questions

When is my company's year end? It's the accounting reference date on the Companies House register. For a new company, it's the last day of the month in which the first anniversary of incorporation falls.

Are the accounts and the Corporation Tax due on the same day? No. Accounts are due at Companies House 9 months after the year end, Corporation Tax is payable 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period, and the CT600 is due 12 months after it.

Can I change my company's year end? Yes, by telling Companies House before the filing deadline for the period you want to change. You can currently shorten a period as often as you like, but you can usually only extend once every five years, and a period can't run beyond 18 months.

What if my first accounts cover more than 12 months? They're due 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months after the ARD if later. A Corporation Tax accounting period can't exceed 12 months, so a long first period means two Company Tax Returns and two payment dates.

Do I file the confirmation statement with my accounts? No. It runs on its own annual cycle, due within 14 days of the end of its review period, and Companies House won't accept it until every director has verified their identity.

My company didn't trade. Do I still need to do anything? Yes. It still files accounts, which can be dormant accounts if it's small, and a confirmation statement. It only files a Company Tax Return if HMRC sends a notice to deliver one.

Do I need an accountant for the year end? Not legally, but most small companies use one. The CT600 already has to be filed through commercial software, and from 1 April 2028 the accounts will too.

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Guidance only, not tax advice. Based on GOV.UK and HMRC guidance for the 2026/27 tax year, checked October 2026.