Company compliance calendars for UK accountants

A company compliance calendar brings obligations, owners and evidence into one working view. It helps an accountant plan work; it does not replace Companies House or HMRC records, discover every obligation or file anything automatically.

The Obnexo generator uses one company year end and three yes/no facts: VAT registration, active payroll and first accounts. For later accounts it shows three conditional planning dates. For first accounts it withholds accounts and tax dates. Confirmation statements, VAT and payroll remain checklist prompts, not calculated deadlines.

Source dates are observed facts: the registered accounting reference date (ARD), the actual HMRC tax period, a confirmation-statement review-period end or a VAT accounting period. Record where each fact came from and when it was checked.

Derived statutory dates apply a particular legal rule to those facts, within its supported scope. Companies House accounts periods and HMRC tax periods are different date models; a generic month addition is not a universal filing rule.

Practice dates are internal controls: chase records, prepare, review, obtain approval and leave a submission buffer. Choose them for the practice and client. They are not legal deadlines and the generator does not create them for you.

For ordinary later private-company accounts, Companies House normally allows nine calendar months from the registered ARD. A month-end ARD produces a month-end deadline: 30 April 2026 gives 31 January 2027. Weekends and bank holidays do not extend the filing deadline.

The calendar's accounts row is a conditional private-company planning date, not a public-company or LLP calculation. The entered company year end must be the relevant registered ARD. Accounts made up within seven days of the ARD do not make that different date the registered reference date.

First accounts, shortening, lengthening or an approved extension need their own facts. Use the dedicated Accounts Filing Deadline tool for its supported cases; a shortened period may require the actual receipt date of the notice. The calendar does not collect that history or calculate an extension.

The normal Corporation Tax payment rule is nine months and one day after the actual CT accounting-period end, interpreted using HMRC's calendar-period rules. A period ending on the last day of a month gives the first day of the tenth following month: 30 April 2026 gives 1 February 2027.

The calendar assumes the tax period ends on the entered year end and instalments do not apply. It does not assess whether the company must pay by instalments or check HMRC's account. Verify the actual regime and period first; do not apply this date to each part of a long accounts period without review.

Plan payment clearance as well as the statutory date. Official payment guidance distinguishes payment methods and weekend or bank-holiday clearance. The calendar does not adjust dates for banking or generate a payment instruction.

For the supported ordinary return case, the filing deadline ends the complete twelve-month period after the CT period end. For 28 February 2027 it runs from 1 March 2027 to 29 February 2028. HMRC CTM93040 explicitly confirms this February-before-leap-year result.

The calendar uses that reviewed ordinary operation only as a conditional planning row: one CT period must coincide with the whole accounts period and no later notice or exceptional filing date may apply. HMRC's filing rules compare several periods and use the latest applicable date; a late-served notice or long relevant accounts period can change the answer.

A CT accounting period cannot exceed twelve months. Longer company accounts can require multiple CT returns. Check HMRC's periods and notice-service facts, and use the dedicated CT600 tool's scope gate instead of assuming a single universal year-end formula. The filing date is not the CT payment date.

A confirmation statement is required at least once every twelve months and can be delivered up to fourteen days after the review period ends. Early confirmation can start a new review period. Check the official confirmation date and filing deadline, not merely the date a form was submitted.

The calendar does not ask for a review-period end, so it always shows a confirmation-statement check without a date. Do not derive it from the accounts year end. Once the actual review-period end is established, use the dedicated confirmation-statement calculator.

VAT runs on its own registered accounting cycle, usually quarterly. Online return and payment deadlines are usually one calendar month and seven days after that VAT period, but check the actual scheme and due dates in the VAT account.

Answering Yes to VAT registered adds a reminder only. The calendar has no VAT period, stagger, group or scheme facts, and calculates no VAT date. A company year end is not a substitute for those facts.

Payroll reporting and PAYE payment are different tasks. An FPS normally reaches HMRC on or before payday; monthly electronic PAYE payment is normally due by the twenty-second of the next tax month. Quarterly payment and cheque rules differ, and reporting exceptions need their own checks.

Answering Yes to Payroll active adds an RTI/PAYE checklist prompt only. No payday, scheme, tax-month or payment-method facts are collected, so no payroll filing or payment date is calculated. Maintain these recurring tasks separately.

Selecting First accounts: Yes withholds all three annual dates. The calendar asks for incorporation and HMRC-period checks instead. It does not silently apply the later-accounts rule or produce one tax date for a long first accounts period.

For first private-company accounts covering more than twelve months, the Companies House rule compares the incorporation-based deadline and three months from the ARD. Shortened first periods need notice-receipt evidence where relevant. The reviewed Accounts tool handles its supported facts; the calendar does not collect them.

First tax periods can start when business activity starts rather than on incorporation, and long first accounts can span more than one CT period. Check HMRC's recorded periods and each return's filing conditions. Even for later accounts, a restart, dormancy or changed period can break the calendar's assumptions.

For each obligation, keep the source fact, calculated or confirmed deadline, owner, internal next action and evidence of completion together. Recheck the view after accepted filings, period changes, registration changes or new notices; a static checklist cannot refresh official records.