We often get asked by people about what these are and why you have to do them.
We thought we’d break it down in to super plain English you can understand.
Firstly, it costs about $40 to file your annual return and often your accountant will do this for you for anywhere from Free to $350 a year.
The annual return is a yearly update of the details of your company (like renewing your car registration) to ensure the information that the Companies Office holds, is correct. Such things as Director(s), Shareholder(s) & Company details including addresses and share allocations (how many shares each shareholder holds).
A Director, or someone with appropriate authority (delegated in writing by the Director) needs to complete the annual return.
For most companies this is a tick the box exercise and you’re done. The worst part is actually remembering how to log in to do it. Using your RealMe login is the preferred method by the companies office so never lose that log in.
The most common question people get stuck on is whether your company has an ‘Ultimate Holding Company’ and this basically means ‘Is your company owned by another (holding) company’. For most people this answer is no, but if it is yes, follow the prompts to answer who the Ultimate Holding Company is.
What if you don’t do it?
Eventually the Companies Office will remove your company from the registrar. So it’s worth ensuring you get it done.
If you’re really stuck, feel free to drop us a line and we will get back to you and if we have to, we’ll put together a more comprehensive guide to help businesses save some money.
