How to file accounts with Companies House is a question with a moving answer in 2026. On 23 October 2026 Companies House confirmed that all accounts must be filed through commercial software in iXBRL format from April 2028, while the plan to make small companies and micro-entities file their profit and loss accounts has been paused. That update lands on top of two changes already in force: the joint online service for accounts and Company Tax Returns closed on 31 March 2026, and identity verification for directors became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. This guide sets out, step by step, how a UK company or a foreign group's UK subsidiary files on time today, what late filing costs, and what to change before the software-only rules arrive.
How to File Accounts With Companies House: Deadlines, Penalties and the 2028 Software Rules
By The Corporate INTL Newsroom · 30 October 2026
What filing accounts with Companies House involves
Filing accounts with Companies House means delivering a copy of the company's annual accounts to the registrar, who puts them on the public register. Every UK limited company must do it every year, whether it traded, made a loss or did nothing at all, and the duty sits with the directors rather than with the company's accountant.
Three obligations are often confused. The directors must prepare statutory accounts, approve them and send them to members; a version of those accounts is filed at Companies House, and for smaller companies this can be a cut-down version (Step 2); and the Company Tax Return goes to HMRC separately, on a different deadline (Step 6). Companies House describes failing to file accounts as a criminal offence for which directors can be personally fined, on top of automatic civil penalties for the company. The rules are being reshaped by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, also behind the offence in our guide on how to comply with failure to prevent fraud.
How to file accounts with Companies House: the process at a glance
The short answer: fix the deadline, decide which accounts your size allows you to file, have the directors approve them, check credentials and identity verification, file through a route that accepts your account type, then deal with HMRC.
| Step | What you do | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Work out the filing deadline | 9 months after the year end for a private company, 6 months for a plc |
| 2 | Identify the company's size and the accounts it may file | Micro-entity, small, dormant or full accounts |
| 3 | Prepare the accounts and have the directors approve them | Balance sheet signed by a director and showing the director's name |
| 4 | Check credentials and identity verification | Password, authentication code and directors' personal codes |
| 5 | Choose a filing route that accepts your account type | Most account types can only be filed through software |
| 6 | File the Company Tax Return with HMRC | 12 months after the period end; tax usually due after 9 months and one day |
| 7 | Plan for April 2028 | Software-only iXBRL filing for every company |
Step 1: work out your filing deadline
The filing deadline runs from the end of the company's accounting reference period, not from the date the accounts are finished. According to Companies House's late filing penalties guidance, a private company or LLP has 9 months from the end of the period, and a public company has 6 months. First accounts usually cover more than 12 months and have their own rule.
| Company type | Subsequent accounts due | First accounts (period over 12 months) due |
|---|---|---|
| Private company or LLP | 9 months after the end of the accounting reference period | 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months after the accounting reference date if later |
| Public limited company | 6 months after the end of the accounting reference period | 18 months after incorporation |
Two traps catch experienced teams. A deadline that falls on a weekend or bank holiday is not extended. And changing the accounting reference date can shorten the time available, because the deadline is recalculated from the new period end: if a group is aligning a UK subsidiary's year end with an overseas parent, check the revised filing date before submitting the change. Set an internal deadline a month earlier.
Step 2: identify your size and which accounts to file
The accounts you must put on the public record depend on the company's size category, and smaller companies can file much less than they prepare. The Companies House accounts filing requirements turn on two of three tests: turnover, balance sheet total and average number of employees.
| Category | Turnover | Balance sheet total | Employees | What goes to Companies House |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity (any 2 of 3) | £1 million or less | £500,000 or less | 10 or fewer | A balance sheet with less information |
| Small company (any 2 of 3) | £15 million or less | £7.5 million or less | 50 or fewer | Abridged or filleted accounts are possible; the profit and loss account and directors' report are optional |
| Medium and large | Above the small limits | Above the small limits | Above the small limits | Full accounts, usually audited |
Those are the thresholds GOV.UK publishes for micro-entities, small and dormant companies, with these filing options:
- Micro-entity accounts. A micro-entity prepares simpler accounts that meet the statutory minimum and sends only a balance sheet, with less information, to Companies House.
- Abridged accounts. A small company may file abridged accounts, but only if all its members agree.
