Annual accounts and CRO filing for Irish companies
Two different filings, two different bodies, two different deadlines — and missing the CRO one costs you far more than the fine. We prepare the financial statements, file the B1 inside 56 days, and file the CT1 with Revenue.
In short
An Irish company files a B1 annual return with the Companies Registration Office within 56 days of its Annual Return Date, with financial statements attached for every return after the first, and a CT1 corporation tax return with Revenue nine months after its accounting period end. Late CRO filing costs €100 plus €3 a day up to €1,200, and a second late filing within five years costs the company its audit exemption.
Two filings that get confused with each other
The B1 is company law. It goes to the Companies Registration Office, it is driven by your Annual Return Date, and the financial statements attached to it go on the public record. The CT1 is tax. It goes to Revenue, it is driven by your accounting period end, and nobody outside Revenue sees it.
Companies lose their audit exemption every year in Ireland because they assumed the accountant who filed one had filed the other. They are separate obligations on separate clocks.
| Filing | Goes to | Due |
|---|---|---|
| B1 annual return | CRO | Within 56 days of the Annual Return Date |
| Financial statements | CRO, attached to the B1 | Made up to a date no more than 9 months before the ARD |
| CT1 corporation tax return | Revenue | 9 months after period end, by the 23rd on ROS |
| Preliminary corporation tax | Revenue | Before the accounting period ends |
| Beneficial ownership | RBO | Kept current, updated within 14 days of a change |
What late CRO filing actually costs
| Consequence | Detail |
|---|---|
| Late filing fee | €100 the day after the deadline, then €3 per day |
| Maximum fee | €1,200 per return |
| Loss of audit exemption | Where the return is filed late more than once in a five-year period |
| Enforcement | Prosecution of the company and its directors, or involuntary strike-off |
The €1,200 is irritating. The audit is the one that hurts — a statutory audit for the following two financial years, which for a small company runs to several thousand euro a year plus weeks of management time.
Audit exemption, and keeping it
Audit exemption is available to small and micro companies. A company qualifies as small where it meets two of the following three conditions in both the current and the preceding financial year.
- Turnover not exceeding €15 million.
- Balance sheet total not exceeding €7.5 million.
- No more than 50 employees.
The company must also fall outside the classes listed in the Fifth Schedule to the Companies Act 2014, which excludes regulated entities, and its annual return must be filed on time. That last condition is the one within your control, and it is the one companies fail.
How we run the year end
- We check your Annual Return Date on the CRO register and work the accounts timetable backwards from it, not forwards from your year end.
- We prepare the financial statements under the applicable framework, with prior year comparatives.
- You review and the directors approve them.
- We file the B1 with the statements attached, inside the 56-day window.
- We prepare and file the CT1, with iXBRL tagging where Revenue requires it.
- We tell you the preliminary tax figure for the current period and the date it falls due, which is before the period ends.
Moving your Annual Return Date
Where your ARD sits awkwardly against your financial year end, it can be moved. Bringing it forward is done by filing the return early with the new date. Extending it by up to six months needs a Form B73 filed alongside an on-time B1, and cannot be used on a first annual return or where the ARD was already extended in the previous five years.
Done once, it aligns the accounts timetable with the filing deadline permanently. It is worth doing deliberately rather than living with a date the CRO assigned at incorporation.
What it costs
Year-end work is quoted as a fixed fee based on the size and complexity of the company, and most clients spread it across the year as part of a monthly retainer rather than taking a single invoice. You will know the figure before the work starts.
Sources
Annual Accounts & CRO questions we get asked
- When is the CRO annual return due in Ireland?
- Within 56 days of the company's Annual Return Date. The first ARD is six months after incorporation and recurs annually. Day 57 is late, with no discretion.
- What is the penalty for a late annual return?
- €100 becomes due the day after the deadline, plus €3 for every day the return remains outstanding, capped at €1,200 per return. Filing late more than once in five years also costs the company its audit exemption.
- Does the first annual return need financial statements?
- No. The first return, due six months after incorporation, is filed without financial statements. It still has to be filed inside the 56 days or the penalties apply — and newly incorporated companies miss it constantly because there are no accounts to prompt them.
- What is the difference between the B1 and the CT1?
- The B1 is a company law filing to the CRO, driven by your Annual Return Date, and the accounts attached to it are public. The CT1 is a tax return to Revenue, driven by your accounting period end, and it is not public. Filing one does not satisfy the other.
- What are the audit exemption thresholds in Ireland?
- A company qualifies as small, and so for audit exemption, where it meets two of three conditions in the current and preceding year: turnover not exceeding €15 million, balance sheet total not exceeding €7.5 million, and no more than 50 employees.
- Can I do anything if I have already missed the deadline?
- File immediately, because the daily fee accrues until you do. Where the consequence is loss of audit exemption, there is a route to apply to the District Court for an order extending the time to file. If granted and the return is filed inside the extended period, the return is treated as on time. It needs a solicitor and it needs to be done promptly.
Read more on this
CRO & Annual Accounts
The CRO annual return, and what it costs to miss it
What the B1 is, the 56-day rule, the fee structure, and the audit exemption consequence that costs far more than the fine.
Corporation Tax
Corporation tax in Ireland
The 12.5% and 25% rates, what counts as trading, preliminary tax, and the close company surcharges that catch owner-managed businesses.
Company Structure
Setting up a limited company in Ireland
Directors, secretary, registered office, the EEA resident rule and share capital — plus the Revenue and CRO obligations that start the moment the company exists.
Get a fixed quote for annual accounts & cro
Tell us about your business and we will send a fixed-fee proposal within 48 hours.