Businesses up and down the country have suffered a great deal in the last 6 months. Ever since the government put the UK into lockdown in March, there has been an incredible amount of confusion and fear about what the future holds. In today’s blog, we’re going to outline some of the filing deadline changes and temporary measures that have been put in place for companies of all sizes across the UK. We hope that by outlining these changes in filing requirements across the financial year, you’ll understand how these temporary measures can help you focus on business operations.

What Are Some Key Business Accounting Deadlines?

Before we break down how some Companies House filing deadlines have changed, let’s take a look at some of the key accounting deadlines that businesses need to adhere to, regardless of coronavirus. In our experience here at Williamson & Croft, there is often some confusion among clients about different deadlines during an accounting period. Companies House will automatically issue fines for non-compliance and late filing. The key to avoiding these fines is by being proactive and getting your accounts in order, being aware of upcoming filing deadlines and having everything ready to send to Companies House before the filing deadline.

Key Deadlines

  • File first year accounts with Companies House – 21 months after your company’s incorporation date.
  • File annual accounts with Companies House – 9 months after your company’s financial year has ended.
  • Corporation Tax payment – 9 months and 1 day after your Corporation Tax account period ends.
  • File company tax returns – 12 months after your Corporation Tax account period ends.
  • Submit VAT return – 1 month and 7 days after your VAT quarter-end.
  • Make VAT payments – 1 month and 7 days after your VAT quarter.
  • End of the tax year – 5th April 2021.
  • Start of the new tax year – 6th April 2021
  • Self-Assessment Filing & Payment deadline – 31st January
  • Capital Gains Tax payment – 31st January 2021 (Or within 30 days of sale for the property)

Accounting Deadlines That Have Been Moved Because Of Coronavirus

To help businesses across a variety of sectors, from the property market, construction and professional services industries right the way through to the digital & creative, retail & eCommerce and technology & software industries, the UK government have introduced temporary changes to filing requirements and the filing deadline that Companies House requires for businesses. These have been put in place due to the impact coronavirus has had on the UK economy and allows businesses to focus on remaining open, as opposed to spending their time filling out paperwork and gathering company accounts from a specific accounting period.

Below is a summary of the filing deadlines and requirements that have been implemented.

Filing Deadline Extensions & Payment Deferrals

A combination of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act and The Companies Regulations Act have introduced legislation to provide further measures to ease the filing requirements placed on companies as a result of coronavirus.

Companies that have not shortened their accounting period, who have a filing deadline between 27th June 2020 and 5th April 2021 have been automatically given a 3-month extension by both Companies House and the UK Government. This extends filing deadlines to 12 months after the period ends for a private company and 9 months for a public company.

VAT And SA Deferral

To support struggling businesses with cash flow, the Chancellor announced that he will give businesses that deferred VAT due in March to June 2020 the option to spread their payments in 11 equal, interest-free instalments over the financial year 2021/22, rather than pay in full at the end of March 2021.

All businesses that took advantage of the VAT deferral can use the new payment scheme. Businesses will need to opt-in, but all are eligible.

The government will also give the self-employed and other self-assessment taxpayers more time to pay taxes due in January 2021, building on the self-assessment deferral provided in July 2020. Taxpayers with up to £30,000 of self-assessment liabilities due will be able to use HMRC’s self-service Time to Pay facility to secure a plan to pay over an additional 12 months.

Any self-assessment taxpayer not able to pay their tax bill on time, including those who cannot use the online service, can continue to use HMRC’s Time to Pay self-assessment helpline to agree on a payment plan.

The Chancellor also announced that the extension of the temporary VAT reduced rate of 5% for hospitality and tourism will now run until 31 March 2021.

Public Companies

Under the aforementioned act, Public Limited Companies (PLCs) that have a filing deadline before 30th June 2020 and already had an extension under the Act won’t get a further extension, however, you may be able to apply for one. Public companies whose original filing deadline is on or after 30th June now have 9 months to file accounts in accordance with the new regulations.

Below is a handy table that covers a range of business types. If your deadlines fall between 27th June 2020 and 5th April 2021, you’ll get the following:

Company type Company hasn’t had an extension or shortened their accounting reference period
PLCs Deadline extended from 6 to 9 months
Private company Deadline extended from 9 to 12 months
LLP Deadline extended from 9 to 12 months
Overseasons companies Deadline extended from 3 to 6 months
Social Enterprises Deadline extended from 6 to 9 months

Confirmation Statement

A confirmation statement is a document that Limited Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships must file to Companies House each year. For the former, it contains details of directors and shareholders, and for the latter, it details a list of its members.

The State has automatically extended this deadline, from the end of the review period, from 14 days to 42 days.

Event-driven Filings

The State and Companies House have given businesses more time to file details about company events. The period to deliver details of the event has increased to 42 days.

Mortgage Charges

The delivery of particular charges to Companies House has increased by 10 days. A person with an interest in the charges usually has 21 days to deliver the documents to Companies House, and this has now gone up to 31 days for charges created on or after 6th June 2020.

How Williamson & Croft Can Help Your Business During This Uncertain Time

We’re living in truly unprecedented times and here at Williamson & Croft, we understand the need for businesses to be reassured and in the know so that they can plan for the future and focus on the now. We have helped countless businesses across Manchester, Liverpool and the North West with their company accounts, submissions to Companies House and tax returns, as well as offering advice and thoughts about how best to run their business. Our years’ of knowledge combined with our practical, real-world approach to all things accounting makes us confident that we can help you and your company maintain balance throughout this difficult time.

Contact Us

If you’re a business based in Manchester, Liverpool, the surrounding areas of Salford, St Helens or Warrington and want more information about Companies House filing deadlines, the further extensions we have outlined or the financial and accounting services that we offer then please get in touch with us at Williamson & Croft online, by phone 0161 399 0121 or email us on info@williamsoncroft.co.uk.