Plain explained · 15 December 2026
The B1 penalty clock, explained in plain euro
The CRO late-filing penalty is the most common fine an Irish company experiences, and the maths is public. Here it is in plain euro, because 'penalties apply' tells you nothing.
The maths
Miss your Annual Return Date (ARD): €100 immediately. After a 14-day grace period, €3 per day accrues — capped at €2,000 per return. File 100 days late and you've paid the maximum.
The quieter penalty is worse: more than 56 days late and the company loses its audit exemption for the following two financial years — meaning mandatory audit fees that dwarf the €2,000.
All of it is statutory (Companies Act 2014) — none of it is invented, and the CRO publishes the schedule.
The three-step prevention
1. Know your ARD — it's public; check it free with any CRO number. 2. Work backwards: financial statements take weeks, so the accounting conversation starts months before the date. 3. Watch it — the register changes, the date doesn't move, and the clock doesn't negotiate.
BizÉire's job is steps 1 and 3: your ARD sits on a live calendar with 30/14/7-day alerts, and the exposure meter shows the euro figure if it slips. The filing itself stays with you or your accountant — nobody files as you but you.