UK accounts filing reforms pause profit and loss requirement for small companies

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UK accounts filing reform delay

Highlights

Companies House is pausing the mandatory profit and loss account filing for small companies and micro-entities from April 2028 while reviewing alternatives.
The pause results from recommendations by the Small Business Regulatory Taskforce as ministers explore streamlining filing between Companies House and HMRC.
Mandatory software filing of accounts and other April 2028 reforms remain on track, maintaining the broader corporate transparency and anti-economic crime agenda.

April 2028 filing changes revised

As reported by GOV.UK, citing the UK government, Companies House is pausing the planned introduction of mandatory profit and loss account filing for small companies and micro-entities from April 2028 while alternative options are considered to simplify the filing process.

The update relates to reforms under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which is reshaping how companies report information in their annual accounts and what information they must submit to Companies House. The government says the reforms are intended to improve the transparency, accuracy and reliability of data on the companies register, support better business decision-making, modernise reporting practices and help tackle economic crime.

Following recommendations from the Small Business Regulatory Taskforce, ministers are pausing this specific measure as they explore ways to streamline filing across Companies House and HMRC under the "tell Government once" ambition. In practical terms, companies will continue to be allowed to file abridged accounts, and smaller businesses will retain the option after 1 April 2028 to remove, or "fillet", profit and loss information from accounts filed at Companies House.

Business compliance burden remains in focus

The decision signals that the government is trying to preserve its wider corporate transparency agenda while avoiding added compliance pressure for smaller businesses. By keeping the pause limited to profit and loss account filing, ministers are maintaining their commitment to mandatory software filing of accounts and other reforms already planned for April 2028.

For businesses, accountants and software providers, the update offers greater clarity on the direction of travel for digital filing while leaving room for further changes to how smaller companies submit financial information. The broader policy objective remains unchanged, with the government saying it wants to meet economic crime goals in a way that also reduces business burdens and improves filing processes.

Our earlier coverage focused on Chancellor John Healey’s commitment to sticking with deficit-reduction plans ahead of the October 28 Budget, even as new data showed the UK economy grew 0.1% in August. We outlined how ministers were trying to balance fiscal discipline with measures to support growth and ease pressures on households and businesses, while political debate intensified around taxes and structural reforms.

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