Harnett Accontants

Harnett & Co | Chartered Accountants, Kingston upon Thames
Global House Business Centre 1 Ashley Avenue Epsom Surrey KT18 5AD
ICAEW Authorised Practice
01372253100
Year-End Accounts & Corporation Tax | Harnett & Co — Chartered Accountants Kingston upon Thames Skip to main content
Business Services

Year-End Accounts &
Corporation Tax

Statutory accounts and CT600 corporation tax returns prepared accurately and on time for limited companies across West London and Surrey. We minimise your tax liability, handle every filing deadline and keep you fully compliant - so you can focus on growing your business.

📞 01372253100
Why it matters

More than a compliance exercise - a genuine tax opportunity

Every limited company must file statutory accounts with Companies House and a corporation tax return (CT600) with HMRC within specific deadlines after its accounting year-end. Get these wrong - or file them without proper thought - and you risk penalties, overpaying tax and missing reliefs that are legitimately yours.

Since April 2023, the corporation tax rate is 25% on profits over £250,000, while the small profits rate of 19% applies to profits up to £50,000 - with marginal relief in between. For many businesses, this creates genuine planning opportunities around the timing of expenditure, dividends and investment decisions that should be considered before year-end, not after.

At Harnett & Co we treat year-end accounts preparation as a planning process, not just a filing exercise. We review your position before completing the accounts, identify every available relief and allowance, and ensure your accounts present your business accurately and in the best possible light.

Deadline management - Companies House (9 months) and HMRC CT600 (12 months) deadlines tracked and never missed
All reliefs claimed - capital allowances, R&D relief, loss relief and marginal relief all reviewed and applied where eligible
Director remuneration review - optimal salary and dividend split calculated before accounts are finalised each year
iXBRL digital filing - accounts tagged and submitted in the format HMRC requires, no manual re-keying errors
Pre-year-end planning - we review your position before year-end so you can act on planning opportunities while there is still time
HMRC enquiry handling - accurately prepared accounts reduce enquiry risk; all correspondence handled on your behalf
What's included

Everything covered under one roof

Our year-end accounts service covers every element of your statutory compliance - from preparation through to submission and beyond.

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Statutory Year-End Accounts
Full preparation of statutory accounts to FRS 102 or FRS 105 (micro-entity) standard, including profit & loss, balance sheet and all required notes for Companies House filing.
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Corporation Tax Return (CT600)
Complete preparation and HMRC submission of your CT600, with all tax computations, adjustments and reliefs applied correctly. iXBRL-tagged accounts included as standard.
HMRC Filing
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Companies House Filing
Statutory accounts filed electronically at Companies House within the required 9-month deadline. Filing confirmation and acknowledgement receipt provided every year.
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Director Remuneration Planning
We calculate the most tax-efficient salary, dividend and pension combination for directors annually - factoring in current corporation tax and personal income tax rates.
Tax Planning
⚙️
Capital Allowances
Full review of capital expenditure to maximise Annual Investment Allowance, first-year allowances and the full expensing regime for qualifying plant and machinery introduced in 2023.
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R&D Tax Relief
If your business undertakes qualifying research and development, we identify and claim R&D relief - including under the merged RDEC scheme introduced from April 2024.
Specialist
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Loss Relief & Tax Planning
Losses carried back for refunds, carried forward against future profits or surrendered within a group - whichever approach produces the best outcome for your situation.
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Group & Associated Companies
Accounts for groups and associated companies with correct application of threshold rules, group relief, consolidation and inter-company loan balances.
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Dormant & LLP Accounts
Dormant company accounts and confirmation statements filed on time to prevent automatic strike-off, plus LLP members' accounts and partnership tax returns.
Corporation Tax 2024/25

Understanding the current rates - and how to reduce them

The corporation tax landscape changed significantly from April 2023. The single 19% flat rate was replaced with a two-rate system and a marginal relief band. Understanding where your profits fall - and how to legitimately manage them - is central to what we do every year.