- Filleted accounts. A small company can choose whether to send its directors' report and profit and loss account. Leaving them out is known as filleting.
- Dormant accounts. A company with no significant transactions in the year is dormant; filing fees, late filing penalties and share money paid on incorporation do not count. A dormant company that qualifies as small needs no audit.
Filing less does not mean preparing less: micro-entities and small companies must still send full statutory accounts to their members and to HMRC with the Company Tax Return. A UK subsidiary of a large foreign group should confirm its size category with its auditors before relying on the small company regime.
Step 3: prepare and approve the accounts
Accounts cannot be filed until the directors have approved them. GOV.UK's page on how to file your company's annual accounts says the accounts must be approved by the company's directors before filing, and a small company's filed balance sheet must show a director's name and be signed by a director.
- Close the books. Reconcile bank accounts, intercompany balances and accruals to the period end.
- Draft the statutory accounts with the notes required for the company's size.
- Complete the audit or confirm an exemption. Small companies can use the audit exemption, and micro-entities get the same exemptions as small companies.
- Approve and sign. The board approves the accounts, and a named director signs the balance sheet.
- Circulate the full accounts to members, then prepare the version for the public register.
For a UK subsidiary in an international group, intercompany reconciliations and group audit timetables usually drive the timing, which is why many groups bring in UK advisory and accounting firms to run the local statutory close.
Step 4: check your credentials and identity verification
To file online you need the company's Companies House password and authentication code, and the directors should already have verified their identity. Anyone filing online for the company needs the authentication code, so treat it like a bank password and keep a record of who holds it.
Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. GOV.UK's guidance on when you need to verify your identity for Companies House sets the timing:
- Existing directors give their Companies House personal code in the company's next confirmation statement, for each company they direct; new companies supply each director's code at registration.
- People with significant control who are also directors give their code within 14 days starting the day after the confirmation statement date; those who are not directors give it within the first 14 days of their birth month.
- Overseas companies must confirm that all directors have verified by the anniversary of the UK establishment's registration.
Verification of the people who actually submit filings will be introduced at a later date. Accountants, solicitors and formation agents can register as authorised corporate service providers and verify clients' identities; in future, businesses filing for clients will need to register as authorised agents. Directors abroad should start early, and for company secretarial help the directory lists UK corporate lawyers.
Step 5: choose the filing route that works today
Most account types can now only be filed through commercial software. Companies House's guidance on filing your Companies House accounts, updated on 23 October 2026, records that the joint online service for accounts and the Company Tax Return closed on 31 March 2026, and lists the routes still open:
| Account type | Routes listed by Companies House |
|---|---|
| Micro-entity | Software or WebFiling |
| Dormant | Software, or WebFiling if the company has not previously traded |
| Unaudited abridged | Software or the Find and update company information service |
| Full unaudited, audited abridged, full audited, small audited, medium, group, interim, initial | Software only |
| Overseas company, group package and other iXBRL package accounts | iXBRL package filing (overseas companies online since 25 September 2026) |
Paper accounts can still be posted for now, but accounts lost or delayed in the post are not accepted as a reason to cancel a penalty. For filing accounts with Companies House online, the choice is between the free services, which suit dormant companies and micro-entities, and software, which handles everything else and is the only route after April 2028.
On cost, the published Companies House fees list no fee for a UK company filing its annual accounts. The fees that do apply sit around the accounts: the confirmation statement fee is £50 when filed digitally and £110 on paper, and an overseas company pays an annual document processing fee of £50 online or £110 on paper with its accounts. The real cost is software and professional time, which is why many smaller companies use full-service accountancy practices that already run filing software.
Step 6: file the Company Tax Return with HMRC separately
Filing accounts with Companies House does not file anything with HMRC, and since 31 March 2026 there is no joint online service that does both. The Company Tax Return is due 12 months after the end of the accounting period, and Corporation Tax is usually payable 9 months and one day after the period end, so for a private company the tax bill falls due at about the same time as the accounts.
Finalise the accounts, file them at Companies House, then complete the tax computations while the figures are fresh. Taxable profit can differ from the profit in the accounts, so the return is not a copy of them. Groups with cross-border structures or Pillar Two exposure, including the regimes in our piece on domestic minimum top-up taxes, should involve UK tax advisers well before the 12-month deadline.
