Guides for new directors

The things the registrar and HMRC expect from you in the first two years, explained once, properly.

• When are my first company accounts due?
  Your first accounts are due 21 months after incorporation, then 9 months after each year end. How the date is set, what to file, and what happens if you're late.
  Covers how the first accounting reference date is set, why the first deadline is 21 months away, and what changes after the first year.
• Confirmation statement explained (CS01)
  What the confirmation statement is, when it's due, what it costs and what you confirm. It replaced the annual return in 2016.
  Explains the review period, the 14-day filing window, the fee, and what you are confirming about directors, shareholders and SIC codes.
• Registering a new company for Corporation Tax
  You must tell HMRC within 3 months of starting to trade. What counts as trading, the UTR letter, and setting up the online account.
  Walks through what counts as starting to trade, when the UTR letter arrives, and the payment and return deadlines that follow.
• How to change your company's SIC code
  SIC codes describe what a company does. You can list up to four and change them on the next confirmation statement — here is how.
  Shows how to choose the right codes, how many you can list, and how to change them on a confirmation statement.
• What is a dormant company?
  A company is dormant if it has no significant accounting transactions. What still has to be filed, and how to tell HMRC.
  Sets out what makes a company dormant, what it must still file each year, and how to tell HMRC so it stops expecting a tax return.
• Closing a company: strike off, dissolution and liquidation
  The difference between voluntary strike off (DS01), compulsory strike off and liquidation, and when each applies.
  Compares voluntary strike off, compulsory strike off and liquidation, and explains which one fits a solvent or an insolvent company.
• Appealing a late filing penalty
  Penalties are automatic. Appeals succeed only in exceptional circumstances — what counts, what doesn't, and how to appeal.
  Explains which circumstances are accepted for an appeal, which are not, and why the penalty doubles if accounts were late the year before.
• Registered office address: rules and changes
  What a registered office is for, why it must be an appropriate address since 2024, and how to change it with form AD01.
  Explains the rule on an appropriate address, whether a home address is wise, and how to move the registered office with form AD01.

Each guide ends with common questions and is reviewed against the official rules; the date it was last reviewed is shown under its title.