Annual filings for a one-person company: what ASIC, Companies House and ACRA expect each year

A one-person company does not escape the yearly filing cycle. In Australia the annual obligation is ASIC's company annual review; in the UK it is a confirmation statement plus annual accounts; in Singapore it is an annual return to ACRA (with an AGM rule alongside it); in Hong Kong it is Form NAR1 to the Companies Registry. Dormant companies are not exempt in the UK or Singapore — both regulators state the duty applies to them too.

The table below is the checklist. Fees and dates are those printed by each regulator or in its own fee data as checked on 1 October 2026; the sections after it explain what each filing actually involves.

Checklist: who wants what, and when

Country	Filing	Deadline	Fee as published	Late cost
Australia (ASIC)	Annual review: fee, updated statement details, solvency resolution	Fee due by the date on the annual statement, usually 2 months after the annual review date	$342 for a proprietary company (non special-purpose), fee year from 1 July 2026	$102 within 1 month; $428 after more than 1 month
UK (Companies House)	Confirmation statement at least once every 12 months	Up to 14 days after the review period ends	£50 online, £110 paper (fee page updated 25 September 2026)	Fine up to £5,000 and possible strike-off
UK (Companies House / HMRC)	Annual accounts	First accounts 21 months after incorporation; later accounts 9 months after financial year end	Not in the material we checked	Late-filing penalties not in the material we checked
Singapore (ACRA)	Annual return	Within 7 months after financial year end (non-listed companies)	Fee amount not in the material we checked	$300 up to 3 months late; $600 more than 3 months late
Hong Kong (Companies Registry)	Annual return, Form NAR1	Within 42 days after the anniversary of incorporation	HK$105 if delivered on time	HK$870 to HK$3,480

Australia: the ASIC annual review

To stay registered, an Australian company must do three things each year: pay the annual review fee, make sure the registration details on the annual statement are up to date, and pass a solvency resolution (ASIC).

The fee is due by the date shown on the annual statement, which is usually 2 months after the annual review date. For a proprietary company other than a special-purpose company the annual review fee is $342, per ASIC's current fee data feed for the fee year beginning 1 July 2026 (ASIC fees data). The same feed lists late fees of $102 when payment is within 1 month and $428 when it is more than 1 month.

Directors must pass the solvency resolution within 2 months of the annual review date, unless the company has lodged a financial report with ASIC in the past 12 months. A positive resolution is kept on the company's own file rather than lodged. If the resolution is negative, or none is passed within the 2 months, the company must notify ASIC within 7 days — that notification is Form 485.

Two further points matter to a company of one. Company details must be updated within 28 days of a change, or a late fee applies. And ASIC offers a discount if you pay the annual review fee for a 10-year period in advance, which is worth knowing if you intend to hold the company for the long term.

UK: confirmation statement and annual accounts

Every UK company, including dormant and non-trading companies, must file a confirmation statement at least once every year, and it can be filed up to 14 days after the review period ends (GOV.UK). Not filing carries real consequences: a fine of up to £5,000 and the possibility of the company being struck off the register.

The confirmation statement fee is £50 online and £110 paper, according to the Companies House fees page updated 25 September 2026 (GOV.UK).

Accounts run on a separate clock from the confirmation statement (GOV.UK). First accounts are due 21 months after incorporation; after that, annual accounts are due 9 months after the company's financial year ends. Corporation Tax is payable 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period, and the Company Tax Return is due 12 months after it. In practice this means a single-director UK company has at least three separate dates in the year, not one.

Singapore: ACRA annual return and the AGM rule

All companies registered in Singapore must file an annual return with ACRA each year, dormant ones included. For non-listed companies the return is due within seven months after the financial year end (ACRA).

Late filing is expensive relative to the size of the filing: ACRA's penalty is $300 for a return filed up to three months after the deadline and $600 for one filed more than three months after, for due dates on or after 14 January 2022 (ACRA).

Separately, non-listed companies are expected to hold an AGM within six months after the financial year end (ACRA). A private company is exempt if it sends its financial statements to all members within five months after the financial year end; it may also dispense with AGMs altogether by members' resolution. For a one-person company, that is the practical route — the AGM obligation is designed to be switched off rather than performed alone in a room.

Hong Kong: Form NAR1

A local private company in Hong Kong must deliver its annual return, Form NAR1, to the Registrar of Companies within 42 days after each anniversary of the date of its incorporation (Companies Registry). The annual registration fee is HK$105 if the return is delivered within that 42-day window; late delivery attracts fees ranging from HK$870 to HK$3,480.

One common worry can be set aside: private companies in Hong Kong do not file financial statements together with the annual return. That requirement applies only to public companies and guarantee companies (Companies Registry).

What this article could not confirm

We checked the regulators' own pages and fee data, and a few figures were not available there:

Singapore: the annual return filing fee amount, and IRAS tax filing deadlines (Form C/C-S).
Hong Kong: profits tax return timing and the audit requirement.
UK: late-filing penalty amounts for accounts.
Australia: whether annual financial report lodgement is required for most small proprietary companies — the ASIC pages we used did not settle this, so treat any claim about it as unverified.

For those items, read the fee schedule or guidance page directly rather than relying on a summary.