Companies House to bring in changes to accounts filing from April 2028
Companies House will introduce changes to accounts filing due to governmental reforms under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCT Act 2023).
The changes will now come into effect from April 2028, rather than April 2027, to give companies more time to prepare.
The reforms include requiring small companies and micro entities to file profit and loss accounts with Companies House as other companies do. They will have the option to opt out of publishing this information on the public register.
As with Making Tax Digital, companies will be required to file annual accounts via commercial software.
The new rules will introduce additional limitations, including removing the option for companies to file abridged accounts and reducing the number of times a company can shorten its accounting reference period. There will also be a strengthened eligibility statement for all companies claiming an audit exemption and a requirement that the component parts of the accounts and reports be filed together.
Companies House will contact all companies via their registered email address to tell them about these changes and signpost available guidance.
Although transparency and data clarity were prime factors in the planned changes, allowing small companies and micro-entities to opt out of publishing their filed profit and loss accounts protects their privacy and mitigates commercial risks.
Software-only accounts filing
From April 2028, Companies House will require all UK-registered companies to file their accounts in Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) format by using commercial software. This applies to companies that file their own accounts and those using third-party agents or accountants to file their annual accounts. Web and paper-based filing systems will be closed for account filings.
The full details of changes will be confirmed in due course but are likely to increase the operating costs of small businesses.
To select a software provider, Companies House recommends using the interactive list of software providers on GOV.UK.
UK businesses are facing a “cost of business crisis”, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Its new cost-stack calculator shows government policy alone has pushed up an average firm's expenses by 70% over the past decade, adding roughly £827,000 a year in costs for a typical mid-sized business. About a quarter of the rise stems from the increase in employer National Insurance contributions, with the higher minimum wage and mandatory pension auto-enrolment also major contributors.
Under Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, sole traders and landlords with income of more than £50,000 have been required to keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC since 6 April 2026.
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