Company deadlines

Every deadline for your company, in one place

Type your company name or number to see every Companies House and HMRC date, with live countdowns. Public Companies House data, nothing saved.

When are my company's deadlines due?

It depends on your company, which is why this page looks it up for you. Accounts are due 21 months after incorporation the first time, then 9 months after your year end every year after. Your confirmation statement is due 14 days after each anniversary of incorporation. Corporation Tax is paid 9 months and 1 day after your accounting period ends, and the return is filed 12 months after.

Worked example

The first year, month by month

Take a company incorporated on 22 January 2024. Nobody has to remember these dates: Companies House and HMRC both calculate them from the incorporation date, and this is what they work out.

  1. Company incorporated

    Companies House registers the company and issues its certificate of incorporation.

  2. First confirmation statement due

    Review date 22 January 2025, the first anniversary of incorporation, plus 14 days to file.

  3. Pay Corporation Tax for CT period 1

    For the period 22 January 2024 to 21 January 2025.

  4. First accounts due at Companies House

    For the period 22 January 2024 to 31 January 2025, 21 months after incorporation.

  5. Pay Corporation Tax for CT period 2

    For the period 22 January 2025 to 31 January 2025.

  6. Both Company Tax Returns due

    One filing date covers both Corporation Tax periods, 12 months after the accounts period ends.

Accounts

Why your first accounts can cover more than 12 months

Companies House sets your accounting reference date (ARD) automatically: it is the last day of the month in which the first anniversary of incorporation falls. A company incorporated on 22 January 2024 gets an ARD of 31 January 2025, because January is the month its first anniversary falls in, so the ARD rounds forward to the last day of that month. That means the first accounts period runs from incorporation to the ARD, which is longer than a calendar year.

Your first accounts are then due whichever is longer: 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months from the accounting reference date. For most first-year companies that means 21 months from incorporation. Every accounts period after that runs 12 months, with accounts due 9 months after the year end.

Corporation Tax

Why you might file two Company Tax Returns the first time

A Corporation Tax accounting period can never be longer than 12 months, by law. If your accounts cover more than that, as they usually do in a company's first year, you file two Company Tax Returns to cover the same period: one for the first 12 months, one for the remainder. Both returns share a single filing deadline, 12 months after the end of the whole accounts period, so you are not filing twice as often, just splitting one period into two returns.

Each of the two Corporation Tax periods is paid separately, 9 months and 1 day after it ends. For the worked example above, that's 22 October 2025 for the first period and 1 November 2025 for the second, with both returns filed by 31 January 2026.

Companies House

Identity verification and the confirmation statement

Identity verification became mandatory for directors and PSCs from 18 November 2025, at the start of a 12-month transition. If you were a director before that date, you don't need to do anything separately: you give your Companies House personal code as part of your company's next confirmation statement. Search your company number above and Finn's finder will flag it if any of your directors are not yet shown as verified on the register.

Two registers, one company

Companies House or HMRC? Who wants what

The two registers track different things, on different clocks, and neither tells you about the other.

Companies HouseHMRC
Annual accountsCorporation Tax payment
Confirmation statementCompany Tax Return (CT600)
Directors' identity verificationVAT returns
PAYE, and Self Assessment for directors

Corporation Tax

Register for Corporation Tax once the company starts doing business

Incorporating a company and starting to trade are not the same moment. You register for Corporation Tax with HMRC once the company actually starts doing business, buying, selling, employing someone, or advertising. That starts the clock on your Corporation Tax accounting period, which is what the pay and file dates above are calculated from.

Where Finn helps

Finn tracks every date on this page for you

Once your company is connected, Finn pulls these dates straight from Companies House and keeps working in the background so nothing is a surprise.

Try Finn free for 14 days
  • Pulls your dates from Companies House and tracks them with reminders
  • Keeps the books up to date as you go, from receipts and statements
  • Prepares year-end accounts (FRS 105) for you to review and file to Companies House
  • Prepares the Corporation Tax computation and CT600 figures
  • Flags an overdrawn director's loan before your year end

Questions

Company deadlines, answered

When are my first accounts due at Companies House?

Within 21 months of incorporation, or 3 months from your accounting reference date if that's longer. For a company incorporated on 22 January 2024, that's 22 October 2025.

When is my first confirmation statement due?

The review date is the first anniversary of incorporation, and you have 14 days from then to file. For a company incorporated on 22 January 2024, that's 5 February 2025.

When is my first Corporation Tax return due?

12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers. Your first accounting period can run longer than 12 months, in which case both returns still share this one date: 31 January 2026 for a company incorporated on 22 January 2024.

What's the Corporation Tax payment deadline in the first year?

9 months and 1 day after the end of each Corporation Tax accounting period. If your first accounting period splits into two (because your first accounts period runs longer than 12 months), each period is paid separately, on its own date.

What do I do after registering a company?

Register for Corporation Tax once the company starts trading, then keep an eye on four dates: your accounts deadline, your confirmation statement deadline, and the Corporation Tax pay and file dates. Search your company number above to see the register's own dates.

I set up my UK Ltd company on 22nd January 2024. When is my Corporation Tax due?

Your first accounts period runs from incorporation to 31 January 2025, which is more than 12 months, so it splits into two Corporation Tax periods. Each is paid 9 months and 1 day after it ends; both Company Tax Returns are due on 31 January 2026.

Why would I need to file two Company Tax Returns?

A Corporation Tax accounting period can never be longer than 12 months. If your accounts cover more than that, which is normal in a company's first year, HMRC needs two returns to cover the same period, filed on the same date.

Does Companies House or HMRC track my deadlines?

Both, for different things. Companies House holds your accounts and confirmation statement deadlines and the identity verification requirement. HMRC holds your Corporation Tax, VAT, PAYE and Self Assessment deadlines. Neither sends you a single combined list, which is what this page and Finn are for.

Sources, checked on

General guidance, not advice for your situation. Rules change: always check the GOV.UK page before you act.

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