Form B1: Annual Return (CRO)
Annual return filed with the Companies Registration Office confirming company details and accompanied by financial statements. Mandatory for every Irish company regardless of trading activity. The annual return confirms the directors, secretary, share capital and registered office as at the company's ARD. It is separate from the corporation tax return filed with Revenue, and a company with no trading activity must still file it each year.
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Who this applies to
- All Irish private and public limited companies
- Designated Activity Companies (DACs)
- Companies Limited by Guarantee (CLGs)
- Unlimited companies
What to file
Form B1 (online via CORE) with abridged accounts (small companies) or full accounts (medium/large), audited if audit exemption is lost.
How to file
Online through CORE (core.cro.ie) using a CRO online account. €20 standard filing fee.
Payment due
Filing fee due on submission (€20 ROS, €40 paper).
Penalties for missing this deadline
€100 immediate late filing penalty plus €3 per day (capped at €1,200). Loss of audit exemption for the next 2 years (significant cost). Persistent default can lead to involuntary strike-off. The late filing fee is €100 from the expiry of the filing deadline and then €3 for each day, up to a maximum of €1,200 per return, plus the standard filing fee. A company that is entitled to audit exemption can lose that entitlement for the following two years if its annual return is late more than once in a five-year period, under section 22 of the Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Act 2024, commenced on 16 July 2025. A director can apply to the District Court for an extension of time, and a return filed within the extended period counts as on time.
Filing checklist
- Confirm company's ARD on CORE
- Prepare abridged or full financial statements signed by directors
- Complete Form B1 with current directors, secretary, share capital
- Upload PDF of signed accounts
- Pay €20 ROS / €40 paper fee
- Receive CORE acknowledgement and check status
- If a District Court extension has been granted, file within the extended period and note the order on the filing
Documents you'll need
- Company number, ARD and details of all directors and the secretary with PPS or ID details held on file
- Signed board approval of the financial statements
Common mistakes to avoid
- Missing the 56-day window after ARD
- Filing accounts that don't match the period in the B1
- Not signing accounts before director: CRO will reject
- Assuming that a single late return always costs the audit exemption: the two-year loss now follows repeated late filing within five years
- Leaving the ARD unchanged after a change of year-end: the date must be updated on the CRO record before the return is made
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