Annual Return vs Tax Return

It’s easy to get confused between your annual return and your tax return as sometimes the terms can be used interchangeably! Below we explain what each return type is

Tax Return

Tax Returns generally refer to your income tax returns.

Income tax returns are filed annually and let the Inland Revenue know how much profit an entity made each year to determine their tax liability.

Income tax returns are filed for all entity types being companies, partnerships (where registered as an entity), trusts and individuals (being the same thing as sole traders)

Annual Return

Annual returns are for companies only.

An annual return is not a financial document — it's a record of publicly available information about your company that appears on the Companies Register. That information, which includes your address and details of directors and shareholders, must be updated each year through an annual return.

To file your annual return, you need a Real Me log in to sign in to the companies office and confirm your details. The companies office runs through all the steps on how to file your return here.

Prosper Business files the tax returns for all clients as part of our Tax & Accounting Compliance service but clients are responsible for their own annual return.