Companies House Accounts Changes From April 2028: What UK Company Owners Must Prepare
Last updated: October 2026
The Companies House accounts changes taking effect from April 2028 rest on six pillars: small and micro-entity companies must file a profit and loss account with an opt-out from public disclosure; abridged accounts are abolished; filing becomes software-only in iXBRL format as the web service and paper channel close; audit exemption statements tighten; component accounts must be filed together; and shortening the accounting reference period is restricted to once every five years with a six-month minimum. The legal basis is the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, confirmed by a June 2026 written ministerial statement.
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Britain's financial press returned to this file in early October 2026 — from Accountancy Age to the Financial Times — because what looked like a distant amendment is now one accounting season away. The reason deserves attention: one decision your company makes in 2027 (choosing software, deciding whether profits are published or withheld) will determine how much time and money April 2028 costs you.
This guide is written for company owners, not accountants: what exactly changes, which companies are affected, and what to do now — before the cheap window closes.
The six changes in one table
| # | Change | Who is affected | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Profit and loss filing becomes mandatory | Small and micro-entity companies | Even if previously exempt from attaching it, you will now file it |
| 2 | Opt-out from public profit disclosure | Same group | You file the account with the registry but can keep it off the public record |
| 3 | Abridged accounts abolished | Anyone using them | The option disappears entirely — full accounts or the entity-type format |
| 4 | Software-only iXBRL filing | Everyone | The web service and paper channel close in April 2028 |
| 5 | Tightened audit exemption statement | Audit-exempt companies | An explicit statement that exemption conditions are met |
| 6 | Shortening restricted; component accounts unified | Anyone changing their year end | Shortening allowed once every 5 years maximum, minimum 6 months |
The official source for these items is the GOV.UK announcement dated 9 June 2026, updated within the ECCTA transition plan.
Source: GOV.UK — Companies House to bring in changes to accounts filing from April 2028
What changes depending on your company's size
Not every company feels the same impact; the table ranks the effect from heaviest to lightest:
| Company size | Impact from April 2028 | Preparation required |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity | Simplified P&L filing + full move to software filing | Moderate — simple software suffices |
| Small | Same as above + the publish/withhold decision + loss of abridged option | Moderate to high |
| Medium | Full accounts filing toward the public record | High |
| Large | Formal change — already filed full accounts | Low |
| Dormant | Simplified statements continue, but filing goes software-only | Low to moderate |
The most affected band is precisely "small and micro": the group that enjoyed the widest exemptions, and the group now moving from a free web form taking minutes to software, data tagging, and a publication decision never previously required.
Source: Companies House official YouTube channel
The "publish your profits or not" decision: the option that will surprise many
The most psychologically significant change in the package. Historically, a small UK company could file a balance sheet alone without a profit and loss account — so competitors, former employees, and customers never learned what it earned. From April 2028 this partial isolation ends:
- A profit and loss account will be filed with Companies House mandatorily.
- Alongside it comes an opt-out: the right to keep it off the public register — filing is required, publication is blockable.
How to choose? The working rule used by practitioners: if your company negotiates contracts with parties that want financial transparency — banks, investors, large tenders — full publication serves you and saves repeated document requests. If your pricing is competitive and your margin is your negotiating edge, withholding is your default posture — with the caveat that the decision renews annually and is not permanent.
iXBRL and the web service closure: the biggest operational burden
From April 2028 the Companies House web filing service and the paper channel close permanently, and filing becomes exclusive to commercial accounting software producing iXBRL files — a format that lets government systems read your numbers automatically while remaining human-readable.
What this means for an owner in practice:
- A new permanent cost: an accounting software subscription from the official GOV.UK list of compatible products.
- Setup time: migrating your data and tagging your books correctly once — the real hidden cost of the transition.
- The end of last-minute filing: the late-night manual submission before a deadline no longer exists; software requires preparation in advance.
The official list of recognised software is maintained at GOV.UK — Find software for filing company accounts, and the official guidance for filing through software was updated in September 2026 on the GOV.UK guidance page.
Audit exemption and the accounting period: details not to skip
Two items most readers pass over quickly and then get surprised by later:
The audit exemption statement: audit-exempt companies (under the known thresholds) will sign a clearer, more explicit statement confirming the exemption conditions are met, including the required disclosure where no qualified auditor of insurance contracts exists where applicable. A wrong statement here is not a formal slip — it is explicit personal responsibility on the directors.
