Companies House late filing penalties and the doubling rule
Checked 18 July 2026 · How we check our figures
What it is
When annual accounts reach Companies House late, a civil penalty lands on the company automatically, scaled by how late and by whether the company is public or private, under s. 453 Companies Act 2006 and SI 2008/497. Directors tend to file the letter as the Companies House fine. Two things it undersells: the same missed year end can also set HMRC's separate Corporation Tax penalties running, two regulators, one delay; and behind the civil penalty on the company sits a criminal offence for which directors can be fined personally (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-18).
Reading the notice
The band does the pricing for a private company: up to 1 month late 150 pounds, 1 to 3 months 375, 3 to 6 months 750, more than 6 months 1,500; public companies pay on a higher scale reaching 7,500 (reg 4 SI 2008/497; gov.uk, checked 2026-07-18).
The doubling rule: the penalty is doubled where accounts are filed late in 2 successive financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2008 (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-18).
Public or private is judged at the end of the financial year the accounts are for, not at filing (reg 1(4) SI 2008/497).
The decision in front of you
Deliver acceptable accounts now: the band freezes on the day Companies House receives them, so every week of delay is a step nearer the next band.
Appeal to the registrar only where the circumstances are exceptional: this is not the tax world's reasonable excuse test, and an accountant's illness or not knowing the deadline does not carry it (Companies House guidance).
Ask about paying by instalments where the penalty stands but the cash does not (Companies House guidance).
Do nothing and enforcement follows: court proceedings to collect, costs on top, and the criminal offence for directors and LLP designated members sits alongside throughout (gov.uk).
What happens next
The HMRC side of the same missed year end runs on its own rules and its own clock, the corporation tax late filing guide's territory.
The doubling needs 2 late years in a row, so one clean year breaks the chain and the next late filing prices at the normal band (gov.uk).
Not filing at all is the criminal route: prosecution of directors personally is a separate track from the civil penalty on the company (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-18).
The numbers
Private company bands: 150, 375, 750 and 1,500 pounds by lateness; public company bands rise to 7,500 (reg 4 SI 2008/497; gov.uk, checked 2026-07-18).
The doubling: each band twice over where 2 successive financial years file late (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-18).
The band clock and both scales: the calculator at /fines/companies-house-late-filing.
The deadlines
Private company accounts are due 9 months after the accounting reference date; first accounts have 21 months from incorporation (gov.uk).
The band boundaries fall at 1, 3 and 6 months late (reg 4 SI 2008/497).
The doubling looks back exactly one financial year: 2 successive late years trigger it (gov.uk).
What people get wrong
Treating Companies House like HMRC: there is no reasonable excuse route here, only exceptional circumstances, and the two regimes penalise the same delay independently (Companies House guidance).
Assuming a dormant company is exempt: dormant companies still file accounts, and the penalty machine asks about the filing, not the activity (gov.uk).
Forgetting last year: a company that filed late last year pays double at every band this year, 750 pounds where 375 would have stood (gov.uk).
Authority
s. 453 Companies Act 2006; SI 2008/497, regs 1(4) and 4; gov.uk and Companies House guidance, late filing penalties