When do UK companies file their accounts? (October 2026)
Key findings
- 44.9% of UK company accounts for financial years ending in 2024 were filed in the ninth month after the year end, the month in which the 9-month private company deadline falls.
- The median company filed its accounts in month 9 in every financial year from 2010 to 2025.
- 32.2% of accounts for financial years ending in 2020 were filed more than 9 months after the year end, four times the 7.8% for 2018, while temporary COVID extensions gave companies up to 12 months.
- 15.3% of FY2020 accounts were filed in month 12, the month of the extended deadline, against 1.7% for FY2018.
- Late filing has not fallen back to pre-pandemic levels: 13.8% of FY2024 accounts were filed after month 9, against 7.8% to 8.4% for FY2014 to FY2018.
Key figures
Accounts with a financial year ending in 2024, all companies including those since dissolved.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Accounts analysed (iXBRL) | 3,618,257 |
| Median months from year end to filing | 9 |
| Filed in months 0 to 8 | 41.4% |
| Filed in month 8 | 10.1% |
| Filed in month 9 (deadline month) | 44.9% |
| Filed after month 9 | 13.8% |
| Filed in month 12 | 5.8% |
| Filed in month 13 or later | 2.0% |
Shares are rounded to one decimal place, so rows may not add up to exactly 100%.
How we count months
We count months, not days: the filing month minus the year end month. Accounts made up to 31 March 2024 and filed on 10 December 2024 count as month 9.
This matters for reading the figures. A private company must file within 9 months of its accounting reference date, and the deadline falls on the corresponding date in the ninth month, or the last day of that month for a month-end year end (GOV.UK, life of a company: accounts). So "month 9" contains every company that filed in the deadline month. Most of them were on time; a company with a 4 April year end that filed on 20 January was in month 9 but late. Month 10 and later are almost all after the normal deadline, apart from companies with an approved extension or a longer first accounts deadline (21 months from incorporation for a private company's first accounts covering more than 12 months).
Filing timing by month after year end
Most companies file in the last two months: month 8 and month 9 together take more than half of all filings in a normal year.
| Months after year end | FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 | 7.3% | 7.4% | 7.4% | 7.8% | 7.8% |
| 3 to 5 | 13.5% | 13.1% | 13.0% | 12.8% | 13.1% |
| 6 to 7 | 11.0% | 10.7% | 9.9% | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| 8 | 10.9% | 10.0% | 7.9% | 9.9% | 10.1% |
| 9 | 49.6% | 39.2% | 29.4% | 41.8% | 44.9% |
| 10 to 11 | 4.7% | 7.0% | 11.6% | 7.6% | 5.9% |
| 12 | 1.7% | 8.9% | 15.3% | 7.2% | 5.8% |
| 13 or later | 1.4% | 3.8% | 5.3% | 2.5% | 2.0% |
Filing early is rare. Fewer than one in twelve companies files within two months of the year end, which is worth remembering when a supplier's latest accounts look old: a 2024 balance sheet published in late 2025 is normal behaviour, not a warning sign.
The COVID effect on FY2019 and FY2020 accounts
Filing slipped sharply when Companies House relaxed deadlines during the pandemic, and companies used the extra time.
Two measures applied. From 25 March 2020 companies could apply for a 3-month extension through a fast-tracked online service, and those citing COVID-19 were granted one automatically (GOV.UK, March 2020). Then the Companies etc. (Filing Requirements) (Temporary Modifications) Regulations 2020 extended the accounts deadline for private companies from 9 to 12 months, and for public companies from 6 to 9 months, without any application, for filing deadlines from 27 June 2020 to 5 April 2021 inclusive (GOV.UK, temporary changes to filing requirements). No automatic extensions applied to deadlines after 5 April 2021, and the law still caps the filing period at 12 months (GOV.UK, March 2021).
