Limited company filing update : confirmation statement changes

Firstly let’s have a recap about what we mean by “confirmation statement”. Then, we can take a look at the confirmation statement changes that came into place in March this year.

What is the confirmation statement?

The confirmation statement is a form that all limited companies must file with Companies House once a year. Separate to the filing of financial statements, the confirmation statement is more of an administrative than an accounting task. By filing this return annually you are updating the register with important information about the structure of your company. For example: who owns it? who controls it? where does it trade from? where is it registered? what type of trade is it involved in?

Confirmation statement changes

There are three changes to the confirmation statement that are now in place. These changes are being made by Companies House as part of a phased introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

Whilst this all sounds very official and rather foreboding, the changes are quite straightforward and are nothing to fear. So let’s now take a look at those changes:

Supply of an email address

The first change is a recognition of the digital era of communication that we all now live in. For the first time it will now be necessary to provide Companies House with an email address for your limited company. This will be used by Companies House to communicate with your limited company business. Importantly, it will not be made available to the public. All new company formations since the 4th March 2024; and all confirmation statements with a statement date from 5th March 2024 onwards, will now require an email address to be registered.

Statement to confirm the company’s lawful intent

This second change is the most significant amongst them. When filing a confirmation statement companies will now have to confirm that the intended activities of the company are lawful.

Increase in fee

From 1st of May 2024 Companies House will charge an annual fee of £34 for filing the confirmation statement.

What does this mean for you?

This will depend on how you usually go about filing your confirmation statement. Many businesses, especially those that are larger, will file this return themselves on the Companies House website. Smaller businesses will often enlist the help of their accountants.

What do the confirmation statement changes mean for Integro Accounting’s clients?

Here at Integro Accounting completing and filing the confirmation statement is included as part of our service; we just recharge the Companies House filing fee of £34 to your limited company.

Whilst we enjoy doing many wonderfully helpful things for you, our clients, we would never presume to know what your intentions are – lawful or otherwise! This means that with the new requirement to ‘confirm lawful intent’ we will ask you to actively confirm this to us in writing once a year. Your accountant will of course let you know when we need this.

If you’d like to find out more about how these changes could affect you, contact your accountant who would be happy to talk through your situation.