Your company’s first year: accounts and tax

Company incorporated 10 July 2026, starts trading immediately:

• ~24 July 2026 — UTR letter arrives; register for Corporation Tax (within 3 months of starting business)
• 24 July 2027 — first confirmation statement due (12 months + 14 days)
• 31 July 2027 — first year end (last day of anniversary month)
• 10 April 2028 — first accounts due at Companies House (21 months after incorporation), and Corporation Tax payment due for the first 12 months of the period (9 months + 1 day after 9 July 2027)
• 1 May 2028 — Corporation Tax payment due for the stub period (9 months + 1 day after 31 July 2027)
• 9 July / 31 July 2028 — the two CT600 returns due (12 months after each period ends)

Notice the shape: nothing for a year, then everything lands in a few weeks. This is why new directors get caught out — and why sensible ones have the accounts prepared within a couple of months of the year end, long before any deadline.

A Company Tax Return can cover at most 12 months. Your first accounting period is almost always a little longer (10 July 2026 → 31 July 2027 is 12 months and 3 weeks), so HMRC splits it into a 12-month return and a short stub return. It’s one set of accounts, one job for your accountant — but two filings and two payment dates to hit. After year one, you’re on the normal single-return cycle.

The ongoing Corporation Tax deadlines →

• Keep bookkeeping current — a year of receipts reconstructed in a weekend produces expensive accounts
• Document every dividend when paid (minute + voucher)
• Put money aside for Corporation Tax as profits arise — 19–25% of profit is HMRC’s
• Review salary/dividend mix before the tax year ends on 5 April, while it can still be changed

The full new-company checklist →

We prepare first-year accounts and both CT600s as one job, confirm each payment date, and set the routine for every year after. Call 0114 327 1480.

First-year accounts service →