July 7th, 2020
Companies House filing extensions due to COVID-19
It was announced back in March 2020 that a three-month filing extension could be applied for by businesses in advance of Companies House filing due dates in light of the coronavirus pandemic and potential difficulties in getting information prepared and filed on time.
It has now been announced by Companies House that filing deadlines will be automatically extended for the likes of year end accounts and confirmation statements. The public record is being updated and all newly extended filing deadlines can be found on Companies House.
For example, accounts to 30 September 2019 that would have originally been due for filing with Companies House by 30 June 2020 can now be filed by the extended deadline of 30 September 2020.
In addition to the extension for accounts, the usual confirmation statement deadline of 14 days has been extended to 42 days. The deadline for filing company changes has also been extended from 14 days to 42 days.
It is worth noting that the automatic extensions only apply to original filing dates; they will not be added on to any other extensions already agreed with Companies House.
Where accounting periods have been shortened, for private companies the deadline will be extended to the later of the new period of 12 months from your accounting reference date, or 3 months from the date of the notice to shorten your accounting reference period.
The extensions are a temporary measure, so any of the relevant deadlines that fall on 6 April 2021 or later will not be automatically extended – instead, businesses would need to request an extension after this date if they are unable to file their information by the usual deadline.
Any corporation tax liabilities are due by the usual date (9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period [where taxable profits are less than £1.5m]), and so if you are struggling to pay your corporation tax liability, it is recommended you contact HMRC. They have broadened their Time to Pay scheme due to the difficulties facing businesses in the current climate.
Details how to contact HMRC to discuss Time to Pay can be found here.
More details on temporary changes to Companies House filing requirements can be found here.
