Companies House to Bring in Major Changes to Accounts Filing From April 2028

On 19 June 2026, Companies House published a landmark announcement confirming that significant changes to accounts filing requirements will come into effect from April 2028. These reforms, introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, represent the most substantial overhaul of UK company accounts filing in decades.

The changes are designed to improve the transparency and reliability of data on the companies register, support better-informed business decisions, and strengthen the fight against economic crime. The implementation date has been extended to April 2028 — giving companies, accountants, and software providers additional time to prepare.

In this article, we break down every key change, explain what it means for your business, and outline how WeFile is already positioned to help you stay compliant.

Read the official Companies House announcement →

Currently, small companies and micro-entities are not required to file a profit and loss (P&L) account with Companies House. They can submit abbreviated or simplified accounts that only include a balance sheet, making it difficult for creditors, investors, and other stakeholders to assess a company's true financial performance.

From April 2028, this changes:

• Small companies and micro-entities will be required to file a profit and loss account as part of their annual accounts submission to Companies House
• However, companies will have the option to opt out of making the P&L information publicly available on the Companies House register
• This means the P&L data will be filed and held by Companies House but will not necessarily be visible to the general public unless the company chooses to make it available

What This Means for You

If you're a director of a small company or micro-entity, you'll need to ensure that your filing includes a complete profit and loss account from April 2028 onwards. This is a significant change for the hundreds of thousands of UK companies that currently file balance-sheet-only accounts.

The good news is that WeFile already supports full profit and loss account filing. Our filing wizard guides you through entering your income, cost of sales, administrative expenses, interest, and other P&L items — so you're already set up to meet this new requirement.

This is arguably the most impactful change for many businesses. From April 2028:

• All companies must file their annual accounts using commercial software that produces accounts in iXBRL (inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language) format
• Paper-based filing of accounts will be completely discontinued
• Companies House's own web-based filing service for accounts will also be shut down

This means that the free WebFiling service that many directors and accountants currently use to submit their annual accounts directly through the Companies House website will no longer be available for accounts filing.

Why Is This Happening?

Companies House is moving to a software-only, iXBRL-based filing system to:

• Improve data quality — iXBRL tagged data is machine-readable, allowing for automated validation and analysis
• Reduce errors — Software-generated accounts are less prone to the manual errors common in paper and web-based submissions
• Enable better analysis — Tagged financial data can be cross-referenced and analysed more effectively to detect fraud and inconsistencies
• Align with international standards — Many other jurisdictions already require iXBRL filing

How WeFile Helps

WeFile is an HMRC recognised commercial software provider that already generates and submits accounts in iXBRL format. When you complete a filing through WeFile, your Companies House accounts are automatically produced as fully tagged iXBRL documents that meet the UK GAAP taxonomy requirements.

If you're currently using the free Companies House WebFiling service, you will need to switch to commercial software like WeFile before April 2028. We recommend making the switch sooner rather than later to familiarise yourself with the process.

Under current rules, small companies can choose to file abridged accounts — a simplified version of their financial statements that combines certain balance sheet line items and omits some disclosures. This option was introduced to reduce the filing burden on smaller companies.

From April 2028, the option to file abridged accounts will be completely removed. All companies will need to file full accounts appropriate to their size category (micro-entity, small, medium, or large).

What This Means in Practice

• Companies that currently file abridged accounts will need to provide more detailed financial information in their filings
• Balance sheets will need to include the full breakdown of line items rather than combined figures
• This change, combined with the new P&L requirement, means that Companies House will hold significantly more financial data about UK companies

WeFile's filing wizard already collects and generates full-format accounts, so users who file through WeFile are already meeting the standard that will become mandatory in 2028.

Many small companies in the UK qualify for an audit exemption, meaning they don't need to have their accounts independently audited by a registered auditor. To claim this exemption, directors must include a statement in their accounts confirming eligibility.

From April 2028, Companies House will introduce a strengthened eligibility statement for companies claiming the audit exemption. While the exact wording has not yet been finalised, this is expected to require directors to:

• Explicitly confirm that the company meets all the qualifying conditions for exemption
• Acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring the accuracy of the accounts
• Potentially provide additional declarations about the company's financial position

This change is aimed at ensuring that directors take greater personal responsibility for the accuracy of unaudited financial statements filed at Companies House.

WeFile will update its filing wizard and generated accounts templates to include the new strengthened audit exemption statement as soon as the final wording is published by Companies House.