Shortening the accounting period: anyone changing their year end repeatedly to shift accounting seasons or for tax positioning faces a new restriction: shortening is allowed once every five years at most, with a minimum period of six months. And companies filing accounts made up of components (such as subsidiaries closing on different dates) will file those components together at once.
Timeline: from ECCTA to April 2028 — and what to do at each stage
| Stage | What happens | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ECCTA becomes law | Nothing — framework only |
| June 2026 | Ministerial statement confirms April 2028 (delayed from 2027) | Put the file on your management radar |
| October 2026 — 2027 | Press and bodies keep re-surfacing the change | Choose software from the official list; begin migration |
| 2027/2028 season | Last filing seasons on the current service | Decide the profit publication question with your accountant |
| April 2028 | Full effect + web and paper closure | File through software in iXBRL |
Whoever migrates their data in 2027 discovers problems while they are cheap. Whoever postpones until March 2028 pays for them in haste and multiplied fees.
What the changes actually cost
The only new direct cost is a compatible software subscription, with packages ranging from basic low-cost plans for simple companies to higher tiers for multi-currency books or extended reporting. The item that matters most is not the subscription but the setup hours: migrating data, tagging accounts, and adjusting templates.
The practical rule: every setup hour completed in 2027 is worth multiples of the same hour in March 2028, when vendors and accountancy practices are at peak demand and their pricing and priorities shift accordingly. Most small companies will also discover a side benefit of early migration: digitally organized books lower the cost of every other filing, not just the annual accounts.
Non-resident company owners: three points that matter
Language is no longer the barrier — software still is. Filing through software means the interface you deal with is your vendor's, and most approved products are simpler than the government's own forms. The real obstacle is regulatory, not linguistic: the accuracy of your data tagging.
Registered address and correspondence. With everything moving to digital filing, ensure your registered address and digital contact channel are current with the registry — notices, including the tightened exemption statements, arrive through official channels and their deadlines count from the notification date.
Director details renewal. Recent legislation tightened director identity and residence requirements at the registry. Non-residents in particular should ensure their details are current before a stale record blocks a filing or a verification. Updating today is cheaper than fixing it mid-season.
Compliance agents versus self-managing. Non-resident owners have two paths: manage the transition through a specialist firm, or rely on direct software. The first saves time and costs a recurring fee; the second is its mirror image. A single dormant company can live on software alone; a portfolio of active companies usually ends up balancing both.
Choosing software from the official list: practical criteria
The official GOV.UK list holds many vendors, and choosing between them is an operational decision that deserves four clear criteria before any price comparison:
Coverage scope: not all software supports all account types. Group accounts or multi-currency books need a vendor that says so explicitly; a simple single company can live with lighter tools.
Fit for your entity class: confirm the product produces your specific class's statements — micro-entity or small — in the newly approved format, not one generic template for everyone.
Export capability: your ability to export your data easily when changing vendors is your only emergency exit from an uncomfortable commercial commitment. Ask before subscribing, not after.
Support during peak season: the real test of support is the week before a filing deadline. A vendor that does not answer in October will not answer under pressure.
Dormant companies: not exempt from this
A dormant company — one with no transactions — continues filing simplified statements, but it is not outside the changes: the filing itself moves through compatible software after the manual channels close, and the data setup burden applies in a lighter form. Owners holding multiple dormant companies (a common administrative legacy among founders) should cost the portfolio as a whole rather than per company: several small subscriptions and setups accumulate into a number worth reviewing. This may also be a reasonable moment to ask whether keeping dormant companies alive at all is cheaper than closing or consolidating them.
Common mistakes owners make ahead of 2028
Waiting for the last comfortable season: many will discover that the 2027/2028 season is the final one on the old path, and decide to "try it live" in the first mandatory season with no setup — and a first attempt with unclean data is the most expensive way to learn.
Deferring the publication decision to filing day: the publish/withhold choice deserves a conversation with your accountant, not a checkbox on submission day. Publishing without weighing competitive consequences — or withholding where financing partners expect transparency — both carry costs.
Mixing up exemption classes: the micro/small/medium thresholds have specific conditions for turnover, employees, and group balance sheet where applicable. Wrong classification means wrong statements and potential penalties.
Staying on unlisted software: not every accounting tool on the market appears on the official list. Verifying listing status before paying is a requirement, not a detail.
The March 2028 scenario: filing night without preparation
Picture a small company whose owner filed through the web service in about an hour each year. In March 2028 she logs in to find the service closed, and starts looking for approved software in the peak week: comparing plans never studied, exporting data from scattered spreadsheets, tagging accounts never organized — all days before the deadline, while vendors quote at premium demand.
