Changing an Irish Company's Financial Year-End: Form B83 Guide

First identify which date you actually want to change

The financial year-end closes the statutory accounts. The annual return date, or ARD, is the date to which Form B1 reports company information. The Corporation Tax accounting period is a separate tax concept. Write all three down before asking anyone to move a deadline.

If your accounts date is commercially sensible but the B1 timetable is inconvenient, investigate ARD alignment instead of changing the accounts. Section 346 provides separate mechanisms, including the B73 route subject to its conditions. Using B83 for the wrong problem can create additional work without resolving the original deadline.

• Companies Act 2014, Section 346: changing the annual return date
• Revenue: Corporation Tax accounting periods, Part 02-02-05

Make the commercial case before choosing the new date

Ask what the change will improve over the next few years. A quiet stock-count month may be useful for a seasonal retailer. A newly acquired subsidiary may need a common reporting date. A consultancy may want its annual review to follow project completion rather than interrupt delivery.

Compare the one-off transition workload with the recurring benefit. A shorter period can mean another accounts exercise sooner; a longer period can mean more reconciliation and tax-return work. Request a calendar and scope of work, not simply a promise to change a date. Neither a December year-end nor an extended period is automatically cheaper.

• Document the business reason and proposed date.
• Check stocktaking, staff availability and reporting commitments.
• Ask the accountant to compare keeping, shortening and extending the period.
• Keep the old timetable active until the change and replacement obligations are confirmed.

Check current versus previous year and the 18-month ceiling

Section 288 allows the prescribed notice to concern the current financial year-end or the previous one. The previous year-end means the date immediately before the current financial year, not any historic date you choose. The resulting financial year cannot exceed 18 months.

The ordinary pattern for subsequent years is 12 months, with the statutory allowance of up to seven days either way. Do not assume that allowance permits a change of several months without B83. Ask the accountant to identify the exact start date and legal route before changing the end date.

• Companies Act 2014, Section 288: financial years and the five-year test

Treat the five-year restriction as a dated eligibility test

The precise statutory test matters. Section 288(9) measures the five years from the new financial year-end specified in the previous notice, not simply from the date the old B83 was filed. Obtain the previous notice and nominated date before calculating eligibility.

Exceptions include qualifying alignment with another EEA undertaking where the company is its subsidiary or holding undertaking, winding up, or a direction from the Corporate Enforcement Authority. They are specific conditions, not a general exemption for every international business. Sharing owners or a brand is not enough to establish the qualifying relationship.

Send the adviser the group structure and relevant reporting dates if relying on alignment. Where a discretionary direction is needed, do not treat an application as permission already granted. Keep a record of the basis relied upon.

• Companies Act 2014, Section 288: financial years and the five-year test
• CRO: financial year-end changes and restrictions

Do not use B83 to erase a missed filing obligation

CRO states that B83 cannot be accepted where the period for delivering the previous year's financial statements has expired. It also rejects changes that leave gaps in accounts coverage or cause the company not to file an annual return in a year. A draft notice or payment is not a completed remedy.

If a deadline is close or already missed, disclose that immediately. Give the adviser any CRO correspondence, submitted documents and rejection messages. Ask what must be filed under the existing obligations while the proposed change is reviewed. Do not wait for a convenient new accounts date and assume that old exposure disappears.

• CRO: financial year-end changes and restrictions

Map the accounts-to-B1 relationship before filing

Under Section 347, attached financial statements must provide continuous coverage and be made up to a date no more than nine months before the annual return's made-up-to date. Moving the year-end does not change the ARD. Recheck the relationship rather than copying last year's reminders.

CRO describes the filing deadline, where statements are required, as the earlier of ARD plus 56 days or financial year-end plus nine months and 56 days. Returns made up earlier have their own effective-date consequences. Have the presenter calculate the actual applicable deadline, including any relevant non-working-day rule.

Create a single schedule showing the last filed accounts end, proposed new period, B1 made-up-to date, accounts approval target and final delivery date. Assign an owner to each step. The internal approval target should leave time for corrections, not coincide with the filing deadline.

• Companies Act 2014, Section 347: continuous accounts and the nine-month limit
• CRO: annual return filing and deadline rules

Two worked planning examples: shortening and extending

These fictional examples illustrate period lengths only. They assume an established company with continuous trading and no other tax-period-ending event. Neither example confirms B83 eligibility, previous filings, annual-return compliance or the correct tax calculation for a real company.

Shortening: a garden-centre company last closed accounts on 30 June 2026. It considers changing the next year-end from 30 June 2027 to 31 December 2026, producing six months from 1 July to 31 December 2026. Before instructing it, the director asks for a stocktake plan and a revised B1 and tax calendar.

