Late filing penalties for limited companies in the UK

Late filing penalties for limited companies in the UK

Limited companies face penalties for late filings if they miss their statutory obligations with HMRC and Companies House. To help you stay compliant, here’s a summary of key deadlines and potential penalties for non-compliance.

HMRC late filing penalties

Missing any filing or payment deadlines set by HMRC can, therefore, result in immediate penalties or tiered fines, which increase based on how late the submission or payment is. Additionally, as the degree of lateness worsens, the severity of the fines grows. Thus, it’s crucial to stay on top of these deadlines to avoid costly consequences.

Self Assessment

The requirement to register for Self Assessment and file tax returns with HMRC applies to sole traders, limited company directors and shareholders, and members of limited liability partnerships (LLPs).

However, directors who only receive a salary through PAYE and do not earn additional income (such as dividends or director’s loan payments) do not need to file Self Assessment tax returns. Their Income Tax and National Insurance contributions are deducted through payroll.

Deadlines

HMRC imposes two types of late filing penalties for Self Assessment: one for the late submission of annual tax returns and another for the late payment of the Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions reported on the return. The deadlines are as follows:

• Paper tax returns sent by post: 31 October after the end of the tax year
• Online tax returns: 31 January after the end of the tax year
• Payment of all Income Tax and National Insurance owed: 31 January after the end of the tax year

The tax year spans from 6 April in one year to 5 April the following year. For the current 2024/25 tax year, the deadlines for Self Assessment tax returns and payments are as follows:

• 31 October 2025 (if you’re filing a paper return)
• 31 January 2026 (if you’re filing an online return and paying tax and NIC)

It’s always advisable to complete and submit your personal tax return promptly after the end of each tax year. This reduces the risk of missing the deadline or making errors.

If you miss the 31 October deadline, you can still file your return online until 31 January without incurring penalties. However, after the October deadline, you cannot submit your return by post without facing a penalty.

Penalties for late Self Assessment tax return

If your Self Assessment tax return is received by HMRC after the 31 January deadline, the following late filing penalties will be imposed:

• Missed deadline – automatic £100 fine
• 3 months late – £10 daily penalty for up to 90 days
• 6 months late – 5% of tax due or £300 (whichever is greater)
• 12 months late – 5% of tax due or £300 (whichever is greater)

An automatic £100 penalty is applied if you miss the deadline by just one day, even if no tax is owed. HMRC may impose additional late filing penalties if it appears that you are intentionally withholding information or attempting to evade tax.

Penalties for late payment of Self Assessment tax bill

Penalties for late filing are as follows:

• 30 days late: 5% of the tax due
• 6 months late: An additional 5% of the tax due at that date
• 12 months late: An additional 5% of the tax due at that date

In addition to these penalties, you will incur 3% interest on any overdue taxes until your bill is paid in full.

No funds to pay your tax bill?

If you cannot pay your tax bill in full by the deadline, contact HMRC’s Business Payment Support Service as soon as possible. Explain your situation and ask about setting up a payment plan.

HMRC recognizes that genuine financial difficulties can occur and is generally very understanding in such cases. As long as you are honest and maintain open communication, rather than ignoring the issue, you should be able to resolve it without significant financial penalties—though some interest may still apply.

For further information and advice, refer to HMRC’s guide to Self Assessment deadlines and penalties.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

HMRC imposes increasingly strict penalties on VAT-registered businesses that repeatedly miss deadlines. Your VAT return and payment deadlines can be found in your VAT online account.

Typically, these deadlines fall on the same day: 1 calendar month and 7 days after the end of each VAT accounting period. However, deadlines may differ if you are registered for the VAT Annual Accounting Scheme.

If you miss a filing deadline or fail to pay the VAT you owe by the due date, you will enter a 12-month ‘surcharge period.’ HMRC will send a letter to your registered office or business address detailing any surcharges you owe and the consequences of further defaults. During a surcharge period:

• The surcharge period will be extended for an additional 12 months if you default again.
• You may incur an extra surcharge in addition to the VAT owed.

The surcharge is calculated as a percentage of the outstanding VAT due on the deadline date for the default period. The surcharge rate increases with each subsequent default during the surcharge period, though no additional charge will be applied for your first default.

