Since the start of the pandemic, thousands of charities have appealed against late-filing penalties from Companies House. 

Of the 177,865 penalties issued by the arm's-length body last financial year, 47,166 appeals were returned - this according to its latest annual report. 6000 cases, around 12% of all appeals made, came from not-for-profit, charity or community interest companies. 

Typically, organisations have nine months from the end of a given financial year to file their accounts with Companies House, or face a fine. Fines range from £150 to £1500, and are doubled if accounts are filed late in successive financial years. 

“Like dormant companies, these types of companies often fail to appreciate their responsibilities, or they are not foremost in the directors’ minds,” the report says. Previously, there was a particular problem with CICs, which could not file their accounts online. Errors were often made in filing the accounts in paper form as another document and a payment had to be submitted in addition to the accounts. CICs sometimes tried to file their accounts online close to the filing deadline, only to find that it was not possible and then missed the deadline.”

The report also stated that CICs filing their accounts for the first time were the most affected. Compared with the previous year, the number of of appeals increased by almost 15,000, which the report suggests is due to the pandemic. 

To help get your finances in order and avoid filing fines, have a look at the Money Matters learning on the VCSE Academy website, including Introduction to Financial Management for Charities in October.