Companies House late filing penalties – don’t risk them

If you have a limited company, you’ll know that Companies House late filing penalties can be imposed if your annual accounts aren’t submitted on time.

What’s worse is that the later your annual accounts, the larger the Companies House late filing penalties. For example, if you have a private limited company, the late filing penalty for up to one month is £150. When your accounts are 1-3 months late, this rises to £375. Leave them 3-6 months and you’ll expect to pay £750. Worst of all, if your annual accounts are six or more months late, you’ll pay £1,500 in Companies House late filing penalties.

If those figures weren’t bad enough, public companies have to pay much higher late filing penalties. These can be as high as £7,500 for annual accounts that are more than half a year late. If they are that late for two consecutive years, the fine hits £15,000.

Are Companies House late filing penalties enforced?

While late filing penalties are unwelcome, there does seem to be some evidence that many companies don’t pay them.

The Financial Times found that just 46 per cent of the total fines issued by Companies House were paid for the 2023/24 tax year. That’s the equivalent of £73.5mn of £158mn in fines. This is down from 57% of total penalties collected in 2019/20. This was the last full year before Companies House allowed a three-month filing extension between June 2020 and April 2021 because of COVID-19.

It’s important to note that these figures are for the percentage paid of the total fines levied. There are no details about how many companies paid their fines, or what percentage.

Is it worth ignoring late filing penalties?

Just because Companies House doesn’t manage to collect all the late filing penalties it issues, it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to ignore them.

Firstly, if you don’t file your annual accounts, it’s a criminal offence. 2023/24 saw the prosecution of 987 directors for not doing so.

Secondly, if the Companies House Registrar believes your company is no longer in operation, it could get struck off. If this happens, you’re not allowed to trade. Any assets are forfeited to the Crown. You’ll also lose access to your bank accounts and you won’t be able to reverse the company’s dissolution.

It’s also worth noting that many of the unpaid Companies House penalties are likely to have been issued to companies that have since become insolvent. If you’re still trading, Companies House is likely to pursue you. It also claims to be “deploying new powers to tackle persistent non-compliance”.

How to avoid Companies House late filing penalties

Given the sanctions Companies House can apply, it’s never worth ignoring late filing penalties. Most businesses don’t intend to file their annual accounts late, but sometimes other things get in the way. Luckily our annual accounts service gives you complete peace of mind. We’ll not only made sure your annual accounts are submitted correctly and on time, but we’ll submit your company tax return too!