Key planning opportunities include the timing of capital expenditure (especially full expensing for qualifying plant and machinery), pension contributions for directors, and ensuring all deductible expenses are correctly claimed. For companies approaching the £250,000 threshold, pre-year-end planning can produce significant savings.

We also check whether associated company rules apply — if you or connected persons control multiple companies, the thresholds are divided between them, which can push individual companies into a higher rate than expected.

Payment deadline: Corporation tax is due 9 months and 1 day after your accounting year-end for non-quarterly payers. HMRC charges interest at 2.5% above Bank of England base rate on overdue amounts. We track your payment deadline and send a reminder in advance.

Small Profits Rate
19%
Profits up to £50,000
Applies to companies with taxable profits at or below the lower threshold. Unchanged from the previous flat rate - no increase for smaller businesses.
Marginal Relief Band
19–25%
Profits £50,001 - £250,000
Marginal relief tapers the rate between 19% and 25%. The effective marginal rate on profits within this band is 26.5% - a key trigger for pre-year-end planning.
Main Rate
25%
Profits over £250,000
Applies above the upper threshold. Capital allowances, R&D claims and pension contributions become especially valuable at this rate - each £1 deducted saves 25p in tax.
Key deadlines

Missing a deadline costs money - we make sure you never do

Every limited company faces the same annual deadlines. We track all of them and give you plenty of notice before anything is due.

Companies House - Accounts
Annual
9 months
after your accounting year-end
Statutory accounts must be filed at Companies House within 9 months of your year-end for private limited companies. First-year accounts can have up to 21 months from incorporation.
⚠️ Late penalty: £150 rising to £1,500+ if more than 6 months late
HMRC - CT600 Return
Annual
12 months
after your accounting year-end
The corporation tax return must be filed with HMRC within 12 months of the end of the accounting period. Penalties apply automatically even if no tax is owed.
⚠️ Late penalty: £100 immediately, rising to £1,000+ after 6 months
Corporation Tax Payment
Payment Due
9 months + 1 day
after your accounting year-end
Corporation tax must be paid a full month before the CT600 filing deadline. HMRC charges late payment interest daily from the day after the due date.
⚠️ Interest: 2.5% above Bank of England base rate, charged daily
Confirmation Statement
Annual
Within 14 days
of the review period anniversary
Every company must file an annual confirmation statement at Companies House to confirm registered details remain accurate. We include this in our company secretarial service.
⚠️ Failure to file can lead to company being struck off the register
How it works

Getting started is straightforward

We make the transition to a new accountant as smooth as possible - most clients are fully set up within a week.

1

Initial consultation

We discuss your business, year-end date, the state of your records and what you need. No obligation.

2

Clear proposal

A written proposal confirming exactly what we will do, timescales and cost - agreed upfront with no surprises.

3

Accounts preparation

We prepare your accounts and tax computations, carry out a review with you and identify planning opportunities.

4

Filed & confirmed

Accounts submitted to Companies House and CT600 filed with HMRC. You receive confirmation receipts and your tax payment deadline.

Cloud accounting

We work with your existing software

We connect directly as your accountant on Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or FreeAgent - pulling your year-end data across cleanly with no duplication or re-entry.

If your records are on spreadsheets or desktop software, we migrate your data into a cloud platform as part of onboarding. This makes every subsequent year-end faster and gives you real-time visibility throughout the year.

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XeroFull practice partner
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QuickBooksProAdvisor certified
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SageSage-approved partner
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FreeAgentCertified accountant
Who we work with

Year-end accounts for every type of business

From first-year start-ups to established trading businesses, we handle year-end accounts and corporation tax across every sector and structure.

