What this service is and who needs it
This service prepares your company's year-end accounts and its Company Tax Return, then files each one with the right body. It is for owners of UK private limited companies that have traded, earned any income or held assets during the year, including directors who live outside the UK.
A company that has had no significant transactions at all may only need dormant accounts. If that sounds like your company, see our dormant company accounts service instead.
Borderless Filings is a filing service, not an accountancy practice or a registered tax adviser. We prepare and submit filings from the records you give us. If you need advice on tax planning, salary versus dividends, group structures or where your company is tax resident, speak to a qualified accountant or tax adviser first.
Two filings, two regulators
The accounts and the tax return go to different places and have different deadlines.
| Annual accounts | Company Tax Return (CT600) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sent to | Companies House (public record) | HMRC (not public) |
| What it shows | Balance sheet, and for most companies a profit and loss account and notes | Taxable profit or loss, Corporation Tax due, with the accounts and tax computations attached |
| Deadline | 9 months after the accounting reference date (first accounts: 21 months after incorporation) | 12 months after the end of the accounting period |
| Format | Online, software or paper today; software only from 1 April 2028 | Online through commercial software, in iXBRL |
The profit in your accounts is not the same as the profit for tax. HMRC's Company Tax Returns guidance says the return works out your profit or loss for Corporation Tax, which is "different from the profit or loss shown in your annual accounts". For a line-by-line look at the form itself, read our CT600 guide.
What is included
- Statutory annual accounts prepared from your bookkeeping records, bank statements and invoices, in the format your company qualifies for (for example micro-entity or small company accounts).
- Corporation Tax computation and the CT600 return, with accounts and computations tagged in iXBRL.
- Filing with Companies House and HMRC, with receipts and a summary of the tax due saved to your portal.
- Deadline reminders for the next year.
What is not included
- Bookkeeping for the year (we work from your records; tidy records keep the job simple).
- Audits, group accounts, VAT returns, payroll and personal tax returns. See our VAT returns, payroll and Self Assessment services.
- Tax advice, HMRC enquiries or appeals. We will tell you if your case needs a licensed professional.
Government fees
There is no government fee for this filing. Filing annual accounts carries no fee on the Companies House fee schedule, and HMRC does not charge to receive a Company Tax Return. The confirmation statement is a separate filing with its own £50 online fee (see our confirmation statement service).
| Item | Government fee | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Annual accounts to Companies House | £0 | Companies House fees |
| CT600 to HMRC | £0 | HMRC: Company Tax Returns |
| Corporation Tax itself | Depends on profit (rates below) | HMRC: Corporation Tax rates |
Deadlines for accounts, the return and payment
Three dates matter each year, and the payment date comes before the return date. Private companies must file accounts 9 months after the accounting reference date. First accounts covering more than 12 months are due 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months from the accounting reference date if that is later. The CT600 is due 12 months after the end of the accounting period, and Corporation Tax must be paid 9 months and 1 day after the period ends for companies with profits up to £1.5m.
| Example: year ending 31 March 2026 | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Accounts to Companies House | 31 December 2026 |
| Corporation Tax payment to HMRC | 1 January 2027 |
| CT600 to HMRC | 31 March 2027 |
A Corporation Tax accounting period cannot be longer than 12 months. If your first accounts cover, say, 14 months, you file two tax returns for that one set of accounts. You can see your own dates in our compliance deadline calendar.
Corporation Tax rates and marginal relief
Companies pay 19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% on profits over £250,000, with marginal relief in between. These rates apply to financial years from 1 April 2023, which covers accounting periods in 2025/26 and 2026/27.
| Taxable profits | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £50,000 | 19% (small profits rate) |
| £50,001 to £250,000 | 25% less marginal relief (standard fraction 3/200) |
| Over £250,000 | 25% (main rate) |
A worked example: a company with £100,000 of taxable profit in a 12-month period, with no associated companies and no exempt distributions, would pay 25% (£25,000) minus marginal relief of (£250,000 minus £100,000) x 3/200 = £2,250, so £22,750 in total. The £50,000 and £250,000 limits are divided by the number of associated companies and reduced for short accounting periods, so check this before you rely on a figure.
