LIMITED COMPANY GUIDE

Company tax return vs company accounts: what each one is.

Every UK limited company produces annual accounts and, when HMRC asks, a Company Tax Return. Directors often treat them as one job. They are two separate filings, sent to two different bodies, with different deadlines and different penalties. This guide explains how they differ and how they fit together.

Figures for the 2026/27 tax year · Last reviewed 21/10/2026

The short answer

Company accounts report what the company did and what it is worth. The Company Tax Return works out how much Corporation Tax the company owes. The accounts come first, and the tax return is built on top of them.

Company accounts go to Companies House. They also go to HMRC as part of the tax return, and to the shareholders.
The Company Tax Return goes to HMRC only. It is made up of the CT600 form and a copy of the accounts, and it shows how accounting profit becomes taxable profit.

So HMRC gets both. Companies House only gets the accounts.

What the annual accounts contain

Statutory annual accounts are drawn up from the company's records at the end of its financial year. GOV.UK lists what they must include:

A balance sheet. What the company owns, owes and is owed on the last day of the year. A director must sign it. Our guide on how to read a balance sheet walks through each line.
A profit and loss account. Sales, running costs and the profit or loss for the year.
Notes to the accounts.
A directors' report. Not needed if the company is a micro-entity.
An auditor's report. Only needed for some companies, depending on size.

Accounts follow set accounting standards. That is why the profit in them is not the same as the profit HMRC taxes. For a fuller walk through the year-end process itself, see what are year-end accounts.

What the Company Tax Return contains

A company must file a Company Tax Return if it receives a notice to deliver one from HMRC. It still has to file if it made a loss or owes no tax. The return does three things:

Reports the company's profit or loss for Corporation Tax purposes
Shows the adjustments made to the accounting profit to reach that figure
Calculates the Corporation Tax bill

The return covers an accounting period for Corporation Tax. That period is normally the same as the financial year in the accounts, but it can never be longer than 12 months. The two can also differ in the year a company is set up. If a company's accounts cover more than 12 months, for example after it lengthens its financial year, it must file 2 tax returns to cover the period of those accounts.

Why the two profit figures differ

GOV.UK states plainly that the profit or loss for Corporation Tax is different from the profit or loss in the annual accounts. The tax return starts with the accounting profit and then adjusts it under tax rules.

Equipment is the most common example. In the accounts, the cost of a long-lasting asset is spread over its useful life as depreciation. HMRC does not allow depreciation as a deduction when working out taxable profit. The company claims capital allowances instead. The Annual Investment Allowance lets a business claim up to £1 million on certain plant and machinery.

This example is made up. Imagine a company with an accounting profit of £60,000. During the year it bought a £10,000 machine and charged £2,000 of depreciation in its accounts.

For tax, the £2,000 of depreciation is added back, giving £62,000. If the whole £10,000 qualifies for the Annual Investment Allowance, that is deducted, leaving taxable profit of £52,000. The accounts still show £60,000. Both figures are correct for their own purpose.

For the financial year starting 1 April 2026, the small profits rate is 19% for profits up to £50,000. The main rate is 25% for profits over £250,000. Between the two, marginal relief applies. Both limits are reduced for short accounting periods and for associated companies.

Deadlines side by side

The two filings run to different clocks, and paying the tax has a third deadline of its own.

Accounts to Companies House. 9 months after the end of the financial year. A company's first accounts are usually due 21 months after the date it registered with Companies House (sooner if the first accounting period is shortened).
Corporation Tax payment. Usually 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period.
Company Tax Return to HMRC. 12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers.

The order catches people out. The tax must be paid before the return is due. In practice, you need to know the figure by the payment date, which means the tax return work is effectively done by then.

A worked timeline

A made-up example. A company that is not in its first year has a financial year ending 31 March 2026, and its accounting period for tax matches it.

Its accounts are due at Companies House by 31 December 2026. Its Corporation Tax must be paid by 1 January 2027. Its Company Tax Return is due by 31 March 2027.

Our guide on how to pay your Corporation Tax bill covers the payment side.

Penalties for each filing

Because they are separate filings, a company can be fined by both bodies for the same year.

Late accounts at Companies House

For a private limited company, the penalty depends on how late the accounts are:

Up to 1 month late: £150
1 to 3 months late: £375
3 to 6 months late: £750
More than 6 months late: £1,500

The penalty is doubled if the accounts are late 2 years in a row.

Late Company Tax Return at HMRC

1 day late: £200
3 months late: another £200
6 months late: HMRC estimates the Corporation Tax bill and adds a penalty of 10% of the unpaid tax
12 months late: another 10% of any unpaid tax

If the return is late 3 times in a row, the £200 penalties rise to £1,000 each.

How each one is filed

HMRC's free online service for filing accounts and Company Tax Returns closed on 31 March 2026. From 1 April 2026, companies should use commercial software to file accounts and tax returns with HMRC. Paper returns are only allowed with a reasonable excuse or when filing in Welsh.

The accounts still have to be filed with Companies House separately. Companies House currently offers an online service. From 1 April 2028, accounts must be filed with Companies House using commercial software.

So most companies now need software, or an accountant who uses it, to get both filings out.

Where bookkeeping fits in

Both filings rest on the same records. A company must keep accounting records, including all money received and spent, for 6 years from the end of the last financial year they relate to, and longer in some cases. HMRC can fine a company £3,000 for not keeping proper records, and directors can be disqualified.

When the books are reconciled through the year, the year end is mostly a review. The accounts can be drawn up quickly, and the tax adjustments are easier to spot because each asset purchase and unusual cost is already coded and backed by an invoice. When the books are behind, the 9-month accounts deadline and the 9-months-and-1-day payment date both come round fast. You can check what counts as a deductible company expense and how long to keep records in our other guides.

A quick checklist for directors

Know your financial year end and your Corporation Tax accounting period, and whether they match
Diary 3 dates each year: accounts due, tax due, return due
Expect the taxable profit to differ from the accounts profit
Check that whoever files for you has software for both HMRC and, from 2028, Companies House
Keep the bookkeeping current so the year-end work starts from reconciled figures

Not sure if you could prepare these yourself? Read can I do my own accounts for a limited company. Unfamiliar terms are explained in our glossary.