When should a limited company get an accountant?

The short answer

There is no rule that says a limited company must have an accountant. GOV.UK says you can hire other people to manage some of a director's duties day-to-day (for example, an accountant) but you're still legally responsible for your company's records, accounts and performance.

So the real question is not whether you are allowed to do it yourself, but which of those duties you are comfortable owning. If your company is dormant, or very simple (one director, no payroll, not registered for VAT, no dividends or director's loan to track), doing it yourself can be realistic. Once you are running payroll, paying dividends, lending money to or from the company, or you are unsure how to turn your accounts into a Company Tax Return, an accountant is more likely to be worth paying for.

Last checked 14 October 2026 · GOV.UK sources

What stays yours, whoever does the work

GOV.UK lists what a director of a limited company must do:

follow the company's rules, shown in its articles of association
keep company records and report certain information
prepare your annual accounts
complete your Company Tax Return
file your accounts and your Company Tax Return
tell other shareholders if you might personally benefit from a transaction the company makes
pay Corporation Tax

Directors may be fined, prosecuted or disqualified from being a company director if they do not meet these responsibilities (GOV.UK).

Handing the work to an accountant does not move the deadline risk. Companies House says an appeal against its late filing penalty for company accounts may not be successful if it was your accountant's (or anybody else's) fault, or if another director is responsible for filing the accounts.

The deadlines

Filing and payment deadlines for a private limited company (GOV.UK)
Action	Deadline
File first accounts with Companies House	21 months after the date you registered with Companies House
File annual accounts with Companies House	9 months after your company's financial year ends
Pay Corporation Tax, or tell HMRC the company does not owe any	9 months and 1 day after your accounting period for Corporation Tax ends
File a Company Tax Return	12 months after your accounting period for Corporation Tax ends

The 9 months and 1 day payment deadline is for taxable profits of up to £1.5 million. Above that, GOV.UK says Corporation Tax is paid in instalments, with its own rules and deadlines.

A Company Tax Return is still due if the company makes a loss or has no Corporation Tax to pay, once HMRC has sent a notice to deliver one.

What missing them costs

Late accounts at Companies House (private limited companies)

Up to 1 month late: £150
1 to 3 months late: £375
3 to 6 months late: £750
More than 6 months late: £1,500
The penalty is doubled if your accounts are late 2 years in a row.
You can be fined and your company struck off the register if you do not send Companies House your accounts or confirmation statement.

Late Company Tax Return to HMRC

1 day late: £200
3 months late: another £200
6 months late: HMRC will estimate your Corporation Tax bill and add a penalty of 10% of the unpaid tax
12 months late: another 10% of any unpaid tax
If your tax return is late 3 times in a row, the £200 penalties are increased to £1,000 each.
The £200 and £1,000 flat-rate amounts apply to a return whose filing date is on or after 1 April 2026 (Finance Act 2026, section 265). A return that was due before then carries lower flat-rate penalties.
Late filing penalties are charged even if there is no tax to pay.

Not keeping accounting records

You can be fined £3,000 by HMRC or disqualified as a company director if you do not keep accounting records.

What to weigh

Can you keep the records the law asks for?

GOV.UK lists the accounting records a company must keep, including all money received and spent, assets owned, debts owed and owed to it, and stock at the end of the financial year, plus the receipts, invoices, bank statements and other documents behind them. If your bookkeeping is already tidy, the year-end work is far smaller, whoever does it.

Can you turn the accounts into a Company Tax Return?

The Company Tax Return works out the company's profit or loss for Corporation Tax, which GOV.UK notes is different from the profit or loss shown in your annual accounts. If you have not done that adjustment before, allow time to learn it. GOV.UK says you can either get an accountant to prepare and file your tax return or do it yourself.

Are you paying yourself a salary, or paying anyone else?

If the company pays you or anyone else a salary, expenses or benefits, GOV.UK says you must register the company as an employer, and the company must take Income Tax and National Insurance from salary payments and pay them to HMRC, along with employers' National Insurance. If you run payroll yourself, you report each employee's pay and deductions to HMRC on or before each payday. That is a recurring duty, not a once-a-year one.

Are you paying dividends or taking a director's loan?

A company must not pay out more in dividends than its available profits from current and previous financial years, and to pay one you must hold a directors' meeting to declare it and keep minutes, even if you're the only director, plus a dividend voucher for each payment. Taking out more than you've put in, other than salary or dividends, is a director's loan, which GOV.UK says has its own detailed tax rules. Both are worth being sure of before you rely on doing it yourself.

Do you have a Self Assessment return of your own?

