Save the registration documents
Keep the certificate of incorporation, company number, articles of association, statement of capital and share information together. Check the Companies House record for the company name, registered office, directors, people with significant control and accounting reference date. Correct inaccurate details through the relevant Companies House service.
Read our company incorporation guide for the registration steps. This checklist starts after registration.
Set up company records and finances
A limited company is a separate legal entity. Keep company money separate from directors’ and shareholders’ personal finances. Ask your bank which account it allows you to use for company transactions.
From the first transaction, keep sales invoices, contracts, receipts, supplier bills, bank statements and correspondence. Record money the company receives and spends, assets, debts and stock. Keep shareholder details, share transactions and company decisions with the company records.
Companies House requires a company to keep accounting records for six years from the end of the financial year they relate to. Longer periods can apply, including where records cover several accounting periods, concern an asset expected to last more than six years, support a late Company Tax Return or relate to an HMRC check.
Check the company’s Corporation Tax position
Look for HMRC’s company Unique Taxpayer Reference and check whether the company was registered for Corporation Tax through the incorporation service. Follow HMRC’s instructions to set up company tax access and keep its letters with the records.
When a company is active and within the charge to Corporation Tax, it must tell HMRC within three months of the start of its tax accounting period. HMRC’s activity test depends on what the company does. It can include providing services, buying or selling goods, earning interest or receiving other income. A company that has not started activity can have a different position; check HMRC guidance if you are unsure.
Check whether the company needs to register for VAT or PAYE. Those duties depend on its activities, turnover and staff. Incorporation alone does not register it for every tax.
Put filing dates in a calendar
Use the dates on the Companies House register and the company’s HMRC account. A private company’s usual deadlines include:
| Filing or payment | Usual deadline |
|---|---|
| First Companies House accounts | 21 months after incorporation |
| Later annual accounts | Nine months after the financial year ends |
| Corporation Tax payment or notice that none is due | Nine months and one day after the Corporation Tax accounting period ends |
| Company Tax Return | 12 months after the Corporation Tax accounting period ends |
| Confirmation statement | At least once every 12 months, within 14 days after the review period ends |
First accounts can cover more than 12 months. A Corporation Tax accounting period cannot exceed 12 months, so a company may need two Company Tax Returns and two payment dates for its first accounts. Check the actual periods and deadlines before setting reminders.
Review the company’s details each year
Before filing a confirmation statement, check the registered office, directors, shareholder information, statement of capital, SIC code and people with significant control. File required changes separately when the confirmation-statement service cannot report them. Check current Companies House identity-verification instructions for each director and person with significant control.
If the company has not started trading, do not assume its filing duties disappear. Check the separate Companies House and HMRC rules for dormant companies. Our dormant company accounts guide covers a company within its stated scope.
Use these links to check a rate, deadline or eligibility rule.
Official sources
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