Companies House Accounts Filing Changes Coming in April 2028
The government has confirmed how it will reform company accounts filing under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. From April 2028, small companies and micro entities will need to file a full profit and loss account, and every UK company will need to file its accounts using commercial software rather than paper or the Companies House website.
The reforms were first announced back in 2025 with an April 2027 start date, but after pushback from small business owners and their advisers about cost and the compliance burden, the government pushed the date back to April 2028.
Profit and loss accounts for small companies and micro entities
Under current rules, many small companies and micro entities can file reduced or abridged accounts, which means their trading results, turnover, costs and profit stay largely private.
From April 2028 small companies and micro entities will need to prepare and file a full profit and loss account with Companies House, in the same way that other companies already do.
Small companies and micro entities will be able to opt out of having their profit and loss account published on the public register. You’ll still have to submit it to Companies House, and it will remain accessible to HMRC and law enforcement, but competitors and customers won’t automatically be able to see your numbers.
Software only filing
The second big change affects every company, not just smaller ones. From April 2028, all UK registered companies will need to file their annual accounts using commercial software, in a format called iXBRL (Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language). Companies House’s web filing and paper based routes will close for accounts filings altogether.
If you currently file accounts yourself through the Companies House website, or your accountant files on paper, this is the change that will alter your process day to day. Companies House is publishing a list of approved software providers on GOV.UK to help with the transition, and if you already use commercial accounting software for bookkeeping or payroll, filing accounts may simply become an add on to what you’re using.
Web filing isn’t disappearing altogether. It will remain available for confirmation statements and updates to director details.
A few smaller changes worth knowing about
Alongside the two headline reforms, several other changes are coming in from April 2028:
- Abridged accounts are being scrapped, so that filing shortcut won’t be available to anyone
- A strengthened eligibility statement will be required from any company claiming an audit exemption
- The different parts of your accounts and reports will need to be filed together as one submission, rather than in stages
- There’ll be a limit on how many times a company can shorten its accounting reference period
How to prepare for the changes
April 2028 might feel a long way off, but the government has just built in extra time to give companies an extension to prepare.
If you’re currently filing simplified or abridged accounts, it’s a good time to start thinking about what a full profit and loss account will mean for your reporting, and whether you’ll want to make use of the opt out.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on further guidance from Companies House as it’s published, in the meantime, if you’d like to talk through what these changes mean for your business, get in touch with our team.