The usual outcome of this scenario is known in every sector: a late filing and an avoidable penalty, or a rushed filing with tagging errors that raise questions later, plus doubled administrative hours. The irony is that this night's total cost exceeds many times over the calm migration that any month of 2027 would have allowed. The same company starting in Q1 2027 finds every step takes its natural time, and the first software filing becomes routine the following year. The difference between the two versions is not budget or expertise — only the start date.
Transition checklist for software filing
- Pin down your company class precisely: micro-entity, small, medium, or large.
- Check whether you used abridged accounts — if yes, start rebuilding templates now.
- Choose software from the official GOV.UK list and enable iXBRL output.
- Migrate your financial data and run a test report before the first mandatory season.
- Settle the profit publication question with your accountant: public or withheld, and why.
- Review your year-end dates and whether the new shortening restriction applies to you.
- Update the audit exemption statement and understand what you are personally certifying.
- If part of a group: arrange component accounts to be filed together in one submission.
Completing this list before the end of 2027 turns April 2028 from a pressure date into a routine update in your administrative calendar.
Why the changes were delayed from 2027 — and why a second delay is unlikely
The package was originally expected in 2027, then fixed at April 2028 through the written ministerial statement of June 2026. The delay related to the technical readiness of the registry and the software market together — not to any retreat from the direction itself; the underlying act passed in 2023 and its transition plan has published updates steadily since.
That is why practitioners are not betting on a second delay: infrastructure is progressively in place, the official software list keeps expanding, and the web service's closure has been announced explicitly. The only practical lever left to a company owner is the timing of their own preparation — and the comfortable window is 2027.
FAQ
When do the Companies House accounts changes take effect?
From April 2028, for filing periods beginning on or after that date. The package was originally set for 2027 before the June 2026 ministerial statement confirmed April 2028 — the early-preparation advice stands regardless.
Can I still file accounts through the Companies House website?
No. The web service — and paper filing — close in April 2028. Filing becomes exclusive to commercial accounting software producing iXBRL files from the official GOV.UK list.
Do small companies have to file a profit and loss account? Can it stay private?
Yes to filing from April 2028, and yes to withholding: an opt-out keeps the P&L off the public register. Filing is mandatory; public visibility is optional. Those are two different faces of the same change.
What happened to abridged accounts?
Abolished entirely within the package. Companies that relied on them will file either full accounts per their class or the simplified formats for small and micro-entity companies — no selective third option.
What is iXBRL and why is it mandatory?
A structured financial file format that lets government systems read figures automatically while staying human-readable, produced by compatible accounting software. Its mandate from April 2028 is what stands behind the closure of manual filing channels.
Which software can I use to file company accounts?
Any product on the official GOV.UK list of recognised software for filing company accounts — check the listing before subscribing, since not every accounting tool on the market is included.
What happens to audit exemption statements?
They tighten: audit-exempt companies sign a clearer statement that exemption conditions are met, with required disclosure around the absence of a qualified insurance contracts auditor where applicable — placing explicit responsibility on directors for its accuracy.
How often can I shorten my accounting reference period?
From April 2028, shortening is limited to once every five years at most, with a minimum shortened period of six months. Component accounts must also be filed together in one submission.
Were these changes delayed from 2027?
Yes. The package was set for 2027, then fixed at April 2028 via a written ministerial statement in June 2026 — which is why financial press coverage resurfaced in October 2026.
Do I need an accountant to file after 2028?
You do not need an accountant for the filing itself — you need approved software producing the required format and accurate data. Many small companies file themselves through software; an accountant remains sensible for complex positions or classification confirmation.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Companies House to bring in changes to accounts filing from April 2028 — official announcement (updated 9 June 2026)
- GOV.UK — Find software for filing company accounts — official list of compatible software
- GOV.UK — Using software to file your company's information — software filing guidance (updated September 2026)
- GOV.UK — ECCTA outline transition plan for Companies House — official transition plan
In two lines: April 2028 is not a distant date but the closing of a door your company used to walk through easily. Whoever prepares their software and settles the publication decision in 2027 passes through the change as a procedural update; whoever waits meets it as a timing crisis. If you are forming a new UK company or managing one and want expert handling of paperwork and compliance, 1st Formations' company formation and management services — our partner — cover formation, registered addresses, and annual compliance. Start from our earlier comparison of formation agents versus direct Companies House filing if you prefer costing it yourself, and see our guide to the UK MTD route for the self-employed — the direction is the same everywhere: everything files digitally, through approved software.