Cheap CT600 software for small companies (FRS 102), 2026

In short: Most low-priced Company Tax Return (CT600) software only publishes micro-entity (FRS 105) prices. A company above the micro-entity limits needs FRS 102 Section 1A accounts (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). On 27 September 2026, five products we checked published a price for those: £25 to £258. Taxley charges £84.50 (promotion price until 31 Dec 2026; £169.00 from 1 Jan 2027), including filing the accounts at Companies House.

Taxley's fee covers the accounts, computation and CT600, filed with HMRC and Companies House: take the 30-second check to see whether Taxley fits your company, or compare every tier on the pricing page.

Which companies need FRS 102 Section 1A accounts instead of FRS 105?

A company needs FRS 102 Section 1A accounts when it is small but can't be a micro-entity. For periods beginning on or after 6 April 2025, a micro-entity meets at least two of three limits: turnover up to £1 million, a balance sheet total up to £500,000 and up to 10 employees on average (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts).

The size test works over two years. Section 384A of the Companies Act 2006 says that meeting or ceasing to meet the limits changes a company's status only if it happens in two consecutive financial years (CA 2006 s.384A). A micro-entity that goes over two of the limits for one year can stay a micro-entity for that year, but a second year over them moves it to FRS 102 Section 1A. Some companies can't be micro-entities at any size. Section 384B shuts out charities, investment undertakings, financial holding undertakings, insurance undertakings and some credit institutions. It also excludes a company outside the small companies regime, such as a public company, a parent company that prepares group accounts and a subsidiary whose accounts are included in consolidated group accounts (CA 2006 s.384B).

A micro-entity can also choose FRS 102 Section 1A. Micro-entity accounts can't use the alternative accounting rules or fair value accounting, because regulation 3(1A) of the Small Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors' Report) Regulations 2008 switches both off for a micro-entity (SI 2008/409 reg 3). So a property company that wants its investment property shown at fair value prepares FRS 102 Section 1A accounts, and so does a company whose lender, investor or buyer wants fuller accounts with notes. Section 1A stops at the small-company limits, which for periods beginning on or after 6 April 2025 are £15 million turnover, a £7.5 million balance sheet total and 50 employees (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). The FRS 105 vs FRS 102 Section 1A guide compares the two standards in detail.

What must CT600 software do for a small company's FRS 102 accounts?

For a small company, CT600 software has four jobs: prepare full FRS 102 Section 1A accounts with notes, prepare the tax computation, complete the CT600 with any supplementary pages, and file the accounts at Companies House. HMRC says Company Tax Returns must be sent online using iXBRL for accounts and computations (GOV.UK: Businesses XBRL guide).

The accounts are the job that separates small-company software from micro-entity software. FRS 102 Section 1A accounts carry more notes than micro-entity accounts: an accounting policies note, including the depreciation policy, and, where the company has fixed assets, a note of each class's opening and closing amounts, additions and disposals in the year (SI 2008/409 Sch 1 para 48). A small company that isn't a micro-entity must also prepare a directors' report for its members, because the exemption in section 415 of the Companies Act 2006 covers micro-entities only (CA 2006 s.415). The accounting policies and notes guide lists the common notes for a small company and when each one applies.

The computation and the return have their own rules. HMRC's Company Tax Return guide says the computation must show how the return's figures were worked out from the accounts, as a single iXBRL file, and that capital allowances go in boxes 688 to 755 with the detail in the computation (GOV.UK: Completing your Company Tax Return). Supplementary pages depend on what the company did: CT600A covers loans to participators by close companies, such as an overdrawn director's loan account, CT600C covers group and consortium relief, and CT600L covers research and development. Software that can't produce a page or calculation your company needs can't file its return, and the return is due 12 months after the end of the accounting period (GOV.UK: Company Tax Returns: Overview).

