Companies House U-turn for small company accounts

The government has announced a significant change to its planned Companies House reporting reforms, confirming that the requirement for small companies and micro-entities to file profit and loss accounts from April 2028 has been paused.

The announcement, made on 23 October 2026, follows concerns about the administrative burden on smaller businesses. However, other important changes to how companies file their accounts will still go ahead.

What was originally planned?

As we reported in July, the government had previously confirmed that small companies and micro-entities would be required to submit their profit and loss accounts to Companies House from April 2028.

Although businesses would have been able to prevent this information from being made publicly available, Companies House and HMRC would still have received the additional financial information.

The proposals had raised concerns about the extra administrative work involved and the potential commercial sensitivity of the information being submitted.

What has changed?

The government has now decided to pause the requirement for small companies and micro-entities to file profit and loss accounts while it considers alternative ways to simplify the reporting process.

Importantly, this is not simply a change to whether the information will be publicly available. The proposed requirement to submit the additional information has itself been paused.

Companies House has confirmed that smaller companies will retain the ability to remove, or 'fillet', profit and loss information from their filed accounts. The option to file abridged accounts will also remain available where the relevant conditions are met.

The government is now exploring ways to streamline the information provided to Companies House and HMRC, potentially allowing businesses to provide information to the government only once rather than through separate reporting processes.

Read the latest Companies House announcement

Software filing will still become compulsory

Although the profit and loss filing requirement has been paused, another significant change remains on schedule.

From 1 April 2028, all UK registered companies will be required to file their annual accounts using commercial software, with accounts submitted in iXBRL format.

This applies whether companies prepare and file their own accounts or use an accountant to do so.

Companies House will close its existing web-based and paper accounts filing services from that date, although online services will remain available for other filings, including confirmation statements and changes to director details.

For businesses already using accounting software or an accountant to prepare and file their accounts, this may require relatively little change.

However, companies that currently prepare and submit their accounts directly through Companies House will need to make alternative arrangements.

What other changes are still planned?

Companies House has also confirmed that several other reforms will proceed from April 2028, including:

• Stronger eligibility statements for companies claiming exemption from audit.

• A requirement to file the various components of company accounts and reports together.

• Restrictions on how frequently companies can shorten their accounting reference period.

These changes form part of the wider reforms introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

What should company directors do now?

For most small company directors, the decision to pause compulsory profit and loss filing will be welcome news.

There is no immediate change to the accounts that companies must prepare and submit under the existing rules. However, businesses should remain aware of the forthcoming move to mandatory software filing and ensure they have suitable arrangements in place before April 2028.

The government has not announced a replacement implementation date for the profit and loss filing requirement, so further changes remain possible as it considers alternative approaches.

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Please note that the above is for general information only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. You should not rely on this information to make or refrain from making any decisions. You should always obtain independent professional advice in respect of your own situation.