Tax
Companies House accounts filing changes: what's coming
From April 2028, all small companies and micro-entities must file a profit and loss account at Companies House, and accounts can only be filed with commercial software. Abridged accounts and the directors' report requirement are being scrapped. Here is what changes, when, and what it means for your company's privacy.
By David ElliottBSc FCA, Founder & Managing PartnerFigures in this piece were checked on 16 October 2026. Rates and thresholds change, so confirm anything you are relying on.
From April 2028, every small company and micro-entity in the UK will have to file a profit and loss account at Companies House, and accounts will only be able to be filed using commercial software. These are the biggest changes to company accounts filing in a generation, and for the great majority of our clients they mean two things: more of your figures will become public, and the old free web and paper filing routes will close for good.
The changes come from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, the same law that is already reshaping Companies House into a more active regulator. They were originally expected in April 2027, but on 9 June 2026 the government confirmed they would proceed a year later, from April 2028, with a concession on privacy that we explain below.
Here is what is coming, when it bites, and what you can sensibly do about it now.
What is actually changing
Three separate things are happening at once. It helps to keep them apart.
Everyone files a profit and loss account
At the moment, a small company can file “filleted” accounts that leave out the profit and loss account, and a micro-entity can file even less. From April 2028 that ends. Every small company and micro-entity will have to file a profit and loss account. Abridged accounts are being abolished altogether.
For a lot of owner-managed companies this is the change that will sting, because turnover, gross profit and similar figures that are private today will sit on the public register where competitors, suppliers and customers can read them.
The directors’ report requirement is being scrapped
Alongside the extra disclosure, small companies and micro-entities will no longer be required to prepare and file a directors’ report. This is a small simplification set against the extra profit and loss disclosure, but it is a welcome one.
Software-only filing
From April 2028, accounts can only be filed through commercial software that writes the accounts in a tagged, machine-readable format called iXBRL. The free Companies House web service for accounts, and filing on paper, will both close. If you file your own accounts today through the web portal, you will need accounting software that supports Companies House filing, or you file through us.
For our clients this part changes very little in practice, because we already file electronically in the right format on your behalf.
Who counts as small or micro
The size thresholds themselves went up for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, so more companies now sit in the smaller brackets. A company qualifies for a size category if it meets at least two of the three conditions.
| Size category | Annual turnover not more than | Balance sheet total not more than | Employees not more than |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity | £1m (was £632,000) | £500,000 (was £316,000) | 10 |
| Small | £15m (was £10.2m) | £7.5m (was £5.1m) | 50 |
| Medium | £54m (was £36m) | £27m (was £18m) | 250 |
The point to take from the table is that the new filing rules reach a very wide group. If your company is small or micro, and almost every owner-managed company is, the profit and loss requirement applies to you from April 2028.
When does it hit your company?
The rule bites on accounts filed from April 2028 onwards, which depends on your year end and when you file. Most private companies have nine months after their year end to file. The table below shows how it plays out for a private company with the normal nine-month filing deadline.
| Year end | Normal filing deadline | Caught by the new rules? |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2027 | 31 December 2027 | No |
| 30 June 2027 | 31 March 2028 | No, if filed on time |
| 31 July 2027 | 30 April 2028 | Yes, unless filed by 31 March 2028 |
| 30 September 2027 | 30 June 2028 | Yes, unless filed by 31 March 2028 |
| 31 December 2027 | 30 September 2028 | Yes, unless filed by 31 March 2028 |
| 31 March 2028 and later | 31 December 2028 onwards | Yes |
The practical message is that companies with year ends from roughly mid-2027 onwards should assume the new rules will apply to the accounts they file, and plan on that basis.
The privacy concession
When the April 2028 start was confirmed, the government also said that small companies and micro-entities will be given an option to opt out of publishing the profit and loss account on the public register, even though they must still file it with Companies House.
This is an important distinction. Filing and publishing are not the same thing. You will have to send the profit and loss account to Companies House either way, so it is available to the registrar and to law enforcement, but you may be able to keep it off the public-facing record that anyone can search.
The detail of how this opt-out will work has not yet been confirmed, and the government has said it will set out the detail in due course. We are watching for it and will tell clients how to use it as soon as the mechanism is published. Until then, plan on the basis that your profit and loss figures could become public, and treat the opt-out as a likely but not certain protection.
Tougher audit exemption statements
One more change is worth flagging for companies that claim audit exemption. Directors already have to make a statement on the balance sheet confirming the company qualifies for exemption. Under the reforms, that statement has to be more specific: directors will need to identify the exemption being claimed and confirm the company meets the qualifying conditions for it. It is a small change to the wording, but it puts a sharper obligation on directors to be sure the exemption genuinely applies before they sign.
What you should do now
Nothing has to change today, but a few things are worth thinking about before April 2028.
If your accounts currently keep your trading figures private and that matters to you commercially, start thinking now about what will be visible, and keep an eye on the opt-out detail when it lands. If you file your own accounts through the Companies House web service, you will need to move to software filing or hand filing to us. And if your company claims audit exemption, make sure the basis for that is clear and well documented, because the statement directors sign is getting stricter.
For most clients the honest answer is that we will handle the mechanics, and the main thing to prepare for is the extra disclosure. If you would like to talk through what your accounts will show once the profit and loss account is public, and whether the opt-out will help you, get in touch and we will walk you through it.
Frequently asked questions
When do the Companies House filing changes start?
From April 2028. The changes were originally expected in April 2027, but the government confirmed on 9 June 2026 that they would proceed a year later. They apply to accounts filed from April 2028 onwards, so the first companies affected are those with filing deadlines falling after that date.
Will my small company have to make its profit and loss account public?
You will have to file a profit and loss account with Companies House from April 2028, and abridged and filleted accounts that leave it out are being abolished. However, small companies and micro-entities are to be given an option to opt out of publishing the profit and loss account on the public register. The detail of that opt-out has not yet been confirmed.
What is a micro-entity and a small company?
A micro-entity meets at least two of: turnover up to £1m, balance sheet total up to £500,000, and up to 10 employees. A small company meets at least two of: turnover up to £15m, balance sheet total up to £7.5m, and up to 50 employees. These thresholds rose for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025.
Can I still file accounts on paper or through the free web service?
No, not from April 2028. Accounts will have to be filed using commercial software in a tagged iXBRL format, and the free Companies House web filing service and paper filing for accounts will close. If we file your accounts, this is already handled for you.
Do I still need to file a directors’ report?
Small companies and micro-entities will no longer be required to prepare and file a directors’ report once the changes take effect. This runs alongside the new requirement to file a profit and loss account.