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LLP Filing Obligations
#2. Main Characteristics of British Limited Liability Partnership
#3. Open a Limited Liability Partnership With Us
#4. Benefits to Start a Business as an LLP
#5. LLP Start Up Services for Non-UK Residents
#6. LLP Filing Obligations
#7. LLP Start-Up Requirements
UK LLP filing requirements
Know what the LLP files, what its members file and when
A UK limited liability partnership has two separate reporting tracks. Designated members oversee its Companies House accounts and confirmation statement. For a trading LLP, the nominated partner deals with the HMRC Partnership Tax Return, while each member handles the tax reporting that applies to them.
An LLP is a body corporate in law, but most LLPs carrying on a business with a view to profit are treated as partnerships for direct tax. They do not normally file an LLP Corporation Tax return merely because they are incorporated. Corporation Tax may arise for a corporate member or, exceptionally, for the LLP itself when partnership tax treatment does not apply.
Who is responsible for each LLP filing?
The same person may hold more than one role, but the filings remain distinct. In particular, a designated member for Companies House is not automatically the HMRC nominated partner. Appoint the relevant people and keep a calendar for both organisations.
| Filing | Destination | Who arranges it | Usual timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirmation statement | Companies House | Designated members ensure delivery | At least every 12 months; within 14 days after the review period ends |
| Annual accounts | Companies House | Designated members ensure preparation and delivery | Normally 9 months after the accounting reference date; first accounts can differ |
| Partnership Tax Return (SA800) | HMRC | Nominated partner | Usually 31 October on paper or 31 January online after the tax year; exceptions apply |
| Member tax return | HMRC | Each individual or corporate member for its own position | Individual Self Assessment usually follows 31 October/31 January deadlines; corporate deadlines differ |
A filing agent or accountant can prepare and submit agreed work, but the LLP, designated members and members retain their respective legal responsibilities. Check the actual due dates on the Companies House record and HMRC notices.
Companies House confirmation statement: deadline and consequences
The confirmation statement checks the required public information about the LLP. It is due at least once in every 12-month review period, even if nothing has changed, and must be delivered within 14 days after that period ends. Filing early starts a new review period. The LLP must also give current member identity-verification information through the applicable process.
Designated members are responsible for ensuring the statement is filed. Report changes such as member appointments, departures, designated status, PSC details and registered office changes through the proper event filings when they occur; the annual statement is not a substitute for those notices.
If the statement is not filed
Failure to deliver it on time is an offence for the LLP and designated members. Companies House may impose a financial penalty, designated members may face prosecution and a personal fine, and the registrar may take steps to strike the LLP off the register. The automatic late-accounts penalty bands are a separate regime; they should not be presented as the fixed penalty for a late confirmation statement.
Annual accounts
Every LLP must file annual accounts with Companies House, including a dormant LLP. The ordinary deadline for later accounts is nine months after the accounting reference date. If the first accounts cover more than 12 months, the deadline is the later of 21 months after incorporation or three months after the accounting reference date. A changed accounting period can alter the date.
Late accounts incur an automatic civil penalty on the LLP, starting at £150 if no more than one month late and increasing with delay. Designated members are personally responsible for ensuring accounts are delivered, and persistent non-filing can lead to prosecution or strike-off. Companies House accounts are not an HMRC Partnership Tax Return.
Partnership Tax Return
The LLP's nominated partner is responsible for its Partnership Tax Return (SA800) and partnership statement where a return is required. The return works out and allocates profits; it does not normally pay Income Tax or Corporation Tax on behalf of members. LLP incorporation information passes from Companies House to HMRC, but the nominated partner should check the HMRC record, UTR and return notices.
The normal deadline after a tax year is 31 October for a paper return or 31 January for an online return. Special dates can apply, including where a company is a member and the partnership accounting date falls between 1 February and 5 April. Follow the actual HMRC notice and the accounting period involved.
Do LLP members file Self Assessment or Corporation Tax returns?
Individual members
Each individual member must establish their own UK tax and Self Assessment position, register when required and report their allocated share of taxable partnership income, even if they draw less cash. For a person who first needs Self Assessment, the normal notification date is 5 October after the tax year. Paper returns are normally due 31 October and online returns and payment by 31 January after that year.
Corporate members
A company member deals with its allocated share under its own Corporation Tax rules where it is within the UK charge. Its directors are responsible for the company's tax compliance and any Company Tax Return (CT600), usually due 12 months after its Corporation Tax accounting period ends if HMRC has issued a notice. The corporate member's CT600 is not a CT600 for the LLP.
Members can face HMRC late-filing penalties for their own returns. Profit allocations, changes of membership, mixed individual and corporate membership and salaried-member rules should be checked before returns are prepared.
When does the LLP itself have a Corporation Tax return?
Ordinarily, it does not. HMRC normally treats an LLP carrying on business with a view to profit as tax transparent, even though it is a body corporate under company law. The LLP files partnership information and the members are taxed on their shares under the rules applying to them.
Exceptionally, partnership tax transparency can be switched off, for example where the LLP is not carrying on a business with a view to profit or during certain formal winding-up circumstances. If HMRC treats the LLP itself as a company for tax purposes, its taxable profits or gains can fall within Corporation Tax. The people managing the LLP's affairs, and a liquidator where appointed, must arrange the applicable registration, accounting, payment and CT600 filing with HMRC.
Where a Company Tax Return is required, the usual filing date is 12 months after the relevant Corporation Tax accounting period ends; payment is generally due earlier, normally nine months and one day after the period ends, subject to the applicable rules. Obtain tax advice for a case that may fall into this exception.
Non-UK resident members: what changes?
Living outside the UK does not remove the LLP's Companies House accounts or confirmation-statement duties. The LLP's HMRC return must address the location of its activities and the members' residence, including the allocation of UK profits to non-resident members. A non-resident individual may need UK Self Assessment on UK taxable partnership profits or UK investment income; a non-resident corporate member may have a UK Corporation Tax position. Residence abroad is not a blanket exemption from UK filing.
The answer depends on where the business is carried on and managed, the source of income, each member's residence and any relevant permanent establishment or treaty. Members may also have obligations in their home countries. If UK and overseas members are mixed, or a member changes residence during a year, the partnership statements and individual returns may need separate calculations. Establish the facts before relying on a tax outcome.
A workable filing calendar
At incorporation, record the Companies House accounting reference date and confirmation-statement review period, the LLP's HMRC nominated partner, every member's tax status and who will supply bookkeeping records. Review the Companies House record whenever members, designated status, PSC information, the name or the registered office changes. Confirm the tax-year dates, not just the LLP's accounts date.
For the 2025–26 tax year, a person newly required to file Self Assessment normally needs to notify HMRC by 5 October 2026; the ordinary paper deadline is 31 October 2026, and the online filing and payment deadline is 31 January 2027. Partnership and member cases can have different dates, particularly with corporate members. Check current HMRC notices and the LLP's exact Companies House due dates before filing.
Get the filings and responsibilities in order
Coddan can assist with agreed LLP secretarial filings, accounts preparation and HMRC registration or return work within the scope of the service selected. Tell us the LLP number, jurisdiction, accounting reference date, current members, filing history, HMRC notices and any approaching deadlines. We can then identify the work required and who must approve it. A formation or first-year package covers only its stated period and tasks; later annual work is separately agreed.
Related Coddan guidance: LLP and member HMRC registration · LLP characteristics and maintenance. For exact deadlines, check the LLP's Companies House record and HMRC correspondence.