For example, a private company with a 31 December 2019 year end saw its deadline move from 30 September 2020 to 31 December 2020. That is why both FY2019 and FY2020 are affected.
| Financial year end | Filed in month 9 | Filed in month 12 | Filed after month 9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 50.5% | 1.7% | 8.2% |
| 2018 | 49.6% | 1.7% | 7.8% |
| 2019 | 39.2% | 8.9% | 19.7% |
| 2020 | 29.4% | 15.3% | 32.2% |
| 2021 | 41.8% | 7.2% | 17.3% |
The month 12 spike shows that the extra filings were not chaotic lateness: a large group of companies simply moved from the old deadline to the new one.
Recovery since 2021
Filing has moved back towards month 9 but has not returned to the pre-pandemic pattern.
| Financial year end | Accounts analysed | Filed in month 9 | Filed after month 9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1,630,966 | 49.9% | 8.4% |
| 2016 | 2,120,854 | 50.4% | 8.1% |
| 2018 | 2,588,591 | 49.6% | 7.8% |
| 2021 | 3,220,461 | 41.8% | 17.3% |
| 2022 | 3,167,414 | 43.7% | 14.9% |
| 2023 | 3,274,844 | 45.3% | 14.1% |
| 2024 | 3,618,257 | 44.9% | 13.8% |
| 2025 (provisional) | 3,579,940 | 43.5% | 15.3% |
Month 12 still takes 5.8% of FY2024 filings, more than three times the share before 2019. The data shows the pattern but not the reason: it could reflect more applications for extensions, longer first accounts periods among the many new companies, or simply more late filers. FY2025 is provisional because accounts for year ends in late 2025 are still arriving.
Why it matters
Timing tells you how to read a company's filing history. A balance sheet that is up to 21 months old at the moment you look is normal for a private company that files in month 9, so the age of the latest accounts alone is a weak signal.
The stronger signal is a company that misses month 9. Late accounts trigger automatic penalties, from £150 for up to a month late to £1,500 for more than six months for a private company, doubled if accounts are late two years in a row (GOV.UK late filing penalties). See late filing penalties for how they work, and what "accounts overdue" means when you see the flag on a company. Our overdue accounts study counts how many active companies are past their due date right now.
To work out a specific deadline, use the accounts deadline calculator. To check when a company last filed and when its next accounts are due, search it on our company search.
Methodology
Source: our analysis of the Companies House BasicCompanyData register of 1 October 2026 and about 37 million iXBRL accounts filed from 2008 to 2026, parsed by us. The timing figures cover all companies whose iXBRL accounts we parsed, including companies dissolved since, grouped by the calendar year of the balance sheet date. Months to file is the filing month minus the balance sheet month, so it has month precision only. Accounts filed on paper or as PDF are excluded because they are not machine-readable. Coverage for 2010 to 2013 is incomplete, so the trend tables start at 2014. Values above £100bn are treated as parsing errors and excluded from financial figures. Full details: methodology.
How to cite: UK Company Data (2026). When do UK companies file their accounts? Global Mindset Marketing Ltd. https://data.globalmindsetmarketing.co.uk/data/when-uk-companies-file-accounts
FAQ
When do most UK companies file their accounts?
In the last month before the deadline. For financial years ending in 2024, 44.9% of accounts were filed in the ninth month after the year end, which is the month the 9-month private company deadline falls in, and the median company filed in month 9. Only about 8% filed within two months of the year end.
How many UK companies file accounts late?
By our month-level measure, 13.8% of FY2024 accounts were filed more than 9 months after the year end. Some of these had an approved extension or a longer first accounts deadline, so not every one was late in law. Before the pandemic the share was about 8%.
Did Companies House extend filing deadlines during COVID?
Yes. From 25 March 2020 companies citing COVID-19 could get a 3-month extension on application, and from 27 June 2020 to 5 April 2021 accounts deadlines were extended automatically from 9 to 12 months for private companies and from 6 to 9 months for public companies. For FY2020, 32.2% of accounts were filed after month 9.
How long does a private company have to file its accounts?
Nine months from the end of its financial year, on the corresponding date in the ninth month. First accounts covering more than 12 months are due 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months after the accounting reference date if that is later. Public companies have 6 months.
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