Accounting Period for Companies House
An accounting period is defined as any time frame for financial reporting, and for limited companies reporting to Companies House, this time frame is ususally 12 months from their incorporation date. However, for companies filing for the first time their accounting period is likely to be up to 4 weeks longer, referred to as an extended filing period.
This is because Companies House sets an accounting reference date (ARD) on the last day of the month that the company became incorporated. so, If you incorporated on 3rd March, Companies House sets your account reference date as 31st March the following year. Following accounting periods then run for exactly 12 months from the ARD date, also known as your company's financial year. The only time a company's first financial year would also be 12 months is if they became incorporated on the last day of the month.
Top Tip: The accounts filing deadline is always 9 months after the end of the accounting period. For companies filing for the first time this is 21 months after the date they became incorporated.
First Time Tax Filing to HMRC
When filing Corporation Tax for the first extended period, companies are required to file two Corporation Tax Returns because the accounting period can only cover up to 12 months. To take our previous example, a company that became incorporated on 3rd March with an Accounting Reference Date of 31st March would file one tax return up to the 3rd March the following year, and a second to cover the extension period from the 4th to the 31st March (the ARD set by Companies House).
Using the dates from the example above, after the first Corporation Tax filing, the tax accounting period would usually match the company's financial year accounting period starting on the 31st March.
HMRC Notice to File
HMRC will confirm the dates that they require a company to file a corporation tax return by sending a 'Notice to File a Company Tax Return' to the company registered address. This notice confirms the dates that they require a company to file its tax returns from and to, as well as confirming the company's Unique Tax Reference Number, which I will come to later.
If you cannot locate your company's Notice to File a Company Tax Return letter then you can get in contact with HMRC's Corporation Tax Helpline where an agent will be able to confirm the dates that they require the company to file its corporation tax returns from and to.
For more information on the documents that companies are required to file, please take a look through our related Knowledge Base article on what returns a company needs to make each year.
Companies House - Authentication Code
To submit Annual Accounts and Confirmation Statements to Companies House at the end of the accounting period, companies need to provide their authentication code, which is a 6-character alphanumeric code sent to the registered address of all new limited companies by post within 5 days after the company has been incorporated with Companies House.
Top Tip: If you incorporated your company using an incorporation agent then the Companies House authentication code may be issued electronically.
It is essential that a company keeps its authentication code secure, because it is used to authorise the change of any information regarding the company that is filed online to Companies House. The CH authentication code is equivalent to the signature of the officers of the limited entity; therefore it is important keep this number private and secure.
Although it needs to be kept confidential, a Companies House authentication code still needs to be accessible by the relevant person(s) throughout the accounting period as it is used to file returns and change the company's details. Some examples of actions that would require the entity's authentication code are;
- Filing the Annual Accounts
- Filing a Confirmation Statement
- Changing the company's Registered Address
- Updating Directors Information
If you are unable to locate the entity's CH authentication code at the end of its accounting period, you can request a reminder of your authentication code from the .Gov website in the Company authentication codes for online filing guidance to be sent by post. Once requested it would then take anywhere up to 5 days to arrive and is the ame as the current code.
For those who have incorporated their entity with Easy Digital Company, your Companies House authentication code is securely stored within your Easy Digital account and will be available within 24 hours of the new company being approved by Companies House.
Existing customers can view their Companies House authentication code by signing into the main dashboard, selecting the company and navigating to 'Company Authentication Info' under 'Company Information'. To reveal the code simply hover the cursor/mouse over the asterisks next to 'Comp House Auth' as shown:
HMRC - UTR and Government Gateway Credentials
Companies need a Unique Tax Reference Number (UTR) from HMRC to file their Corporation Tax, as well as their unique Government Gateway credentials with Corporation Tax service activated. This might a bit sound daunting, but don't worry! I will explain this further:
Every company receives a Unique Tax Reference number by post at the company's registered address after it is incorporated with Companies House, which is used to identify the legal entity that is filing its corporation tax return. It's not possible to submit filings to HMRC at the end of the accounting period without one, so make sure you know where to find it!
If you incorporated using our registered address service (to protect your private address from being on the public register), your UTR will be sent to us which we upload securely to your EasyDigitalCompany account where you can view it in 'My Mail' along with all official correspondence received from Companies House and HMRC.
Once a company receives a UTR it can create a Government Gateway account on the Gov.uk website. The Government Gateway account is where a company would operate any of its activated taxes, these include Corporation Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE). Without a Government Gateway account, companies can't file Corporation Tax, VAT or PAYE Returns which could lead to the company incurring late filing penalties, which no one wants!
Activating HMRC Online Services
Once you have used your UTR to access the Governement Gateway, you will be issued with a 12 digit User ID and required to create a secure password to create your Government Gateway Account. Successs! You can now start activating tax services that your company will be using, starting with the Corporation Tax Service, the most important for new entities!
If you need more info about setting up HMRC online services, we've got another article on How to Activate Corporation Tax which has helped plenty of other limited companies to get started with Corporation Tax filing.
Want Some More Info?
Hopefully this article has answered any questions that you may have had about the information required to successfully file at the end of your first year with Companies House and HMRC. If you wish to find out more about becoming an incorporated company, please dive into our Knowledge Base or visit Easy Digital Company to find out more about company formation.
