Turner Little provides a guide to accounting reference dates for new limited companies. The accounting reference date determines the period that a company's annual accounts should cover. Specifically, the government automatically assigns the accounting reference date as the last day of the month that the company was incorporated. For example, a company incorporated on December 3rd would have an accounting reference date of December 31st. Directors must submit annual accounts to government agencies within 9 months of the accounting reference date or face legal consequences. Turner Little offers business administration services to help companies file accounts on time.

1. Turner Little’s Guide to Accounting Reference Dates
If youforma limitedcompany,youwill take ona range of duties inyourcapacity as director.Youwill
be responsible, for example, for fulfilling your firm’s filing obligations, such as delivering its annual
accounts to both Companies House and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). To help you file your
annual accounts properly, here is Turner Little’s guide to accounting reference dates.
Preparing accounts
We should note that after you create a limited firm, you will be informed of several key dates. The
first two are your confirmation statement due date and your annual account due date. The third is
your firm’saccountingreference date.Youwill needthisdate whenpreparingyourannual accounts,
whichare designedtorelayyourbusiness’financialinformationtothe relevantgovernment bodies.
You mustfile annual accounts withCompaniesHouse andHMRC,whetheryourbusinessistradingor
not.You shouldsubmityourfirstsetof accountstothese agencies nolaterthan21 months,following
the formationof yourbusiness.The annual accountsthatyousubmitfollowingthisinitial setare then
due at Companies House and HMRC nine months after your business’ accounting reference date.
Account referencing dates
Your firm’s accounting reference date basically informs you of what period your business’ accounts
shouldcover.Afterafull yearhas passedsince the creationof yourbusiness,itsfirstaccountsshould
apply to the period ranging from its incorporation to its accounting reference date. The following
accounts should cover the period up to your next accounting reference date and so on.
You may be asking yourself at this point, “how is my accounting reference date decided?” The
government automatically assigns your venture’s accounting reference date on the last day of the
month of your incorporation. This means, for example, that if your firm was incorporatedon the 3rd
December, then your accounting reference date would fall on the 31st
December.
Useful resources
If you wishto change you accountingreference date youcan, but onlyunder certainconditions.You
can broadenthe date to a maximumof 18 monthsonce everyfive years,howeveryoucan shortenit
as manytimesas youwantto. You shouldsendthe applicable governmentformtoCompaniesHouse
if youwishtochange youraccountingreferencedate. Youshouldnotethatif youhaveaccounts which
are overdue, you cannot change your company’s accounting reference date.
You will be extremelybusywhenyoubecome acompany director,devotingyourtime tomakingthe
businessasuccess.You maynot have time to file yourannual accountsby youraccountingreference
date,butyou mustdo so,or face the legal consequences.However,aspartof our corporate services,
Turner Little provides business administration services and a company secretary, who can conduct
these tasksonyour behalf,ensuringyoucandevote yourvaluable time tobuildingasuccessful firm.
Turner Little
Turner Little was foundedin 1998 and it has since become a well-established UK based professional
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