2 min read
Definition
An accounting period is the span of time a set of accounts covers — normally twelve months for a limited company. It sets the clock for filing accounts and paying corporation tax.
In plain terms
It is your financial year. Your first one can be shorter or longer, and it fixes when your accounts and tax return are due — nine and twelve months after it ends respectively.
Why it matters for your company
The accounting period drives every deadline: corporation tax payment and filing, and Companies House accounts. Aligning capital spend and reliefs to the period — see capital allowances — affects the tax you pay.
Related reading
Corporation Tax Deadlines and Payment Schedules for Limited Companies
Corporation tax must be paid before the CT600 return is due — a sequence that trips up many directors who…
Read →
The company year-end accounts process, step by step
Your company's year end triggers a chain of tasks that ends with accounts filed at Companies House and a tax…
Read →
Accounting reference date
The accounting reference date is a company's official year end — the date all its accounts and tax deadlines…
Read →Accrual accounting (interest)
Accrual accounting records interest in the period it relates to, matching cost to the time the money was…
Read →Funding for UK limited companies
Credicorp lends to your company, not to you personally — short-term working capital with no personal guarantee. See what your business could access.