Extending: another company last closed on 31 December 2025 and considers 30 June 2027 instead of 31 December 2026. That produces 18 months, at the company-law ceiling. For the assumed continuous tax position, the tax work normally separates 1 January to 31 December 2026 and 1 January to 30 June 2027. It is not one 18-month CT1.

In both cases, compare the transition costs and future workload. The longer option does not authorise skipping an annual return or ignoring an intervening tax obligation. A tidy accounts period is only one part of a workable plan.

• Revenue: Period of Account, Part 38-02-06
• CRO: financial year-end changes and restrictions

Prepare Form B83 from the current CRO documents

Use CRO's current forms directory, not an old template saved years ago. The form asks for the company name and number, whether the change concerns the current or previous year-end, the new date and any applicable exemption ground. It includes certification by a director or secretary and presenter contact details.

Check the current submission method and official fee separately. At the date checked, CRO's fee schedule lists B83 as a paper filing with no electronic option; the signed form notes explain delivery. Do not assume that because B1 is online, B83 follows the same process.

Retain the signed copy, supporting basis and delivery evidence. Check the filing outcome and follow up queries promptly. Sending the form is not proof that it has been accepted or that the company's other records now agree.

• CRO: current forms directory
• CRO: current Form B83 and completion notes
• CRO: company filing fees

Reconcile Revenue periods, CT1 and linked returns separately

Revenue limits each CT1 to 12 months. Longer financial statements can therefore require separate returns. Its Period of Account manual explains how an unfiled CT1's dates can be adjusted within the relevant ROS return; dates entered in the return determine the period reported, not merely the dropdown label.

Where a CT1 has already been submitted, Revenue says its start and end dates cannot be amended online: contact the Revenue office. There must be no gaps or overlaps. A required Form 46G (Company) must use the same accounting period as its corresponding CT1.

Ask the accountant to confirm the Revenue notification and ROS steps for your circumstances, including expected periods and any payments already allocated. Revenue's general guidance also recommends notifying the relevant tax office of an accounts-date change promptly. Do not assume CRO forwards a B83 as a completed tax update.

• Revenue: Period of Account, Part 38-02-06
• Revenue: Corporation Tax accounting periods, Part 02-02-05

Recalculate tax payments instead of moving old reminders

Preliminary Corporation Tax can fall before a period closes, and the rules differ for small and large companies and short periods. Revenue's guidance also treats large-company instalments differently according to period length. An extension of financial statements is not a blanket extension of tax payment dates.

Request a written schedule for each tax period: preliminary tax, CT1, any balancing payment and linked reporting. Review the cash forecast alongside it. Revenue's payment-and-filing guidance requires electronic filing and payment and explains late-payment interest, return surcharges and possible relief restrictions. Confirm the actual due dates rather than assuming every tax task waits for the new accounts.

Where the company has already paid tax against an expected period, ask the adviser to reconcile allocation before making another payment. The aim is a traceable transition, not simply a different date on the bookkeeping dashboard.

• Revenue: when preliminary Corporation Tax is due
• Revenue: Corporation Tax payment and filing

Give the accountant a complete handover pack

A useful first message explains the desired business outcome, not only the proposed date. Include company details, the present calendar and any urgent deadline. Supply sensitive records through an agreed secure route; an ordinary contact enquiry need not contain tax identifiers or customer transaction data.

Ask the accountant to list missing evidence and dependencies before confirming the work. If one firm prepares accounts and another presents the annual return, agree who coordinates the dates. Keep signed-off records of the original and replacement calendar so a handover between staff does not revive the wrong reminder.

• Last filed financial statements and B1 details.
• Any previous B83, its nominated year-end and acceptance record.
• Current ARD, accounts preparation status and CRO correspondence.
• Trial balance, bank reconciliations and stock-count arrangements.
• Tax-period history, filed CT1s and relevant payment records.
• Group structure and parent reporting date if alignment is proposed.

Choose support by scope, not the form name alone

StartCompany.ie's accountant service is a quote-based route to discussing bookkeeping, financial statements and tax support with an accountant. Use it to explain the proposed year-end change and request a coordinated assessment. Ask whether B83 preparation and presentation can be provided and are expressly included; they are not automatically included in ordinary accounting or annual-return support.

Separate the eligibility review, accounts work, tax computations, CRO presentation and any audit requirement in the engagement. Confirm the total payable and responsibility for each deadline before instructing work. Buying assistance does not guarantee acceptance, a particular completion date, tax savings or relief from overdue obligations.

If you are only choosing the first accounts date after incorporation, use our initial year-end guide instead. If the accounts date should stay and only the annual-return timing needs attention, use our B73 decision guide. Those are related decisions, but they are not interchangeable.