What happens if you file late
If accounts reach Companies House after the deadline, the company receives an automatic civil penalty, and the amount rises with the delay. The penalty bands in Companies House's guidance are:
| How late | Private company or LLP | Public company |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 month | £150 | £750 |
| More than 1 month, up to 3 months | £375 | £1,500 |
| More than 3 months, up to 6 months | £750 | £3,000 |
| More than 6 months | £1,500 | £7,500 |
The penalty doubles if accounts are filed late in two successive financial years, so a private company more than six months late twice in a row faces £3,000 for the second year. Unpaid penalties can be enforced through debt collectors and the County Court or Sheriff Court.
The civil penalty is only part of the exposure. Companies House states that failing to file accounts is a criminal offence for which directors can be personally fined in the criminal courts, separately from the late filing penalty, and the registrar can take steps to strike off a company that fails to file its confirmation statement. Missed filings are often an early sign of distress: our explainer on what happens when a company goes into administration shows where that can lead, and UK restructuring specialists can advise early. Whether such penalties are tax deductible is a separate question, discussed in our analysis of the ScottishPower ruling.
Extensions and penalty appeals
An extension is possible only for events outside the company's control, and only if requested in time. Companies House's extension service requires the application before the normal filing deadline, with a full explanation and, optionally, supporting documents. If it is approved and the accounts are filed within the new deadline, no late filing penalty is issued.
Once a penalty has been imposed, the route is an appeal, and the bar is high. Companies House says appeals succeed only in exceptional circumstances, such as a fire destroying records days before the deadline. Reasons that on their own are unlikely to succeed include dormancy, inability to pay, an ill or relied-upon accountant, first accounts, not understanding the requirements, financial difficulty, postal delays, directors living or travelling overseas, and another director having prepared the accounts.
The appeal goes first to Companies House's Senior Casework Unit. If it upholds the penalty, the company can ask the Independent Adjudicators to review the decision, but only after hearing from the unit, and the adjudicators cannot force the registrar to cancel a penalty. The practical lesson is that an extension request made in time is worth far more than an appeal made afterwards.
What changes in April 2028, and what has been paused
The biggest change to filing accounts at Companies House is that from April 2028 every company must file through commercial software in iXBRL format, and the web and paper routes for accounts will close. The 23 October 2026 update confirms this is going ahead for companies filing themselves and for those using agents; web filing stays open for confirmation statements and other non-accounts tasks.
What has been paused is the requirement for small companies and micro-entities to file their profit and loss accounts. Following recommendations from the Small Business Regulatory Taskforce, the government will instead explore streamlining Companies House and HMRC filing under its "tell Government once" ambition, so small companies can still file abridged accounts and fillet out profit and loss information after 1 April 2028.
According to the government's changes to UK company law page and the 23 October update, these reforms proceed:
- Audit exemption statement. A company claiming audit exemption must include an enhanced directors' statement naming the exemption and confirming it qualifies.
- Complete filings. The component parts of the accounts and reports must be filed together.
- Accounting reference period. The number of times a company can shorten its accounting reference period is being limited; shortening it more than once within five years will require a business reason.
The timetable has already moved once: Companies House's filing guidance records that on 28 January 2026 the government dropped the changes planned for April 2027 and promised at least 21 months' notice, and the April 2028 date followed on 9 June 2026. If the company files through a free online service or on paper today, choose iXBRL-capable software, or an agent who has it, before the first accounts due after 1 April 2028.
Foreign-owned companies and overseas companies
A UK subsidiary of a foreign group is a UK company and follows every rule above, and several bite harder. It files on the UK timetable whatever the parent's year end, its directors must verify their identity even if none lives in the UK, and Companies House lists directors living or travelling overseas as a reason that will not, on its own, win a penalty appeal. Choosing a subsidiary rather than a branch brings these filings with it, a trade-off covered in branch vs subsidiary when expanding abroad.
An overseas company with a registered UK establishment files accounts with Companies House, pays the annual document processing fee of £50 online or £110 on paper, and since 25 September 2026 can file iXBRL package accounts online. It must also confirm that all its directors have verified their identity by the anniversary of the UK establishment's registration.
