CT600, annual accounts or confirmation statement?

In short: The CT600 is the Company Tax Return sent to HMRC, normally due 12 months after the accounting period ends. Annual accounts go to Companies House, normally 9 months after the financial year ends for an established private company (GOV.UK: Accounts and tax returns for private limited companies). The confirmation statement confirms the company's register details to Companies House at least once a year, within 14 days after its review period ends (Companies Act 2006, section 853A).

The three filings do different jobs, and completing one does not automatically complete the others. If you only record "annual filing done", you can lose track of an outstanding obligation even after a successful submission.

The clearest approach is to track the document, its destination and the evidence that it was received.

What is the difference between a CT600, annual accounts and a confirmation statement?

The CT600 reports Corporation Tax to HMRC, annual accounts report the company's finances to Companies House and form part of the HMRC package, and the confirmation statement confirms register information to Companies House. Completing one does not complete the others, and a Company Tax Return is the CT600 plus any supplementary pages, accounts and computations.

HMRC's Company Tax Return obligations guidance explains the contents; the company accounts overview explains the separate filing responsibilities.

The Companies House confirmation-statement service is a different process again. It is not a way to submit the company's tax computation.

Why are directors caught out?

The labels sound similar, and different organisations use different reference numbers. An email saying "your submission was accepted" is meaningful only when you know what was submitted and to whom: a Companies House accounts receipt does not show that the Company Tax Return reached HMRC, and the reverse is also true.

Illustration: a director files accounts with Companies House and saves the receipt. Their bookkeeper has prepared a Corporation Tax calculation, but nobody has submitted the Company Tax Return. The accounts receipt does not fill that gap.

This is a workflow problem before it is a tax problem. The remedy is to make the separate jobs visible.

How do you keep track of all three filings?

Keep a one-page register that records, for each obligation, the document, period, checked deadline, responsible person, review status and saved receipt. Give the CT600, the accounts and the confirmation statement a row each, so each one shows its own deadline and receipt. The register needs these fields:

• Company name and company number.
• Document or submission type.
• Relevant period or confirmation date.
• Official deadline checked against the relevant service.
• Person responsible for preparation and submission.
• Review or approval still needed.
• Submission reference and saved receipt.

Use precise status labels: "figures being prepared", "reviewed", "submitted" and "receipt checked". Avoid using "done" for a task that has only reached the preparation stage.

Where an accountant handles a filing, agree what evidence they will provide. Where you file yourself, save the evidence somewhere accessible independently of the software account.

Are the deadlines the same?

No: after its first year, a typical private company's accounts are normally due at Companies House nine months after the year ends, and its Company Tax Return 12 months after its accounting period ends. The usual Corporation Tax payment deadline is earlier than the return deadline. First accounts and other circumstances can differ. Check the official deadline table.

Do not derive a confirmation-statement deadline from the accounts year end. Check the company's actual confirmation-statement position separately. Also check the current identity-verification requirements before filing, rather than discovering missing information at the final step.

What should software make clear?

A product should distinguish the work it prepares from the submissions it actually sends. Ask which destination each button serves — HMRC or Companies House — and what happens if one submission succeeds while another does not, so a partial success is never recorded as the whole annual filing.

Taxley files the CT600 to HMRC and, as a separate step on the filing page, the accounts at Companies House. It doesn't file the confirmation statement, so keep your own arrangements for that. Check What you can file with Taxley, or take the 30-second check to see whether Taxley fits your company.

Next step: read How to submit your Corporation Tax return online, step by step to see which part of the process Taxley covers, then assign the remaining filings to a named person.

Frequently asked questions

Is the confirmation statement the old annual return?

Yes. Companies House describes it as the replacement for the annual return. Despite the old name, it was never an annual tax return: it confirms prescribed company-register information and does not report profits or Corporation Tax (Companies House confirmation statement).

Does paying Corporation Tax file the return?

No. Paying the tax and filing the Company Tax Return are separate tasks with separate evidence, and the usual payment deadline comes before the return deadline (GOV.UK: Pay your Corporation Tax bill). Record each one in your register with its own receipt.

Does filing accounts at Companies House also file them with HMRC?

No. Annual accounts go to Companies House and also form part of the Company Tax Return package sent to HMRC, but each submission is separate. A Companies House accounts receipt does not prove the Company Tax Return was submitted, and an HMRC submission does not prove Companies House received the accounts.

When are a private company's accounts due at Companies House?

After its first year, a typical private company's accounts are normally due at Companies House nine months after the year ends. First accounts and other circumstances can differ, so check the official deadline table rather than assuming (GOV.UK accounts deadlines).

General information, not personalised tax or accounting advice.