Late micro-entity accounts filing in Worthing

Late accounts for Worthing micro-entities

Late filing penalties for a private company start at £150 if the accounts are up to a month late, then £375 for one to three months, £750 for three to six months and £1,500 beyond six months. The penalties double if you are late two years running. They are charged to the company, and Companies House only considers an appeal for a reasonable excuse, so speed matters.

Late accounts filing for Worthing businesses: local facts

Worthing is in the South East region. Worthing has around 3,960 VAT- and PAYE-registered businesses, and 3,560 of them, about 90%, have fewer than ten employees (ONS UK Business Counts, 2026). That is the group the micro-entity rules were written for.

The largest groups of micro businesses in Worthing are construction (635), professional, scientific and technical services (610) and wholesale and retail (435). For construction companies in Worthing, Construction Industry Scheme deductions, retentions and stage payments can distort profit, so we reconcile your CIS statements before the accounts are prepared. That puts construction at 18% of the local micro-business base.

Zooming in, the ONS neighbourhood area around Worthing (Worthing 011) has 995 VAT- or PAYE-registered businesses, and 855 of them (86%) are micro businesses.

Worthing ranks 946 of the 1105 areas we serve by number of micro businesses, and its micro share of 90% is in line with the 89% average across them. In professional, scientific and technical services (610 micro businesses in Worthing), fee income, work in progress at the year end and how directors are paid are the key decisions, so we plan these with you before the accounts are finalised. In wholesale and retail (435 micro businesses in Worthing), closing stock and the VAT treatment of different product lines are the usual pressure points, so we value stock carefully and check your VAT records.