Remember the Companies House filing changes that were mentioned then quietly disappeared? Well, they’re back, and this time they have a start date.

From 1 April 2028, companies will need to follow new filing rules, including fully digital submissions and additional reporting requirements. It may seem a long way off, but it’s worth knowing what’s changing.

More information will need to be filed

Many small companies and micro-entities currently only file a balance sheet. From April 2028, you’ll also need to submit a profit and loss (P&L) account as part of your annual accounts.

The good news? Although you’ll need to send your P&L to Companies House, small companies and micro-entities can choose not to have it published on the public register.

Filing goes fully digital

Paper accounts and Companies House WebFiling will be replaced by filing through commercial software.

Accounts must also be submitted in iXBRL format. While that sounds technical, it’s simply the digital format used by the software – and we’ll take care of that for you.

Abridged accounts are ending

If you currently file abridged accounts, you’ll need to switch to filing a full set of statutory accounts from April 2028.

Other changes include:

• tougher declarations when claiming an audit exemption
• submitting all accounts as a single filing
• fewer opportunities to shorten your accounting period
• greater powers for Companies House to flag non-compliance on the public register.

What should you do?

Nothing for now.

The new rules don’t take effect until 1 April 2028, and we’ll make sure everything is ready well before then. We’ll handle the new filing requirements and let you know if we need anything from you, so you can carry on as normal.