Every Irish company files financial statements with its CRO annual return, and every company and sole trader needs accounts behind its tax return. We prepare your year-end accounts, file them with the CRO and Revenue, and explain what the numbers mean for your business.
Information checked 3 October 2026 against Revenue and CRO guidance.
What's included
Year-end accounts, also called financial statements, summarise a business's year: the profit and loss account, the balance sheet and the notes that explain them. Irish companies prepare them under the Companies Act 2014 and Irish accounting standards (FRS 102). A sole trader does not file accounts publicly, but the figures on a Form 11 have to come from proper records, and Revenue expects those records to be kept for six years.
| Who | What | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Company | CRO annual return (B1) with financial statements attached | 56 days after the annual return date |
| Company | Corporation Tax return (CT1) and the balance of tax | 23rd day of the ninth month after the year end |
| Sole trader | 2025 Form 11 and 2026 preliminary tax | 31 October 2026, or 18 November 2026 if you both pay and file on ROS |
Sources: CRO, filing an annual return; Revenue, Corporation Tax payment and filing; Revenue eBrief 034/26.
Worked example
A company with a 31 December 2025 year end and an annual return date of 30 September 2026 must file its CT1 and pay any balance of Corporation Tax by 23 September 2026. Its annual return is due within 56 days of 30 September, so by 25 November 2026, with financial statements made up to a date no more than nine months before the return date. Accounts to 31 December 2025 meet that test.
The CRO charges a late filing fee of €100 from the day after the deadline, plus €3 a day, up to €1,200 for each return. Since 16 July 2025 a small company also loses its audit exemption for two financial years if it files late a second time within five years. Late filing can also lead to the company being struck off.
Yes. Small and micro companies can file abridged financial statements with the CRO, which put less detail on the public record. The members still receive the full financial statements. For financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024, a company is small if it stays within two of these three limits: turnover of €15 million, balance sheet of €7.5 million and 50 employees. The micro limits are €900,000, €450,000 and 10 employees.
The sooner after your year end the records arrive, the more time there is to plan the tax before the deadline rather than react to it.
Sole traders do not file accounts with the CRO, but they need accounts to complete a Form 11 correctly, and Revenue can ask to see the records behind the figures. Business records must be kept for six years. A simple set of accounts also helps with bank loans, grant applications and planning your tax.
Source: Revenue: Keeping records, checked 3 October 2026.
The annual return date (ARD) is the date a company's annual return is made up to each year. The return must reach the CRO within 56 days of it. A new company's first return is made up to six months after incorporation and does not need financial statements.
Source: CRO: Filing an annual return, checked 3 October 2026.
It depends mostly on the state of the records. Reconciled books in accounting software take far less time than a box of receipts. Sending everything soon after the year end leaves room to plan for tax before the deadlines.
Yes, you can change accountant at any point in the year. The new accountant asks the previous one for last year's accounts, tax returns and working papers, so you do not have to chase them yourself.
Next step
Book a call to talk through your records and deadlines, or ring the office.
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm · info@mawhately.ie
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