Companies House filing is the fourth job, and in 2026 the profit and loss account is optional there. A small company must deliver its balance sheet and may deliver its profit and loss account and directors' report (CA 2006 s.444). If it leaves the profit and loss account out, the balance sheet it files must say so, and must state that the accounts were delivered under the small companies regime. From 1 April 2028, small companies and micro-entities must file a profit and loss account, with an option to keep it off the public register; accounts must go through software in iXBRL; and abridged accounts end (GOV.UK: Companies House accounts filing changes from April 2028). None of those changes is in force yet, and the 2028 Companies House changes guide sets out the timetable.

How much does CT600 software cost for FRS 102 small-company accounts in 2026?

Five products we checked on 27 September 2026 publish a price for filing a CT600 with FRS 102 Section 1A small-company accounts, from £25 to £258 all-in. Most of the cheapest products stop at micro-entity accounts: of the six lowest micro-entity prices, from £15 to £39, only one states that its price covers small companies using FRS 102.

Prices for one company and one accounting period, from each product's own pricing page, checked 27 September 2026. Taxley's prices are today's prices.

Each price in the table is the product's own published price, read from its pricing page on 27 September 2026. Where a page says prices exclude VAT, VAT at the standard 20% rate is added (GOV.UK: VAT rates); where a page doesn't say, the price is shown as published, so the real cost may be higher. Products that publish prices only for micro-entity or dormant companies are left out. So are a bookkeeping subscription without FRS 102 support, desktop tax software that needs separate accounts software, and practice software with no published price. One more pay-per-filing service offers a "full format" accounts option at £20 but doesn't confirm that it meets FRS 102 Section 1A, so it isn't counted. The £95.99 price is an introductory price. The cost of filing a CT600 guide covers dormant and micro-entity prices, and the CT600 software guide compares the types of product.

The five products in the table differ in more than price. The £25 service publishes one trading price for micro-entities and small companies alike, doesn't show which FRS 102 notes its accounts include and doesn't say whether VAT is added. The £95.99 service doesn't mention Companies House filing on its own pages, so its price may cover HMRC only, leaving the company to deliver its accounts separately (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). The two dearest services charge more for small-company accounts than for micro-entity accounts, and the £258 one sells Companies House filing as an add-on. Taxley's fee covers the accounts, computation, CT600 and Companies House filing, and no VAT is charged. Taxley's promotion price was the 2nd-lowest of 5 products that publish a price for small-company FRS 102 accounts, checked on 27 September 2026. The one cheaper product includes Companies House filing and charges one price for micro-entity and small companies, but its pricing page doesn't show which FRS 102 notes it produces.

What should you check before buying cheap FRS 102 accounts software?

Check five things before paying: which FRS 102 notes the accounts include, whether a directors' report is produced, which supplementary pages and calculations the software handles, whether the price includes VAT, and whether it files the accounts at Companies House. A low price that leaves one of these to you means more work, or a second bill, at the year end.

Ask to see a sample set of accounts before paying, because the price pages we checked don't name the individual notes they produce. Small-company accounts must state the accounting policies, including the depreciation policy (SI 2008/409 Sch 1 para 44), and a company with fixed assets needs the movements note as well. Other notes apply only when the company has the item. The directors' report is a separate document from the notes: a company that isn't a micro-entity must prepare one for its members (CA 2006 s.415), although a small company doesn't have to file it at Companies House. Software without a directors' report leaves the directors to write one. A sample shows at a glance whether the income statement, balance sheet, notes and statutory statements are all there, and whether the notes suit a company of your size and type.

Then check the price and the filing. Several services quote prices before VAT and some don't say, so compare prices with VAT included. Check that Companies House filing is in the fee: a service that files only with HMRC leaves the directors to deliver the accounts within 9 months of the accounting reference date for a private company (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). Online filing at Companies House, through software or its own service, uses the company's 6-character authentication code (GOV.UK: Company authentication codes for online filing). Finally, match the supplementary pages and calculations to the company. A director's loan still owed, group relief, capital allowances and losses brought forward each need support in the software, and the 30-second check shows which of them Taxley covers.

