You’ve Formed Your Company. Now What? The Tax Deadlines New Directors Miss

A new limited company has several compliance tasks in its first year. You must verify your identity with Companies House, register for Corporation Tax within 3 months of trading, file a confirmation statement within 12 months, and watch the VAT threshold on a rolling basis. Missing any of these leads to penalties. Most new directors miss at least one, because incorporation feels like the finish line rather than the starting point.

Verify Your Identity With Companies House

Since 18 November 2025, every company director must verify their identity with Companies House. New directors verify when the company is formed. Existing directors verify when they file their next confirmation statement. People with significant control over a company must verify too.

You can verify through GOV.UK One Login or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). Direct Assist Accountants is a Companies House ACSP, so our director ID verification service can complete this for you.

Register For Corporation Tax Within 3 Months Of Trading, Not Incorporation

The 3-month window starts from the date your company begins trading. Trading means the first sale, the first advertising, or the first employee. It does not mean the date Companies House approved your incorporation.

This distinction often catches new directors out. A company formed in January might not take its first payment until March. The registration clock then starts in March, not January. Confusing the two dates is the most common reason new companies miss this deadline.

HMRC runs the official Corporation Tax registration service. To register, you need the company’s Unique Taxpayer Reference, its company registration number and the date trading started. Our Corporation Tax accountants can handle the registration for you.

File A Confirmation Statement Within 12 Months Of Incorporation

Every UK limited company must confirm its registered details with Companies House at least once every 12 months. You then have 14 days after that date to file. The filing itself takes minutes. The real risk is forgetting it exists.

The first deadline lands 12 months after incorporation. By then, most founders focus on running the business, not tracking Companies House paperwork. If a company keeps failing to file, Companies House can strike it off the register entirely.

Monitor The VAT Threshold On A Rolling 12-Month Basis

VAT registration becomes compulsory once your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period. This is not a calendar or financial year. A strong quarter can push a company past the threshold long before the annual accounts would show it.

Once you cross the threshold, you must register within 30 days of the end of that month. You must also register if you expect turnover to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days alone. If you miss the deadline, HMRC can make you account for VAT on past sales, even though you never charged customers VAT on them.

Our VAT registration and returns service tracks this for you, and the GOV.UK VAT registration page has the full rules.

Register For PAYE Before The First Payday, If Paying A Salary

Director-shareholders often pay themselves a mix of salary and dividends. Our guide to salary vs dividends for 2026/27 explains how that split works. Whatever the structure, you must register for PAYE before the first payment, not after. A first payroll submission under an unregistered PAYE scheme is already non-compliant. Our payroll service sets this up before your first payday.

Set Up Bookkeeping From The First Transaction, Not Month Six

The most expensive first-year mistake is not a missed deadline. It is months of loose receipts, with proper bookkeeping put off until “things settle down.” Rebuilding a year’s records from memory costs far more in accountant time than doing it correctly from day one.

Cloud software such as Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent removes most of this effort when you set it up at the start. Bank feeds sort transactions automatically, so your records stay current. Our bookkeeping service can set this up and keep it running.

Don’t Forget Your First Annual Accounts

Your company’s first annual accounts are due at Companies House 21 months after the date of incorporation. After that, accounts are due 9 months after the end of each financial year. This is a separate filing from your Corporation Tax return, and many new directors only learn about it when a penalty arrives.

First-Year Compliance Timeline

Why Slough Sees This Pattern Often

Slough’s business mix includes contractors moving from sole trader status, first-time founders on the Trading Estate, and e-commerce sellers scaling quickly. A national formation agent that processes incorporations in bulk has no practical way to guide each client through what comes next. That gap is where deadlines get missed.

How Direct Assist Accountants Helps

Whether you formed your company through us or elsewhere, we handle ID verification, Corporation Tax registration, PAYE setup, VAT monitoring and first-year bookkeeping for Slough-based directors. Our company formation and registered office service includes first-year guidance as standard, and our limited company accounting service covers everything after that.

If you also have self-employed or rental income in your own name, our guide to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax explains the personal reporting rules that started in April 2026.

To map out exactly which deadlines apply to your company, contact Direct Assist Accountants for a free consultation.

This article reflects UK company compliance requirements as of the 2026/27 tax year. Deadlines and thresholds can change. For advice specific to a company’s circumstances, consult a qualified accountant.