The company's returns are separate from yours. You must send a Self Assessment return if HMRC asks you to, and GOV.UK says you may also need to if you have untaxed income such as dividends. Whether you need one depends on your own income, so use HMRC's checker if you're not sure. Some directors want one accountant to handle both.

The options, and who each is not for

Doing it yourself

Suits:

A dormant company, or a very simple one: one director, no payroll, not registered for VAT, few transactions and no dividends or director's loan to account for.
A director who already keeps tidy records and is willing to learn how a Company Tax Return differs from the accounts.
Anyone who would rather spend time than money, and is confident they will not miss a deadline.

Not for:

A company running payroll, paying dividends or with money moving between you and the company: those bring recurring paperwork and rules that are easy to get wrong.
A director who is unsure how the Corporation Tax profit is worked out from the accounts, or how to handle a transaction the company makes that might personally benefit them, which the director must tell other shareholders about.
Anyone who would leave the year-end until the last few weeks. Late filing penalties for the Company Tax Return are charged even where there is no tax to pay.

Hiring an accountant

Suits:

A trading company with salary, dividends, a director's loan, employees or VAT to manage.
A first year of trading, when the first accounts and the first Company Tax Return are both new.
A director who wants their own Self Assessment return handled alongside the company's.

Not for:

A dormant company with no Company Tax Return outstanding, whose remaining Companies House filings are its accounts (dormant accounts, if it is dormant according to Companies House and qualifies as small) and a confirmation statement: the work may be small enough to do yourself.
Anyone hoping it removes their own responsibility. It does not: the director stays legally responsible, and Companies House says an appeal against its late filing penalty for company accounts may not be successful if it was your accountant's fault.
A director who will not keep records during the year. An accountant can only work from the records you give them.

If your company is dormant

A limited company is usually dormant for Corporation Tax if it has stopped trading and has no other income, is a new company that has not started trading, or is a flat management company. Trading includes buying, selling, renting property, advertising, employing someone or getting interest. HMRC has detailed guidance on what counts as dormant.
If the company has filed a Company Tax Return before, or has had a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return, you'll still need to file a Company Tax Return online: GOV.UK says this will show HMRC that your company is dormant for this period.
Once you've told HMRC the company is dormant, you do not need to pay Corporation Tax or file another Company Tax Return, unless you receive a further notice to deliver a Company Tax Return.
HMRC may instead write to you to say it has decided to treat the company as dormant, and that you do not have to pay Corporation Tax or file Company Tax Returns.
You must still file annual accounts and a confirmation statement with Companies House, even while dormant. If the company is dormant according to Companies House (no significant transactions in the financial year) and qualifies as small, you can file dormant accounts instead of full ones.
If you do not intend to trade again and the company is registered for VAT, GOV.UK says you must deregister within 30 days of the company becoming dormant; if you plan to restart, you send nil VAT returns while dormant.

Frequently asked

Is it a legal requirement for a limited company to have an accountant?

No. GOV.UK says you can hire other people, for example an accountant, to manage some of a director's duties day-to-day, and that you can either get an accountant to prepare and file your Company Tax Return or do it yourself. Either way the director remains legally responsible for the company's records, accounts and performance.

If my accountant files late, who pays the penalty?

For late company accounts, Companies House says an appeal against its late filing penalty may not be successful if it was your accountant's (or anybody else's) fault, so don't assume a penalty goes away because the accountant missed the date. HMRC's late filing penalty for the Company Tax Return has its own appeal route, where you need a reasonable excuse. Whether your accountant would reimburse it depends on your agreement with them, so check your engagement terms.

Does a dormant company need an accountant?

Not necessarily. If the company has filed a Company Tax Return before or has had a notice to deliver one, a return is still needed to show HMRC it is dormant for the period. Once you've told HMRC the company is dormant, you do not need to file another Company Tax Return unless HMRC sends a further notice to deliver one; HMRC may also write to say it has decided to treat the company as dormant and that you do not have to file Company Tax Returns. Annual accounts and a confirmation statement are still due at Companies House; a company that is dormant according to Companies House and qualifies as small can file dormant accounts instead of full ones. With that little to file, some directors choose to do it themselves.

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Worth saying: if your affairs are very simple, you may not need an accountant at all — this is for when you’d rather someone else handled it.

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Sources

Every deadline, penalty and rule on this page is taken from these GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk pages, read on 14 October 2026.

This page is general information based on GOV.UK published guidance, not tax or legal advice. Your own position can differ. Check the GOV.UK sources above and speak to a qualified accountant before making decisions about your company.