When running your own business, you must file a confirmation statement with Companies House in addition to all your business year-end accounts. The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act replaced annual returns as of 30 June 2016 and introduced confirmation statements to offer a more straightforward alternative to inputting your company details. Once you have submitted all your company details once, you do not need to do this every year. Instead, you can just ‘check and confirm’ these details, making any changes where necessary. This is all done to verify that the company data displayed on the public register is up to date. Allow us to walk you through everything you need to include in your annual company confirmation statement.
What is included in a confirmation statement?
If you have just formed your business and are submitting a confirmation statement for the first time, you will need to include the following details:
- List of company directors
- Registered office address
- Shareholders
- Share capital
- People with significant control
- Trade classification codes (SIC codes)
- Secretary (if applicable)
Once your company files your confirmation statement with Companies House, you will not need to go through this process again. All that is required is that you make any changes to these details on an annual basis should they be necessary, for example, in the event of a change of ownership.
When is a confirmation statement due?
All limited companies and limited liability partnerships are required to submit a confirmation statement once every 12 months, often referred to as the review period. The due date for this process is known as the confirmation date, which is either the anniversary of company formation or one year from when your last confirmation statement was completed. You will then have 14 days to complete your confirmation statement and submit it with Companies House. Your payment period for this is 12 months from your incorporation date, or when your last payment was made. It will cost you £13 to complete this online or £40 for a paper form. You can sign up for email reminders from Companies House so that you do not forget your deadline.
What happens if a confirmation statement is late?
If you are still yet to file the necessary documents with Companies House 14 days after the confirmation statement is due, this is a criminal offence and can have serious consequences. There are no late filing penalties, however your company may be struck off the Companies House register and the directors could be personally fined.
For any additional information on confirmation statements or if you have any further questions relating to your company, you may find it beneficial to check the Companies House website. At Bells Accountants, our complete accounting service can manage all of your accounts on your behalf. This means that we can file not only your confirmation statements, but also year-end accounts and annual returns so that these are carried out as accurately as possible. To find out more about how we can ensure you don’t miss a deadline, why not give us a call on 020 8468 1087 or email ?