What does Taxley include for FRS 102 small-company accounts?

Taxley prepares FRS 102 Section 1A accounts, the tax computation and the CT600 for one fee of £84.50 (promotion price until 31 Dec 2026; £169.00 from 1 Jan 2027). It files the return with HMRC and the accounts with Companies House. You pay only when you choose to file the return.

Taxley's small-company accounts include an income statement, a balance sheet with last year's figures beside this year's, the audit-exemption and small companies regime statements, and the directors' approval. The notes are an accounting policies note, which Taxley drafts from the business type for you to edit, the average number of employees, and a statement that the accounts follow FRS 102 Section 1A. Three more notes print when you write them: secured debts, advances and guarantees to directors, and financial commitments, guarantees and contingencies. Investment property can be shown at fair value, which micro-entity accounts don't allow. Last year's figures can come from the accounts the company filed at Companies House. Taxley produces the fixed-asset movements note for tangible fixed assets and investment property, but not yet for intangible assets, and not a related-party note or a directors' report (SI 2008/409 Sch 1), so a company that needs one of those isn't fully covered yet.

On the tax side, Taxley works out the computation and fills in the CT600 with the supplementary pages it supports: CT600A for loans to directors and other participators, and CT600C for group relief between UK companies in a 75% group. It calculates the annual investment allowance, the main and special rate pools, full expensing and the structures and buildings allowance, carries trading losses forward and works out a 12-month trading loss carry-back. It doesn't handle terminal loss claims, consortium relief, research and development relief (CT600L) or medium-sized and audited companies, and it takes deferred tax as a figure you enter (GOV.UK: Completing your Company Tax Return). For Companies House, Taxley files the accounts once the return is paid, using the company's authentication code, as it has since the service went live on 28 September 2026. It files the copy without the profit and loss account, with the statement section 444 requires (CA 2006 s.444). It doesn't file confirmation statements.

Taxley doesn't produce a related-party note or a directors' report, doesn't claim consortium relief or R&D relief, and takes deferred tax as a figure you enter rather than working it out. The do I need an accountant page lists everything Taxley doesn't cover yet. The Corporation Tax deadline calculator gives your HMRC and Companies House dates. To see whether your company fits, take the 30-second check, then compare every tier on Taxley's pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Is CT600 software dearer for FRS 102 accounts than for micro-entity accounts?

At products that price them separately, yes. On 27 September 2026, two pay-per-filing services charged £94.80 and £166.80 for micro-entity filing but £190.80 and £258 for FRS 102 Section 1A. Two others charged one price for both, and most of the cheapest products published micro-entity prices only.

Do I have to file my profit and loss account at Companies House in 2026?

No. In 2026 a small company must deliver its balance sheet but may leave out the profit and loss account and directors' report, with a statement on the balance sheet. From 1 April 2028, small companies must deliver the profit and loss account but can opt out of publishing it (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts).

Does Taxley charge extra to file FRS 102 accounts at Companies House?

No. Companies House filing is included in Taxley's fee of £84.50 (promotion price until 31 Dec 2026; £169.00 from 1 Jan 2027) for the FRS 102 Section 1A accounts, computation and CT600. Taxley files the accounts once the return is paid, using the company's 6-character Companies House authentication code.

What is the cheapest way to file small company accounts under FRS 102?

Of the products we checked on 27 September 2026, the lowest price published for a CT600 with FRS 102 Section 1A accounts was £25, from a pay-per-filing service that includes Companies House filing but doesn't show its notes coverage or VAT. Taxley's promotion price was the 2nd-lowest of 5 products that publish a price for small-company FRS 102 accounts, checked on 27 September 2026.

Do I need an accountant for FRS 102 small-company accounts?

Not always. Directors can prepare and file them with software. Check first that your software produces everything your company needs: Taxley, for example, doesn't produce a related-party note or a directors' report, and doesn't claim consortium relief or R&D relief. The do I need an accountant? page lists what Taxley covers.