Companies House to close online accounts and company tax return service
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Posted: Thu 6th Mar 2025
The service that allows businesses to file their accounts and company tax returns at the same time with Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs will close on 31 April 2026.
Companies House announced that from 1 April 2026, companies will be able to file their annual accounts with Companies House using third party software, web services or paper filing, but they will also need to use software to file their company tax return separately with HMRC.
The joint service was set up in 2011 to support "small, unrepresented businesses with simple tax affairs with their online filing". However, Companies House said the service no longer meets "modern digital standards", or recent changes to UK company law.
Companies House recommends that businesses download and save at least three years of accounts filings, as they will not be able to access any previous filings on after 1 April 2026.
Full advice on how to prepare for the closure of the service is here.
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act
The changes are part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which the government has described as the biggest shakeup to its services and related regulations in the 180-year history of Companies House.
Designed to prevent organised criminals and fraud, the regulations give Companies House enhanced powers to verify the identities of company directors, remove fraudulent organisations from the company register and share information with criminal investigation agencies.
Changes already in place include a requirement to have an 'appropriate address' as a company's registered office at all times.
From this autumn, all new directors and people with significant control (PSCs) in a company will need to complete identity verification with Companies House.
To pay for the changes, Companies House increased the cost of setting up a limited company and other fees last year.
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