Small companies and micro-entities will need to file profit and loss accounts with Companies House from April 2028.
This change was due to go ahead in April 2027, but was pushed back following a backlash from concerned business owners over privacy concerns.
Companies House has now confirmed that the reforms are still going ahead, with April 2028 as the revised start date.
From April 2028, qualifying companies will file profit and loss accounts with Companies House as part of wider accounts filing reforms. Annual accounts filing will also become fully digital, with paper filing and the existing Companies House web filing service both being withdrawn.
Should directors be worried?
If your company already uses an accountant, there is a good chance very little will change from your perspective.
Your accountant almost certainly already prepares a profit and loss account. It is needed for your statutory accounts and Corporation Tax return.
The difference is that, from April 2028, Companies House will receive more of that information than it does today.
For most businesses, this is more about how accounts are filed than about producing entirely new information.
What will companies have to file?
Under the current plans, qualifying small companies and micro-entities will submit a profit and loss account as part of their annual accounts filing.
At the moment, many small companies file much less detailed information at Companies House than they prepare for tax purposes.
Companies House wants more complete information on the register, while HMRC and other authorised bodies will also have access to the accounts data they need.
Importantly for directors, the profit and loss account is not a ‘new’ document. Your accountant prepares this for you as part of your company’s annual accounts.
Will the figures be made public?
The potential for a company’s financial position to be viewable by anyone was what worried many small business owners when the proposals were first published.
A profit and loss account can reveal far more about a business than many directors are comfortable sharing publicly.
Your P&L can show how profitable the business is, how fast it is growing, and even how much it spends on different parts of the business.
This is important information for HMRC, but it could also reveal sensitive information to your competitors.
Following consultation, the government confirmed that small companies and micro-entities will have the option to opt out of having their profit and loss account published on the public register.
Companies House will still receive the information, as will HMRC and other authorised bodies where appropriate.
The exact mechanics of how this opt-out will work haven’t been confirmed yet. We expect further information to follow in advance of the April 2028 start date.
Why is this change needed?
The changes form part of the wider Companies House reform programme introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
The aim is to make the company register more accurate, more useful and harder to abuse.
For years, Companies House has been criticised for holding information without sufficient power to verify its accuracy.
This latest reform follows other recent changes, including mandatory identity verification for directors and people with significant control.
Accounts filing is going fully digital
Another significant change is that Companies House is finally closing the door on paper filing.
From April 2028, annual accounts must be filed digitally via commercial software. The existing Companies House web filing service is also due to disappear.
Most accountants won’t be impacted by this change as they have been filing their clients’ accounts digitally for years.
The people most likely to notice the change are companies that still prepare and submit their own accounts using older methods.
What should company directors do now?
If your bookkeeping is up to date, your accountant prepares your annual accounts, and your records are already held digitally, you are unlikely to have anything to worry about.
If your company still processes paper records or uses spreadsheets rather than online accounting software, it might be worth preparing in advance for the upcoming changes.
You can read the full details in this Companies House news release.
If you have any questions about the new filing requirements or would like advice on keeping your company compliant, the Integro team will be happy to help.
