annual return

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablebusinesslegal

   a document that a company must send to the authorities once a year with details about its directors, owners, and registered address

   Grammar: Countable: file an annual return, submit annual returns. Often used with 'file' or 'submit'.

   Patterns

   • file an annual return
   • submit an annual return
   • annual return to the authorities

   The company was fined for failing to file its annual return on time.

   You can submit the annual return online through the companies registry.

   Directors must check that the annual return lists all shareholders correctly.

2. 2nouncountablefinance

   the profit or income produced by an investment over one year, usually shown as a percentage

   Grammar: Countable: an annual return of 5%, annual returns of 5% and 7%. Often followed by 'on' plus the investment.

   Patterns

   • annual return on an investment
   • an annual return of 5%
   • earn an annual return

   The fund has delivered an annual return of about six percent.

   Investors compare the annual return on bonds with the annual return on stocks.

   After fees, the annual return was lower than the brochure suggested.

Word forms

Common combinations

file an annual return

Small companies must file an annual return even if they made no profit.

annual return on investment

The annual return on investment was nine percent.

submit an annual return

She submitted the annual return two weeks before the deadline.

annual return deadline

The annual return deadline is the end of the month.

Synonyms and how they differ

annual report

An annual report is a fuller document for shareholders, while an annual return is a short official filing.

yield

Yield is the income from an investment; 'annual return' can include both income and price changes.

Word family

return noun

the profit from an investment, or an official report

annually adverb

once a year

annual adjective

happening or calculated once a year

Commonly confused: annual return or annual report?

Practice

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