When you have a limited company, much of your focus may be on the accounting filings that are required of you, be that annual accounts, corporation tax returns, VAT returns etc. However, there is also another return which, whilst being relatively straightforward, could cause you a big old headache if you neglect it. And that is the company’s confirmation statement (previously known as the ‘annual return’).
What is a confirmation statement?
The company confirmation statement contains statutory information, including your company’s address, the directors’ names, shareholding information, and a record of PSC’s (People with significant control) over the company. The statement simply acts as a way for the director to confirm that Companies House is holding correct and up to date information on that company as of the date of the return.
Do I need to complete one?
If you are a director of a limited company, then yes you do! Whether your company is dormant or trading, you are required by law to complete a confirmation statement for your company. If you do not complete a confirmation statement when required, Companies House may start action to ‘strike off’ your company, and this is where the headache can be caused as, if the statement remains outstanding, and the company is struck off, this will lead to your company bank account being frozen and you no longer being able to trade, and trying to reverse this is a costly, time consuming process that, trust us, you could do without!
How do I file it?
The easiest way to file a confirmation statement is online via the webfiling service. This will cost £13. Alternatively, a paper statement can be completed, but this costs £40.
At PaperRocket, we will take care of the filing of your confirmation statement on your behalf, whatever fee package you may be on, ensuring that your statement is filed both on time, and accurately.
And when do I need to get it filed?
Unless you change the filing date, your confirmation statement will need to be filed around the anniversary of your company formation. The best thing to do is to check on Companies House as this will show you both the made up date (the date for which you are providing the information) and the filing deadline date. You will have 14 days from the made up date to file the statement. As we have mentioned above, failure to do so could lead to the company being struck off the register, and even prosecution.
The easiest thing to do to ensure that you do not miss the deadline is to sign up for email reminders from Companies House. This can be done online via their webfiling service, and will mean that you will receive a reminder when it becomes due.
PaperRocket Accounting provide accounting and tax services to professional contractors, freelancers, and small businesses working in the UK.
We offer our clients a flexible choice of fixed fee monthly packages which cover all of their accounting and tax needs (so no hidden costs or surprise bills!). All of our accounting packages include a monthly subscription for a cloud accounting software subscription provided by the awarding winning FreeAgent.
Each of our clients is given their own dedicated qualified accountant with unlimited access in person, telephone, or by email.
We pride ourselves on our client satisfaction and customer service and were awarded ‘Best Contractor Accountancy’ firm 2020 in The Contracting Awards and ‘Welwyn Hatfield Business of the Year 2019’ in the SME Hertfordshire awards.
To find out how we can help you please get in touch now.
