Can I do my own limited company accounts?

There’s nothing stopping you from filing your own Companies House accounts and Corporation Tax return. Plenty of people try it, especially in year one when the business is small and money is tight.

What’s actually involved

Preparing statutory accounts in the correct format, filing a Corporation Tax return (CT600) with HMRC, and making sure everything reconciles properly with your bookkeeping records. Good accounting software makes the mechanics easier, but it doesn’t replace understanding what you’re actually submitting.

Where people get caught out

Missing allowable expenses because they didn’t know a cost qualified, getting salary and dividend splits wrong in a way that creates an unnecessary tax bill, or simply missing a filing deadline, which carries automatic penalties regardless of whether the mistake was innocent.

When doing it yourself is genuinely reasonable

A dormant company with no trading activity, or a very simple, very low activity business where you’re confident with the rules and comfortable taking full responsibility if something’s wrong. Good software plus real care can get you through.

The honest recommendation

The moment there’s real trading activity, real payroll, or dividends being paid, get an accountant at least to review what you’ve prepared, even if you’re doing the day to day bookkeeping yourself. The cost is usually far less than the price of getting it wrong.

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Where we mention a paid product we may earn a fee if you sign up, at no cost to you, and it never changes what we recommend. Pricing and features change, always check the provider’s own site for current details. This is information, not accounting advice.