Your first limited company accounts: the rules that catch new directors (2026 guide)
Your first year of accounts does not work like a normal year. It is usually longer than 12 months, it can need two tax returns instead of one, and the deadlines do not follow the pattern you will use for the rest of the company's life. Here is exactly how the first year is dated, what to file and when, and the decisions worth making early.
The short version
- Your first accounts run from the day you incorporated to your accounting reference date (ARD) - usually more than 12 months.
- Companies House sets your ARD automatically: the last day of the month you incorporated, a year on. Incorporated 11 May? Your ARD is 31 May the following year.
- If your first accounts cover more than 12 months, they are due within 21 months of incorporation - or 3 months from your ARD if that is longer. A first period of 12 months or less follows the normal 9-month deadline. Every year after that: 9 months after your year end.
- A Company Tax Return can only cover 12 months. So your first, longer period usually means two tax returns and two payment deadlines.
- If the company was dormant before it started trading, when you tell HMRC changes how many returns you file.
- Your first confirmation statement is due 12 months after incorporation, within a 14-day filing window.
- Late penalties apply to first accounts exactly like any other year. There is no grace period for being new.
How your first year is dated
A company's financial year starts on the day of incorporation and ends on its accounting reference date. Companies House assigns the ARD for you: the last day of the month in which your first anniversary falls. (gov.uk/first-company-accounts-and-return)
| Incorporated | First ARD | First accounts cover |
|---|---|---|
| 11 May 2026 | 31 May 2027 | 11 May 2026 to 31 May 2027 (12 months and 3 weeks) |
| 3 February 2026 | 28 February 2027 | 3 February 2026 to 28 February 2027 |
| 29 December 2026 | 31 December 2027 | 29 December 2026 to 31 December 2027 |
From your second year on, accounts normally cover 1st of the month to month end - in the first example, 1 June to 31 May each year.
First accounts covering more than 12 months are due within 21 months of incorporation, or 3 months from the ARD if that is longer. That sounds generous, and it exists because the first period can run long. Treat it as a date to look up, not a rule of thumb: the penalty clock runs from the deadline whether you knew it or not. (gov.uk/government/publications/filing-your-companies-house-accounts/life-of-a-company-part-1-accounts)
The two-tax-returns rule
Your accounts can cover more than 12 months. Your accounting period for Corporation Tax cannot - HMRC caps it at 12 months. A first period that runs longer splits in two, and each half gets its own Company Tax Return, its own tax calculation and its own payment deadline (9 months and 1 day after the end of that period). (gov.uk/corporation-tax-accounting-period)
Worked example, using HMRC's own dates. Company set up and trading from 11 May 2024, ARD 31 May 2025:
| What | Period | Payment deadline |
|---|---|---|
| First tax return | 11 May 2024 to 10 May 2025 | 11 February 2026 |
| Second tax return | 11 to 31 May 2025 | 1 March 2026 |
| First accounts | 11 May 2024 to 31 May 2025 (one set) | 21 months after incorporation |
So a single first set of accounts can sit on top of two tax returns. After the first year, one accounts period and one tax return usually line up with the financial year.
Trading from day one vs dormant first
How many tax returns your first year needs depends on when the company actually started trading, and on when you told HMRC. (gov.uk/first-company-accounts-and-return)
Started trading the day you incorporated. File two Company Tax Returns: one for the first 12 months, one for the remaining weeks up to your ARD.
Dormant first, then traded - and you added Corporation Tax services to your business tax account before your accounting reference date. You usually skip a return for the dormant stretch and file one return covering your trading period. If you traded for more than 12 months before the ARD, you file two: one for the first 12 months of trading, one for the rest.
Dormant first, but you did not add Corporation Tax services before the ARD. You file two returns: one for the dormant period, one for the trading period.
Whatever your case, check the "notice to deliver a Company Tax Return" HMRC sends after the first year. If it covers both your dormant and trading periods, you must file both returns to match it - even if you expected one.
What counts as dormant for tax? HMRC treats a company as not active when it is not carrying on business activity, trading or receiving income. A company can be dormant between incorporation and its first trade. Once you start any business activity - selling, providing services, earning interest - you are active and the clock matters. (gov.uk/guidance/corporation-tax-trading-and-non-trading)
Telling HMRC you exist
When your company starts trading, tell HMRC by adding Corporation Tax services to your business tax account. HMRC expects new companies to provide their details within 3 months of starting any business activity, so do it when trading starts, not at year end. You give HMRC your trading start date as part of this - and as the section above shows, that date and this timing decide how many returns your first year needs.
Your first confirmation statement
Separate from accounts and tax: every company files a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months. The first review period ends 12 months after the date you incorporated, and you have 14 days after that to file. It confirms the register is right - directors, shareholders, registered office, people with significant control. (gov.uk/guidance/filing-your-companys-confirmation-statement)
Since 18 November 2025, identity verification is a legal requirement - but when you verify depends on your role and when you took it on. Form a company today and you provide each director's Companies House personal code as part of the registration filing: new directors verify before the company exists. The same applies to the PSC of a new company: provide your code when you are added to the register, or within 14 days of being added. For companies that already existed, directors verify by their company's next confirmation statement during the 12-month transition period, and a director who is also a PSC provides the PSC code separately within a 14-day window starting the day after the company's confirmation statement date. The Companies House register shows your exact dates. (gov.uk/guidance/when-you-need-to-verify-your-identity-for-companies-house)
Choosing (or changing) your year end
You do not have to keep the ARD Companies House gives you. You can change it for the current financial year, or the one just finished, as long as the accounts for that period are not overdue. (gov.uk/change-your-companys-year-end)
The rules today:
| Shorten | as often as you like, by as little as 1 day |
| Lengthen | up to 18 months, and only once every 5 years (unless the company is in administration, aligning with a parent or subsidiary, or has special permission) |
Two practical consequences. First, changing your year end usually changes your filing deadline. When you shorten, the new deadline is the later of 9 months from the new ARD or 3 months from the date Companies House receives your change notice - and if that new deadline has already passed, the company gets an automatic late filing penalty. Second, changing the year end with Companies House does not update HMRC: you must also update your Corporation Tax accounting period dates. (gov.uk/government/publications/filing-your-companies-house-accounts/life-of-a-company-part-1-accounts)
From 1 April 2028, you will need to give a business reason to shorten your company's accounting reference period more than once in 5 years, under the planned accounts reforms - the detail is subject to forthcoming regulations. If shortening is part of your planning, know the window may narrow.