Cross-border teams should keep a central register of directors' and PSCs' personal codes and deadlines, settle any change of UK year end early, and consider appointing advisers in the United Kingdom as filing agent. Directors who have left the UK personally may also want our guide on how to become non-resident for UK tax.
When to bring in an adviser
Companies can file their own accounts, and many owner-managed companies file micro-entity or dormant accounts without help. The case for professional support grows with complexity: audited or group accounts, a foreign parent, a change of year end, a late or disputed filing, or the move to software-only filing in 2028. An adviser who already runs iXBRL software removes most of the risk. The Corporate INTL directory lists advisory and accounting specialists worldwide, and groups that need finance leadership as well as compliance can look at outsourced CFO services.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file my own accounts with Companies House?
Yes. Micro-entities and dormant companies can use the free online services today, while most other account types need commercial software. You will need the company's password and authentication code. From April 2028 everyone, including companies filing themselves, must use software.
What is the deadline for filing accounts with Companies House?
A private company or LLP has 9 months from the end of its accounting reference period, and a public company 6 months. A private company's first accounts covering more than 12 months are due 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months after the accounting reference date if later; a public company's are due 18 months after incorporation.
How much does it cost to file company accounts at Companies House?
Companies House lists no fee for a UK company filing its annual accounts. The confirmation statement costs £50 digitally or £110 on paper, and overseas companies pay a £50 online or £110 paper processing fee with their accounts. Software and adviser fees are the real costs.
What happens if you miss the Companies House filing deadline?
The company receives an automatic penalty of £150 to £1,500 for a private company, or £750 to £7,500 for a public company, depending on how late the accounts are. The penalty doubles if accounts are late two years running. Failing to file is also a criminal offence for which directors can be personally fined.
Can you get out of a late filing penalty?
Only in exceptional circumstances, such as a fire destroying records just before the deadline. Dormancy, reliance on an accountant, financial difficulty, postal delays or directors living overseas rarely succeed on their own. Appeals go to the Senior Casework Unit, then the Independent Adjudicators.
Can I get an extension to file my accounts?
Yes, if something outside your control prevents you filing on time and you apply before the normal deadline with a full explanation. If Companies House approves it and you file within the new deadline, no late filing penalty is issued.
What is the difference between a small company and a micro-entity?
A micro-entity meets two of three tests: turnover of £1 million or less, a balance sheet of £500,000 or less and 10 or fewer employees. A small company meets two of: £15 million turnover, £7.5 million balance sheet and 50 employees. Micro-entities file only a simplified balance sheet with Companies House.
Do small companies have to file a profit and loss account from 2028?
No, not under the current plan. On 23 October 2026 Companies House announced that the requirement for small companies and micro-entities to file profit and loss accounts from April 2028 has been paused. Abridged accounts and filleting remain available, but software-only iXBRL filing still starts in April 2028.
Do directors need to verify their identity before the accounts are filed?
Identity verification has been a legal requirement since 18 November 2025. Existing directors give their personal code in the company's next confirmation statement, and new companies supply codes at registration. Verification for the people who submit filings will come later.
Sources
- Companies House: Companies House update to accounts filing from April 2028 (23 October 2026)
- UK Government: Changes to UK company law, changes to accounts
- Companies House: Filing your Companies House accounts (updated 23 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: File your company's annual accounts with Companies House
- Companies House: Late filing penalties (updated 16 January 2026)
- GOV.UK: Prepare annual accounts, micro-entities, small and dormant companies
- Companies House: Extend your filing deadline
- GOV.UK: Company Tax Returns
- Companies House: When you need to verify your identity for Companies House (updated 30 July 2026)
- Companies House: Companies House fees (updated 25 September 2026)
About this article
This guide was researched and written by The Corporate INTL Newsroom, which covers cross-border legal, regulatory and business developments for lawyers, professional advisers and financiers in over 150 jurisdictions. It has been checked against Companies House and GOV.UK guidance, including the Companies House update of 23 October 2026. It is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice; filing requirements depend on a company's circumstances, so for advice on a specific matter consult a qualified adviser. Last reviewed 30 October 2026. For more analysis like this, visit the Corporate INTL newsroom or subscribe to Corporate INTL.
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