Companies House P&L Filing Paused: What Owners Should Do

The government has announced a pause to plans requiring small companies and micro entities to file profit and loss accounts with Companies House from April 2028. For owners, the immediate question is whether that changes any work or spending already planned.

My advice is to review the reason for each planned change before cancelling anything. A requirement to submit financial information, the work needed to prepare it and the value of having it available to run your business are three different things.

What changed on 23 October 2026?

HM Treasury’s announcement on 23 October 2026 includes a pause to the Companies House profit and loss filing requirement planned for April 2028. It forms part of a wider programme to reduce administrative burdens.

This is a pause, not confirmation that the requirement has been permanently abolished. The announcement says further details of individual administrative saving measures will be published on 28 October.

The distinction matters because the government had confirmed in June 2026 that the accounts reforms would proceed from April 2028. That earlier plan already allowed small companies and micro entities to opt out of having their profit and loss accounts published on the public register, while Companies House, HMRC and law enforcement would retain access.

Today’s development therefore concerns the planned filing requirement. It should not be described simply as a new promise to keep every small company’s profits private.

Preparing accounts, filing them and publishing them

These terms can sound interchangeable when you are trying to run a business. They describe separate stages.

• Preparation: producing the accounts from the company’s financial records.
• Filing: submitting the required information to the relevant authority.
• Publication: making information available on the public register.

Current GOV.UK guidance explains that small companies and micro entities must still send statutory accounts to their members and to HMRC as part of their Company Tax Return. The availability of simpler accounts for Companies House depends on the company’s circumstances.

Owners should ask their accountant which requirements apply to their company. Sole traders should not assume that an announcement about company accounts changes their own reporting arrangements.

Should you cancel accounting software?

Not without checking what the software actually does for you.

The closure of the joint Companies House and HMRC filing service is a separate development. Companies House guidance states that the service closed on 31 March 2026 and that companies need software to file Company Tax Returns with HMRC from 1 April 2026.

The June parliamentary statement also separately set out plans for mandatory software filing at Companies House from April 2028. Today’s pause should not be treated as confirmation that every part of that reform programme has been withdrawn.

In reporting published today by Tom Herbert at AccountingWEB, other accounts reforms, including commercial software filing, are reported to remain planned. Owners should check the latest official implementation guidance with their accountant before changing arrangements.

A package might also handle invoicing, reconciliation, VAT or management reports. Removing it because one future filing requirement has been paused could create more work elsewhere.

Five practical checks before changing your plans

1. Get a clear explanation from your accountant

Ask for a short written breakdown of what your company must prepare, what it must submit and which deadlines apply. Agree who is responsible for each task and what information they need from you.

2. Review purchases tied to the paused requirement

Look at proposed upgrades, additional services and implementation projects. Ask which costs exist solely because of the planned profit and loss filing requirement. Check cancellation terms and work already completed before changing a commitment.

3. Keep current deadlines visible

A future policy announcement is not a reason to remove existing reminders. Keep a shared calendar with submission dates, preparation dates and a named person responsible for checking completion.

4. Keep reviewing the business numbers

At least monthly, review profit, available cash, overdue customer invoices and upcoming commitments. A healthy bank balance can conceal unpaid bills or tax that will fall due later. Likewise, rising turnover can hide a falling margin.

Your records should help you decide whether to accept more work, change prices or control costs. The practical habits discussed in our financial records readiness article remain useful, although Making Tax Digital is a separate regime. Our guide to late paying customers and credit decisions explains another reason to keep balances current.

5. Review the position when further detail arrives

Set one review point after 28 October to check the official information and discuss any implications with your accountant. Record the source and date behind decisions so that another announcement does not trigger unnecessary work from the beginning.

Will this save your business money?

That depends on the work you would otherwise have needed. If your accountant already prepares the relevant information, a filing pause may make little difference to the underlying preparation or fee.

AccountingWEB’s coverage includes expert doubts about the scale of savings for individual small companies. The government’s wider savings headline covers several measures and should not be treated as a saving produced entirely by this pause.

The useful response is to examine your own tasks and costs. Ask whether a proposed change is necessary now, useful anyway or dependent on further guidance. That gives you a sound basis for deciding what to continue and what to review.

Good financial information earns its place by helping you make decisions. Owners should review spending justified solely by the paused requirement while continuing to improve the records they rely on every month.

By Julian Frincu, Skills 2 Grow. Sources checked on 23 October 2026. This article provides practical business commentary; your accountant can confirm the filing and tax requirements that apply to your company. Official announcements and guidance are linked above, with AccountingWEB credited for its additional reporting.