Exceptions

HMRC will not impose a surcharge if you submit a late VAT return under the following circumstances:

• You pay your VAT in full by the due date.
• You don’t have any VAT to pay.
• You are due a VAT repayment.

Penalties

You may receive a penalty of up to:

• 100% of any tax under-stated or over-claimed if you send a VAT return that contains a careless or deliberate inaccuracy.
• 30% of an assessment if HMRC sends you one that’s too low and you don’t inform them it’s incorrect within 30 days.
• £400 if you submit a paper VAT Return unless HMRC has informed you that you’re exempt from submitting your return online.

Corporation Tax

HMRC imposes penalties for late filing of annual Company Tax Returns (which must include full annual accounts) and for late payment of Corporation Tax owed by your limited company. These penalties increase over time, as outlined below.

Late filing penalties for Company Tax Return & annual accounts

• 1 day late – automatic £100 penalty
• 3 months late – £100 penalty
• 6 months – 10% penalty added to the estimated tax bill
• 12 months – 10% penalty added to the estimated tax bill

The deadline for submitting your tax return and full statutory accounts is 12 months after the end of your company’s Corporation Tax accounting period.,

Late payment of Corporation Tax

• 3% of any outstanding tax payments

The deadline for paying all Corporation Tax owed by your company is 9 months and 1 day after the end of your Corporation Tax accounting period.

Construction Industry Scheme

Contractors operating under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) will be subject to additional late filing penalties if they miss the CIS returns submission deadline:

• 1 day late: Automatic £100 penalty
• 2 months late: £200 penalty
• 6 months late: £300 penalty or 5% of CIS deductions (whichever is greater)
• 12 months late: £300 penalty or 5% of CIS deductions (whichever is greater)

Companies House late filing penalties

Reporting and filing requirements for Companies House apply exclusively to limited companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs). As a company director, secretary, or designated member of an LLP, it is your responsibility to ensure that the business meets its statutory deadlines to avoid the significant penalties detailed below.

Annual accounts

Whether you are responsible for an active or dormant company, or an LLP, failure to prepare and submit annual accounts (whether full, abridged, micro-entity, or dormant) can result in the following penalties being imposed by Companies House:

If your accounts are delivered late two years in a row, the penalties are automatically doubled.

Deadlines

Your company’s first accounts after incorporation must be delivered to Companies House within 21 months of the company’s registration date (the ‘date of incorporation’).

Subsequently, each year, your accounts should be submitted to Companies House within 9 months of your accounting reference date (ARD), which marks the end of your company’s financial year.

Confirmation Statement (previously the ‘annual return’)

Companies House will not impose automatic late filing penalties if your confirmation statement is delivered after the deadline. However, if you fail to submit a confirmation statement altogether, your company could be struck off the register, your credit rating may be affected, and the directors may face prosecution.

Appealing against late filing penalties from Companies House

You must provide evidence that your failure to submit accounts was due to exceptional circumstances beyond your control, such as fire, flooding, theft, death, or severe illness. Companies House will not accept the following excuses for late submission of accounts or penalty payments:

• You forgot
• The company is dormant
• You cannot afford to pay a penalty already imposed
• The failure was the fault of your accountant or another nominated individual
• You did not know how or when to file your accounts
• Your accounts were delayed or lost in the post
• The director lives or was traveling overseas at the time

To appeal a late filing penalty, send a letter to the address on the front page of the penalty invoice. Alternatively, you can email your appeal, including the penalty reference, to: enquiries@companies-house.gov.uk.

You should receive a response within 10 working days. The penalty will not be collected while your appeal is under review.

If your appeal is rejected, you can write to the Senior Casework Unit (SCU) in the Late Filing Penalties Department at the Companies House office handling your account.

If the SCU also rejects your appeal, you can request a review by writing to the Independent Adjudicators.

Do you have any other questions?

Filing your company’s documents late can lead to significant penalties. For instance, submitting your annual accounts or confirmation statement after the due date could result in fines that increase the longer the delay. Similarly, missing Corporation Tax deadlines also comes with escalating penalties.

For detailed guidance on how to avoid these fines and stay compliant, visit the Startxpress Help Center and Blog. If you need more assistance, feel free to reach out to us at support@startxpress.io. We’re here to help you avoid unnecessary penalties!

---

Related Articles

Was this helpful?

YesNo

0 / 0

Share this article