Research
When are UK company accounts due?
Every company has to file accounts and a confirmation statement with Companies House each year. Here is when those deadlines fall across the UK, which months are busiest, and how that differs by sector.
The answer
A private company must file its accounts within 9 months of the end of its financial year.2 On 1 October 2026, 19.3% of trading UK companies had a year end in March (853,504 of 4,421,576), so the busiest deadline is in December. 579,306 companies had accounts due on 31 December 2026 that were not yet filed.1
The rules
| What | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Accounts, private company | 9 months after the end of the financial year (the accounting reference date)2 |
| First accounts, private company | 21 months after the company was set up, or 3 months after the accounting reference date if that is later2 |
| Accounts, public company | 6 months after the end of the financial year2 |
| Confirmation statement | At least once a year, up to 14 days after the 12-month review period ends. This applies to dormant companies too3 |
HMRC's deadlines are separate: Corporation Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period for Corporation Tax, and the Company Tax Return 12 months after it.5
Which months companies choose for their year end
| Year end in | Companies | Share | Accounts due 9 months later, in (private company, after the first year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | 853,504 | 19.3% | December |
| December | 532,167 | 12% | September |
| September | 374,194 | 8.5% | June |
| April | 337,118 | 7.6% | January |
| June | 336,152 | 7.6% | March |
| July | 324,025 | 7.3% | April |
| August | 314,765 | 7.1% | May |
| May | 293,118 | 6.6% | February |
| January | 277,358 | 6.3% | October |
| October | 274,285 | 6.2% | July |
| February | 266,681 | 6% | November |
| November | 238,209 | 5.4% | August |
March is the most common year end by a long way, followed by December. For a new company, the first year end is the last day of the month in which the first anniversary of its set-up falls, and it stays on that date each year2 unless the company changes it.4 We have not checked why each company chose its date.
Accounts and confirmation statements still to file, by month
| Due in | Accounts | Confirmation statements |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 161,575 | 297,026 |
| November 2026 | 180,875 | 356,787 |
| December 2026 | 661,424 | 312,798 |
| January 2027 | 230,510 | 289,387 |
| February 2027 | 205,268 | 361,725 |
| March 2027 | 249,566 | 421,586 |
| April 2027 | 242,491 | 403,060 |
| May 2027 | 247,077 | 370,884 |
| June 2027 | 299,283 | 343,141 |
| July 2027 | 252,894 | 375,523 |
| August 2027 | 208,713 | 340,258 |
| September 2027 | 415,121 | 303,046 |
| Already past due | 79,817 | 236,681 |
These are filings not yet made on 1 October 2026. A company that files early gets a new due date a year later, so the near months look smaller than the year-end table suggests. The busiest single dates were:
- 31 December 2026: 579,306 companies' accounts due
- 30 September 2027: 366,393 companies' accounts due
- 30 June 2027: 225,266 companies' accounts due
- 31 March 2027: 203,149 companies' accounts due
Dormant companies are not in these tables. On 1 October 2026 there were 588,689 more active companies that were dormant, and they have to file too.3 "Already past due" means the due date was before 1 October 2026; a few may have filed shortly before the file was produced. How accountancy firms compare on their own filings.
Year ends by sector
| Sector | Companies | Year end in March | Year end in December | Most common month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and retail, motor repair | 593,897 | 14.5% | 9.9% | March |
| Property | 544,500 | 19.6% | 12.2% | March |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 538,487 | 20.9% | 11.7% | March |
| Construction | 468,480 | 21.9% | 8.4% | March |
| Information and communication | 392,487 | 16.5% | 11.9% | March |
| Administrative and support services | 313,012 | 19.7% | 14% | March |
| Hotels, restaurants and food | 232,584 | 15.8% | 9.1% | March |
| Health and social work | 198,321 | 24.1% | 8.5% | March |
| Finance and insurance | 192,764 | 20.6% | 24.4% | December |
| Other services | 189,126 | 19.4% | 10.7% | March |
| Manufacturing | 188,013 | 18.5% | 15.4% | March |
| Transport and storage | 122,715 | 14.3% | 9.7% | March |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 111,933 | 20.8% | 11.3% | March |
| Education | 96,111 | 16.6% | 8.4% | March |
| Residents' property management (and households as employers) | 81,676 | 20.9% | 21.9% | December |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 38,826 | 27.6% | 11.6% | March |
Sector comes from the first activity (SIC) code each company gave Companies House. Sectors with fewer than 30,000 trading companies are left out of the table.
What happens if accounts are late
| How late | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 month | £150 |
| 1 to 3 months | £375 |
| 3 to 6 months | £750 |
| More than 6 months | £1,500 |
The penalty is doubled if accounts are late 2 years in a row. 6 Penalties for public companies are higher.2 For a missing confirmation statement, a company can be fined up to £5,000 and may be struck off.3
Why this matters if you run a business
If your year end is 31 March, your accounts are due on 31 December. On 1 October 2026, 579,306 companies still had accounts to file by 31 December 2026. If you are changing accountant or need help for the first time, it may help to start well before your deadline. Our form can help you work out what support to look for.
How we counted
- Who is included: companies with status "Active" in the Companies House bulk file that do not file dormant accounts and do not use the dormant company activity code: 4,577,368 companies. This is the same group as on our filing research page.
- Year end: the accounting reference day and month in the file. 4,421,576 of the 4,577,368 companies have one recorded.
- Due by month: the next accounts due date and the next confirmation statement due date in the file, for the 12 months from 1 October 2026.
- No area split: the file holds each company's registered office, which is often its accountant's or an agent's address rather than where the business works, so we have not shown deadlines by area.
Sources
- Companies House, Free Company Data Product (bulk company file dated 1 October 2026): accounting reference date, next accounts due date, next confirmation statement due date, account category and SIC codes. download.companieshouse.gov.uk/en_output.html.
- Companies House, "Life of a company: Part 1 accounts", sections 1.2 and 5, updated 25 September 2026. gov.uk. Checked 13 October 2026.
- Companies House, "Confirmation statement guidance", updated 21 April 2026. gov.uk. Checked 13 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, "Change your company's year end". gov.uk. Checked 13 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, "Prepare annual accounts for a private limited company". gov.uk. Checked 13 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, "Annual accounts: penalties for late filing". gov.uk. Checked 13 October 2026.