A UK company has a regular, predictable set of filings, owed to two main bodies: Companies House, the registrar, and HM Revenue and Customs, the tax authority. None of these obligations is difficult when it is tracked and handled on time. The difficulty comes only when one is forgotten, and the UK system is not forgiving of that. Cosmos tracks every deadline for you. This article sets out the main obligations.

At least once a year, a UK company must file a confirmation statement with Companies House. This is a filing that confirms the company's key information, its registered office, directors, shareholders, people with significant control and share capital, is accurate and up to date. It is not a financial document; it is a check that the public record is correct.

Every UK company must prepare annual accounts and file them with Companies House. What the accounts must contain depends on the company's size; smaller companies file less detail, and very small companies may qualify for exemptions. The accounts have a filing deadline tied to the company's financial year, and filing them late carries an automatic penalty that increases the longer the delay runs.

A UK company is subject to corporation tax on its profits. Shortly after the company starts up it must register for corporation tax with HMRC. After each financial year it must prepare and file a company tax return and pay any corporation tax due, by the relevant deadlines. The return must be filed even where the company made no profit. Cosmos handles the registration and the filing; for the detail of rates and reliefs, and for any tax planning, Cosmos will involve a qualified tax adviser.

Value-added tax does not apply to every company. A company must register for VAT once its taxable turnover passes the registration threshold, and it may register voluntarily below that. A VAT-registered company charges VAT, files regular VAT returns, and pays what is due. Cosmos advises whether and when your company should register, and handles the returns.

If the company employs people, including, in many cases, paying a director a salary, it must operate PAYE, the UK system for collecting income tax and National Insurance from wages. This means reporting to HMRC each time the company runs payroll. See Payroll and PRO services.

Beyond the scheduled filings, a UK company must keep its information current as things change. When a director is appointed or resigns, when shares are transferred, or when a person with significant control changes, the change must be reported to Companies House so the public record stays accurate. The identity verification regime also continues to apply to new directors and people with significant control. Corporate changes covers how these are handled.

The UK enforces its filing requirements firmly. Late accounts carry automatic, escalating penalties. Persistent failure to file can lead Companies House to strike the company off the register, which means it ceases to exist and its assets can pass to the Crown. Directors carry personal legal responsibility for the company's filings, and serious or repeated failures can result in a director being disqualified. None of this is a risk for a company whose deadlines are tracked. All of it is a risk for one whose are not.

Cosmos records every deadline that applies to your UK company, the confirmation statement, the accounts, the corporation tax return, VAT returns, payroll reporting, and tracks them all. Well before each one, you receive a clear reminder of what is due and what is needed from you. Where a filing needs an accountant, Cosmos handles it or arranges it in good time. You never have to hold the calendar yourself.