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Start-Ups & New Companies
First-year accounts with longer periods, share allotments, director loan accounts and initial filing obligations at both HMRC and Companies House handled correctly from day one.
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Owner-Managed Businesses
Accounts that integrate seamlessly with your personal tax return. Director remuneration, dividend vouchers and S.455 loan tax all handled together every year.
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Construction & Trades
CIS deductions, subcontractor costs, plant and equipment capital allowances and the specific accounting treatments that apply in the construction sector.
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Property Companies
SPV and investment companies including rental income, loan interest restrictions, SDLT and the post-Section 24 landscape for landlords operating through a limited company.
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Technology & Consultancies
IP asset treatment, R&D relief eligibility, contractor structures and IR35 / off-payroll rules for technology businesses and professional services firms.
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Retail & E-Commerce
Stock valuations, marketplace income (Amazon, eBay, Shopify), COGS treatment and cross-border VAT all handled accurately in your year-end accounts.
Common questions

Year-end accounts & corporation tax - your questions answered

The main corporation tax rate is 25% for companies with taxable profits over £250,000. Companies with profits of £50,000 or less pay the small profits rate of 19%. Between these thresholds, marginal relief tapers the effective rate between 19% and 25%. These thresholds are divided by the number of associated companies you control - so if you control two companies, each threshold is halved to £25,000 and £125,000 respectively.
There are three key dates: (1) Corporation tax payment is due 9 months and 1 day after your accounting year-end. (2) Statutory accounts must be filed at Companies House within 9 months of year-end. (3) The CT600 return must be filed with HMRC within 12 months of year-end. Importantly, the tax is due before the return deadline - so in some cases you need to estimate and pay before your accounts are completely finalised. We manage all three deadlines for every client.
For most owner-directors, the optimal structure is a low salary (typically around £12,570, the personal allowance, or £9,100 if avoiding any employer NI) combined with dividends up to your available higher-rate threshold. Pension contributions are also highly efficient as they reduce company profits directly. The exact optimal split depends on your total income, other earnings, carried-forward losses and whether a spouse is also a shareholder. We review this every year before finalising your accounts.
R&D relief is available to companies that undertake projects seeking to achieve an advance in science or technology by overcoming technical uncertainty. Qualifying activities are broader than many business owners expect — they include software development, new product design, process improvements and bespoke tooling, provided there is genuine technical risk involved. From April 2024, a merged RDEC-style scheme replaced the previous SME and RDEC regimes for most claims, with a net benefit rate of around 16.2% for profitable companies. We assess eligibility as part of every year-end review.
Trading losses can be used in several ways: carried back one year against previous profits (generating a tax repayment), carried forward indefinitely against future profits from the same trade, or - for groups - surrendered to another group company. Terminal loss relief allows losses in the final 12 months of a trade to be carried back up to 3 years. The best strategy depends on your expectations for future profitability and group structure. We review the optimal treatment as part of your year-end work.
Full expensing (introduced April 2023, made permanent in Autumn Statement 2023) allows companies to deduct 100% of the cost of qualifying plant and machinery - computers, machinery, vehicles and office equipment - in the year of purchase rather than over several years. At the 25% rate, a £100,000 investment generates a £25,000 tax saving in year one. We review all capital expenditure at year-end to ensure full expensing and the Annual Investment Allowance (£1 million per year) are claimed wherever applicable.
Yes - we regularly take on clients whose accounts are behind, whether by weeks or years. We obtain 64-8 agent authorisation from HMRC, liaise with Companies House where necessary, review the records and produce accounts as quickly as possible. Where late filing penalties have been incurred, we can assist in making a reasonable excuse appeal if the circumstances justify it. We work through any outstanding years systematically until everything is up to date.
Related services
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Bookkeeping & VAT Returns
Clean bookkeeping throughout the year makes your year-end faster and less expensive. We offer integrated bookkeeping and year-end accounts as a combined service.
Learn more ›
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Self Assessment & Personal Tax
Director dividends and salary must be declared on your personal Self Assessment return. We prepare both your company accounts and personal tax return together for a fully joined-up picture.
Learn more ›
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Management Accounts
Monthly or quarterly management accounts keep you informed throughout the year — so there are no surprises when the year-end figures land.
Learn more ›
Ready to get started?

Let's make your year-end work for you

Talk to us about your year-end accounts and corporation tax. We'll identify where you can save tax and make sure everything is filed on time and accurately.

📞 02038238155