What an appeal has to contain
- a specific reason for not filing on time
- all the relevant details, such as dates and times
- proof that the circumstances were out of your control
Companies House does not collect the penalty while it considers an appeal.
Deadlines
Six dates that followfrom one certificate.
Everything Companies House and HMRC expect from a new company is measured from the date of incorporation. Put it in and read them off, then read what happens when one of them slips.
Dates are worked out from the published rules on GOV.UK, checked 2026-09-04. Companies House can move an accounting reference date on application, and a first Corporation Tax period longer than twelve months splits into two returns.
The rules the calculator uses
No interpretation. These are the published rules with the page each one comes from.
| Filing | Who wants it | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incorporation IN01 | Companies House | Once, at the start | gov.uk |
| Confirmation statement CS01 | Companies House | Within 14 days of the end of each 12 month review period | gov.uk |
| Annual accounts AA | Companies House | 21 months after registration for the first set, then 9 months after each financial year end | gov.uk |
| Company Tax Return CT600 | HMRC | 12 months after the end of the accounting period | gov.uk |
| Corporation Tax payment CT PAY | HMRC | 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period | gov.uk |
What late costs
Companies House penalties for a private limited company filing accounts late. The notice is issued automatically after the deadline, so the first you hear of it is usually the notice itself.
Up to 1 month late
£150
1 to 3 months late
£375
3 to 6 months late
£750
More than 6 months late
£1,500
Doubled if accounts are late two years running. Persistent failure to file also gets the company struck off. Source: gov.uk/annual-accounts/penalties-for-late-filing
Appealing a late filing penalty
The grounds are published. So is the list of reasons that do not work, and one line on it is written for exactly the people this notebook is for.
Reasons that usually fail
- these were your first accounts
- the company was dormant
- the company is a charity or a flat management company
- you cannot afford to pay
- another director is responsible for filing the accounts
- it was your accountant's fault, or anybody else's
- you did not know when or how to file
- the accounts were delayed or lost in the post
- the directors live or were travelling overseas
If the appeal is rejected the order is fixed and skipping a step means the registrar will not review it:
- the senior casework manager in the Late Filing Penalties Department
- the independent adjudicators
- the Registrar of Companies
What each filing costs
Fees are the same whoever files. Paper always costs more than online, and same day service is a separate price.
| What you are filing | Online | Software | Paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incorporation | £100 | £100 | £124 |
| Same day incorporation | – | £156 | – |
| Confirmation statement, first in each 12 month payment period | £50 | £50 | £110 |
| Change of name | £20 | £20 | £30 |
| Same day change of name | £85 | £85 | – |
| Voluntary strike off | £13 | – | £18 |
Source: gov.uk, Companies House fees. Checked 2026-09-04.
Four things that are different when you do not live here
A biometric passport from any country is accepted
Identity verification runs through GOV.UK One Login. A biometric passport issued anywhere works. You verify once, get a personal code, and every director needs their own.
VAT registration is not optional at 90,000 pounds for you
If you are based outside the UK, your business is based outside the UK and you supply goods or services to the UK, you must register for VAT regardless of turnover. The 90,000 pound threshold is for UK established businesses.
An accountant or solicitor can verify you instead
An Authorised Corporate Service Provider can verify your identity on your behalf. That is the route when the One Login app cannot read your documents from where you are.
Your email address goes on the confirmation statement, not on the public register
Companies House needs a working email and expects you to read what it sends. The address itself is not published.
Read the long versions
Each of these takes one deadline apart properly.
2026-09-04
The certificate fixes every date that follows
The date printed on the certificate of incorporation is not a formality. Every deadline the company will ever have is counted from it, including two you have not heard of yet.
2026-09-05
The registered office test that quietly fails
An address either passes two conditions or it does not. Getting this wrong is one of the few ways a company can be struck off without anything else going wrong.
2026-09-06
A director who lives somewhere else
Directors do not have to live in the UK. Almost everything else about being one is public, and since identity verification arrived, every director has to prove who they are.