Is a different year end worth it? For most one-person companies the assigned date is fine. Common reasons to move it: pulling the year end into a quieter trading month so the books are easier to close, or aligning group companies. Some directors align with the tax year (31 March or 5 April) for tidiness - it is optional, not required, and corporation tax deadlines key off your own year end either way.
Penalties: first year, same rules
Nothing about the first year is exempt. Companies House late filing penalties for a private company: (gov.uk/annual-accounts/penalties-for-late-filing)
| How late | Penalty | Late two years in a row |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 month | £150 | £300 |
| 1 to 3 months | £375 | £750 |
| 3 to 6 months | £750 | £1,500 |
| More than 6 months | £1,500 | £3,000 |
HMRC charges separately for a late tax return (from £100), plus interest on late tax. Keep missing filings and Companies House can strike the company off the register. Appeals against late filing penalties only succeed in exceptional circumstances.
What to do in your first month
- Find your ARD on the Companies House register and work out your first deadline: within 21 months of incorporation if the first period runs longer than 12 months (or 3 months from the ARD if that is longer), otherwise 9 months from the ARD. (Our free deadline checker shows your accounts, corporation tax and confirmation statement dates in seconds - enter your company number or year end at surgeaccounts.co.uk/#deadlines.)
- Set up your business tax account and add Corporation Tax services the week you start trading.
- Keep every bank statement, invoice and receipt from day one - the first period usually runs longer than a year, and its records are the easiest to lose track of.
- Verify your identity with Companies House - for a new company this happens at registration, so do it as you set up.
- Decide your filing route before the deadline quarter: software, an accountant, or a done-for-you service.
The 2028 change, as it stands today
From 1 April 2028, every company must file accounts through commercial software in iXBRL format - Companies House web and paper filing close for accounts. That part is confirmed and applies to first accounts too.
The other widely reported change - small companies and micro-entities being forced to file a profit and loss account - was paused by the government on 23 October 2026 while it considers simpler options. Abridged accounts and the option to keep profit and loss off the public record stay available after April 2028. Plan for software filing; treat the profit-and-loss requirement as undecided, not settled. (gov.uk/government/news/companies-house-update-to-accounts-filing-from-april-2028)
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Frequently asked questions
Do my first accounts need an audit?
Usually not - but check the exceptions before relying on that. A small company may claim audit exemption if it meets two of: turnover £15 million or less, balance sheet total £7.5 million or less, 50 employees or fewer (financial years starting on or after 6 April 2025; micro-entity limits are £1 million, £500,000 and 10). The exemption does not cover public companies, insurers, banks, e-money issuers, MiFID investment firms, UCITS management companies, companies whose shares have traded on a regulated market, and several other listed cases. Even an exempt company must have an audit if its articles of association require one, or shareholders holding at least 10% of the shares ask in writing at least a month before the end of the financial year. (gov.uk/audit-exemptions-for-private-limited-companies)
Can I shorten my first accounting period?
Yes - you can change your ARD to end the first period early, as long as the accounts are not overdue. Directors sometimes do this to tidy dates or to start the regular annual pattern sooner.
I incorporated but never traded. Do I still file?
Yes. A dormant company still files accounts every year - short dormant accounts showing essentially an unchanged balance sheet. Tell HMRC the company is dormant; until HMRC has been told, it can still expect tax returns.
Is the first deadline always 21 months?
No. For a first period longer than 12 months it is 21 months from incorporation or 3 months from the ARD, whichever is longer. If the first accounts cover 12 months or less, the normal 9-month deadline applies. Shorten the first period and the new deadline becomes the later of 9 months from the new ARD or 3 months from the date Companies House receives the change notice. (gov.uk/government/publications/filing-your-companies-house-accounts/life-of-a-company-part-1-accounts)
Do I legally need an accountant for year one?
No. There is no legal requirement to use an accountant at any point. What the law requires is accurate accounts, filed on time, by a route that works - and from April 2028 that route is software.
Sources
- gov.uk/first-company-accounts-and-return
- gov.uk/corporation-tax-accounting-period
- gov.uk/change-your-companys-year-end
- gov.uk/government/publications/filing-your-companies-house-accounts/life-of-a-company-part-1-accounts
- gov.uk/guidance/filing-your-companys-confirmation-statement
- gov.uk/guidance/when-you-need-to-verify-your-identity-for-companies-house
- gov.uk/guidance/corporation-tax-trading-and-non-trading
- gov.uk/audit-exemptions-for-private-limited-companies
- gov.uk/annual-accounts/penalties-for-late-filing
- gov.uk/government/news/companies-house-update-to-accounts-filing-from-april-2028
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This guide is general information, correct to the best of our knowledge on 5 November 2026. It isn't tax or legal advice. Rules and thresholds change, so check GOV.UK or speak to an accountant about your situation. Surge is not affiliated with Companies House or HMRC.