Overdue Company Accounts Filing in Lyme Regis

Company accounts are overdue when the deadline for delivering a set of statutory accounts to Companies House has passed and those accounts are still outstanding. The applicable deadline is not the same for every company, so the practical starting point is to establish which accounting periods remain unfiled and what each one requires. Once the deadline has passed, the filing obligation does not disappear, even if the company had little or no activity during that period. An overdue filing and any penalty that may arise from it are separate matters and are dealt with separately.

In many cases, yes. A dormant company can still have filing obligations, and dormancy does not automatically remove the requirement to deliver accounts to Companies House. Dormancy and overdue filing are separate issues — a company can be dormant and still be overdue because the required accounts were not filed by the applicable deadline. Whether a dormant period needs full statutory accounts at Companies House or a different form of filing depends on the company's circumstances and the period concerned, so it is worth checking the company's record rather than assuming nothing is due.

Companies House can impose a late-filing penalty when accounts are delivered after the applicable deadline, and the penalty that may apply depends on the circumstances, including how late the filing is. Paying a penalty does not remove or satisfy the requirement to file the outstanding accounts; the two are handled separately. An appeal against a penalty may be possible in certain situations, and eligibility depends on the applicable Companies House rules and the facts of the case. Where accounts remain outstanding, the longer they stay unfiled, the more serious the position can become.

Where several accounting periods are outstanding, each period generally needs its own set of statutory accounts prepared and delivered, and filing one set does not automatically resolve the others. In practice, we usually work through the periods in order, beginning with the earliest, so that the figures and the company's records follow a logical sequence. Records for older periods can sometimes be incomplete, and we will explain what can be reconstructed from the information available and what you may need to provide. How the periods are handled depends on your company's circumstances.

No — these are separate compliance matters. Statutory accounts are delivered to Companies House where required, while Corporation Tax Returns such as the CT600 are submitted to HMRC where applicable. Delivering overdue accounts to Companies House does not automatically satisfy HMRC Corporation Tax obligations. A confirmation statement is a separate filing again, submitted to Companies House and distinct from the annual accounts. If items are outstanding in more than one area, it usually makes sense to review them together so that nothing is overlooked.

Companies House may take action against companies that do not meet their filing obligations, and persistent non-compliance can increase the risk of compulsory strike-off action. That said, not every company with overdue accounts is automatically dissolved, and the position depends on the individual case. If a strike-off notice has already been issued, or the company has been dissolved, the situation usually needs to be handled differently from an ordinary overdue filing and may require separate legal advice. Filing outstanding accounts does not guarantee that strike-off action will be halted or reversed.

Some companies may qualify for the micro-entity reporting framework, and where they do, outstanding accounts can potentially be prepared on that basis under FRS 105, the financial reporting standard applicable to qualifying entities within the micro-entity framework. Eligibility depends on the company's legal structure, accounting period and individual circumstances, and not every small company qualifies. Where a company does not meet the criteria, another applicable form of statutory accounts, such as small-company accounts, would be used instead. We can confirm which reporting framework fits your company before preparation begins.

The records required depend on the company and the periods being prepared, but they typically include bookkeeping records, bank statements, invoices, expense records, details of assets or liabilities, company information and copies of previously filed accounts where available. If anything is missing, we will tell you what else would help. Micro Entity Accounts prepares statutory accounts for limited companies and other eligible entities, reviews which periods remain outstanding, and assists with Companies House filing, keeping you informed at each stage. The accounts are reviewed and authorised by you before anything is submitted.