Currently, companies can change their accounting reference date (ARD) to shorten their accounting period multiple times. Some companies have used this flexibility to manipulate their filing deadlines or delay the publication of financial information.

From April 2028, the number of times a company can shorten its accounting reference period will be reduced. The exact limit has not yet been confirmed, but this change is designed to:

• Prevent abuse of the ARD change system
• Ensure more consistent filing patterns for companies
• Make it harder to delay the publication of financial information

If your company has previously shortened its accounting reference period, this change may limit your ability to do so again in the future. We recommend reviewing your accounting reference date and ensuring it's set appropriately for your business going forward.

All of these changes are being introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECTA), which represents the most significant reform of Companies House in its history. The Act gives Companies House new powers and responsibilities, including:

• Identity verification — All directors, persons with significant control (PSCs), and those filing on behalf of companies will need to verify their identity
• Enhanced data sharing — Companies House will be able to share data more freely with law enforcement agencies
• Proactive investigation powers — Companies House will be able to query and investigate information on the register
• Financial penalties — New powers to impose financial penalties for non-compliance

The accounts filing reforms announced for April 2028 are just one part of this broader transformation. Together, these changes aim to make the UK companies register a more trusted, reliable, and transparent source of information about UK businesses.

The implementation date for these accounts filing changes is April 2028. This date was moved from an earlier proposed timeline to give companies, accountants, and software providers more time to prepare.

Here's a practical timeline:

• Now – April 2028: Companies should start preparing. If you're currently using paper filing or the Companies House WebFiling service, begin transitioning to commercial software
• 2027: Expect Companies House to publish more detailed guidance, including the finalised audit exemption statement wording and specific rules around accounting reference period restrictions
• April 2028: All changes come into effect. From this date, accounts must be filed via commercial software in iXBRL format, P&L accounts must be included, and abridged accounts will no longer be accepted

For accounting periods that straddle April 2028, Companies House is expected to provide transitional guidance. We'll update this article as more details are published.

WeFile was built from the ground up as a modern, digital-first filing platform. Here's why WeFile users are already well-positioned for these changes:

• ✅ iXBRL filing — WeFile generates fully tagged iXBRL accounts that comply with the UK GAAP taxonomy. This is already how every Companies House filing through WeFile is submitted
• ✅ Profit and loss accounts — Our filing wizard already includes a comprehensive P&L section covering turnover, cost of sales, administrative expenses, interest, and all other required items
• ✅ Full accounts format — WeFile produces full-format accounts (not abridged), so you're already filing to the standard that will become mandatory
• ✅ HMRC recognised software — WeFile is officially recognised by HMRC for Corporation Tax filing
• ✅ Companies House presenter — WeFile is a registered Companies House electronic filing presenter, submitting accounts directly through their gateway
• ✅ Automatic tax calculations — Corporation tax, marginal relief, and other calculations are handled automatically

When the new audit exemption statement wording is finalised, we will update our templates accordingly. No action will be needed from users — the update will be applied automatically to all new filings.

While April 2028 may seem far away, there are steps you can take now to prepare:

1. Switch to commercial software early — If you're currently using paper filing or the Companies House WebFiling service, start using commercial software like WeFile now. This gives you time to learn the process before it becomes mandatory
2. Ensure your P&L records are in order — Since you'll need to file a profit and loss account, make sure you're keeping accurate records of all income and expenses throughout the year
3. Review your accounting reference date — If you've been shortening your accounting period frequently, consider setting a permanent date now
4. Talk to your accountant — If you use an accountant, discuss these changes with them. They may need to adjust their processes and pricing to accommodate the additional filing requirements
5. Stay informed — Follow the WeFile blog for updates as Companies House publishes more detailed guidance

If you're an accountant or firm managing filings for multiple clients, our white-label portal and developer API can help you scale your practice ahead of these changes.

The April 2028 accounts filing reforms mark a turning point for UK company reporting. The move to mandatory software filing, combined with the requirement for P&L accounts and the removal of abridged accounts, will result in significantly more financial data being available on the companies register.

For companies already using modern filing software like WeFile, these changes will be relatively seamless. For those still relying on paper or the free WebFiling service, now is the time to start preparing.

At WeFile, we're committed to keeping our platform fully compliant with all regulatory changes as they're introduced. We'll continue to monitor the developments from Companies House and update our filing wizard, templates, and documentation accordingly.

Questions about these changes? Our AI Assistant can help answer your questions, or you can get in touch with our team directly.

Read the full Companies House announcement →