Why software is now required
HMRC's free online service for filing accounts and the Company Tax Return together closed on 31 March 2026. Since 1 April 2026 companies must file the CT600 through commercial software. HMRC's XBRL guide says it is compulsory to send Company Tax Returns online with accounts and computations in iXBRL (Inline XBRL), and that PDF attachments are unacceptable for most companies.
Companies House is following the same path. From 1 April 2028 all accounts must be filed in iXBRL through commercial software, abridged accounts end, and small and micro companies must file a profit and loss account. Our micro-entity accounts guide sets out the current thresholds and what these changes mean for small companies.
How it works
- Order and intake. Start your order and answer questions about the company, its year end and what happened during the year.
- Secure document upload. Upload bank statements, sales and purchase records and your bookkeeping export in the portal. See how we protect files on our security page.
- Preparation and review. Our filing team prepares the accounts and tax computation and sends you drafts with any questions.
- Your approval. A director checks and approves the accounts and return. You also authorize our filing team through HMRC's agent authorization process where needed.
- Submission. We file the accounts with Companies House and the CT600 with HMRC.
- Tracking and delivery. Submission receipts, final accounts and the tax summary appear in your portal, with the payment reference and due date.
- Reminders. We remind you before next year's deadlines.
What we need from you
- Company name, company number and 10-digit Corporation Tax UTR (our UTR guide explains where to find it).
- Business bank statements for the whole accounting period, plus any payment platform statements (Stripe, PayPal, Wise and similar).
- Sales invoices and records of income, including income received in other currencies.
- Purchase invoices and receipts for expenses.
- Details of assets bought or sold, loans, and money paid to or from directors.
- Payroll summaries if the company ran payroll, and dividend records if dividends were paid.
- Last year's accounts and tax return, if the company has filed before.
Timelines
Our team starts once your intake is complete and all documents are uploaded. Companies House and HMRC do not publish a fixed processing time for accounts and tax returns filed through software, so we track the acceptance of each submission in your portal.
Penalties for late accounts and late returns
Late accounts and late returns each carry their own automatic penalties. Companies House charges private companies on the late filing penalty scale, and the penalty is doubled if accounts are late in 2 years in a row.
| Accounts filed late by | Companies House penalty (private company) |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 month | £150 |
| 1 to 3 months | £375 |
| 3 to 6 months | £750 |
| More than 6 months | £1,500 |
HMRC doubled its fixed penalties for Company Tax Returns with a filing date on or after 1 April 2026, according to its late filing penalties page.
| CT600 filed late by | HMRC penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 day | £200 |
| 3 months | Another £200 |
| 6 months | HMRC estimates the tax and adds 10% of the unpaid tax |
| 12 months | Another 10% of the unpaid tax |
| Late 3 times in a row | The £200 penalties become £1,000 each |
Interest is also charged on Corporation Tax paid late. Companies House says appeals rarely succeed on grounds such as relying on an accountant or first-time filing, so plan ahead.
Doing it yourself vs using us
You can file both yourself. Filing accounts costs nothing at Companies House, and until April 2028 small companies can still use its online service for simple accounts. For the CT600 you now need commercial software that produces iXBRL, plus the knowledge to turn accounting profit into taxable profit, claim capital allowances and apply marginal relief correctly.
Using us adds preparation of both filings from your records, a second check before anything is sent, submission, receipts stored in one portal, and reminders so the next deadline is not missed. It suits directors abroad, first-time filers and anyone who would rather not buy software for one return a year. See how it works and our pricing page.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Company Tax Returns
- GOV.UK: Company Tax Returns, penalties for late filing
- GOV.UK: Pay your Corporation Tax bill
- GOV.UK: Corporation Tax accounting periods
- HMRC: Rates and allowances, Corporation Tax
- GOV.UK: Corporation Tax rates and reliefs
- HMRC: Corporation Tax marginal relief
- HMRC: Closure of the service to file your company accounts and tax return
- HMRC: Businesses XBRL guide
- Companies House: Life of a company, part 1 accounts
- Companies House: Late filing penalties
- Companies House: Companies House fees
- Companies House: Changes to accounts filing from April 2028
Fees, deadlines and rules on this page were last checked on 27 September 2026.