Limited Company Directors: Your Accounts, Tax and Filing Duties

Becoming a company director is a big step. A limited company gives you limited liability and can be more tax-efficient, but it also brings legal duties that sit with you personally. Most of them come down to keeping proper records and filing the right information on time with Companies House and HMRC. This guide sets out the essentials for directors of small limited companies in Bristol and across the UK.

Your general duties as a director

Company law sets out general duties that every director must follow. In summary, you must:

• Act within the company's constitution, and use your powers for their proper purpose
• Act in the way you believe will promote the success of the company
• Exercise independent judgement
• Use reasonable care, skill and diligence
• Avoid conflicts of interest
• Not accept benefits from third parties because you're a director
• Declare any interest you have in a proposed transaction with the company

Alongside these, you're responsible for making sure the company keeps proper accounting records and meets its filing deadlines, even if you pay an accountant to do the work.

Annual accounts and the Company Tax Return

Each year, your company must prepare statutory accounts and file them with Companies House, and file a Company Tax Return with HMRC. The key deadlines for a private limited company are:

• First accounts: file with Companies House 21 months after the company was registered
• Annual accounts: file with Companies House 9 months after the end of the financial year
• Corporation Tax: pay 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period
• Company Tax Return: file 12 months after the end of the accounting period

Notice that Corporation Tax is due before the return. Many directors are caught out by this, so it's worth setting money aside for tax throughout the year. Our guide to understanding your Corporation Tax bill explains how it's worked out. Late accounts also trigger an automatic Companies House penalty, from £150 up to £1,500, doubled if you're late two years in a row.

The confirmation statement

At least once a year, your company must file a confirmation statement with Companies House, confirming that the information held about it, such as its directors, shareholders, registered office and people with significant control, is up to date. You can file it up to 14 days after the end of your review period, and it costs £50 online. It's separate from your accounts, so it's easy to forget.

Identity verification

Every director must now verify their identity with Companies House. It's a one-off check, but it's a legal requirement, and existing directors have personal deadlines linked to their company's confirmation statement. Our guide to Companies House identity verification for directors explains what to do.

Keeping company records

You must keep accounting records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to. That means records of all money received and spent, what the company owns and owes, any stock, and the invoices, receipts and bank statements behind them. If records aren't kept properly, directors can be fined £3,000 by HMRC or even disqualified. Good bookkeeping is the easiest way to stay on the right side of this.

Paying yourself, and director's loans

Directors usually take money out of their company as a salary, dividends, or a mix of both, and each is taxed differently: see our guide to salary or dividends for 2026/27. Anything else you take out, other than repaying genuine business expenses, is treated as a director's loan, and the rules are strict:

• If you owe your company money at the end of its accounting period and don't repay it within 9 months, the company pays extra Corporation Tax of 33.75% of the amount outstanding
• The company can reclaim that tax once the loan has been repaid
• If you owe the company more than £10,000 at any time, it's treated as a benefit in kind, with tax and National Insurance to account for

Your own Self Assessment tax return

Being a director doesn't automatically mean you have to file a Self Assessment tax return. You'll usually need to if you have income that hasn't been taxed through PAYE, which for many directors means dividends above their allowances. If you're unsure, check, because late filing penalties start at £100.

Other duties to keep on top of

• Running payroll through PAYE if the company pays any salaries, including your own
• Registering for VAT if taxable turnover goes over £90,000, and filing VAT returns
• Telling Companies House about changes, such as a new director or a new registered office
• Keeping the company's statutory registers up to date

Accountants for limited companies

Delegating the work doesn't transfer the responsibility, but it does take the admin and the risk off your plate. We act as accountants for limited companies across Bristol and the UK, taking care of statutory accounts, Corporation Tax, confirmation statements, payroll and directors' Self Assessment, for a fixed monthly fee. See our pricing, or get in touch.