How to file company accounts with Companies House online

In short: A private company must file its annual accounts with Companies House within 9 months of its accounting reference date, or within 21 months of incorporation for first accounts covering more than 12 months (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). In 2026 you can file through Companies House's online service, signing in with GOV.UK One Login, through commercial software, or on paper. Since 28 September 2026, Taxley also files accounts at Companies House for the micro-entity, small, abridged and dormant companies it supports, once their Company Tax Return is paid.

Take the 30-second check to see whether Taxley fits your company, or work out every date for your year end with the Corporation Tax deadline calculator.

Key facts (checked on GOV.UK on 28 September 2026)

Can Taxley file my accounts at Companies House?

Yes. Taxley has filed accounts at Companies House, live, since 28 September 2026: the micro-entity, small, abridged and dormant accounts it builds with your Company Tax Return, at no extra fee. You need the company's 6-character authentication code, and you file once the return is paid and the accounts are finished.

Taxley (taxley.co.uk), UK online software that prepares and files the Company Tax Return (CT600) with HMRC and the annual accounts with Companies House, builds the accounts and tax computation in iXBRL and sends the full accounts to HMRC with the CT600. Its Companies House copy leaves out the profit and loss account and states on the balance sheet that the directors chose not to deliver it; a dormant company's copy is the same document HMRC receives. You save the company's authentication code on its company page, then press "File accounts at Companies House" on the filing page, which warns that accepted accounts go on the public register and can't be withdrawn. A lost code can take up to 10 working days to arrive by post (GOV.UK: Company authentication codes for online filing), so request it early.

A few filings stay with you. Taxley doesn't file the confirmation statement, which you file yourself on WebFiling for £50 (GOV.UK: Companies House fees), or accounts you uploaded instead of building them in Taxley. It doesn't file revised accounts for a period Companies House already has, or first accounts that don't start on the incorporation date, because its accounts follow the tax return's period; for first accounts, the filing page gives the date to file them yourself by. It doesn't support medium-sized or audited companies, and it doesn't give advice: do I need an accountant? sets out what it covers. Take the 30-second check to see whether Taxley fits your company.

When are company accounts due at Companies House in 2026?

A private company's accounts are due at Companies House 9 months after its accounting reference date, the day its financial year ends. When that date is the last day of a month, the deadline is the last day of the ninth month, so accounts for a year ending 31 March 2026 are due by 31 December 2026 (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts).

First accounts covering more than 12 months are due within 21 months of incorporation, or 3 months from the accounting reference date if that is later: GOV.UK's example company, incorporated on 1 January 2025, must file by midnight on 1 October 2026. Every deadline is counted to the exact day, doesn't move for a Sunday or bank holiday, and is met on the date acceptable accounts reach Companies House. You can apply for more time only before the deadline, and only for an event outside your control, such as a fire destroying the records (GOV.UK: Apply to extend your accounts filing deadline). A long first period also means two Company Tax Returns (CT600) at HMRC, as our guide to first company accounts explains.

Taxley's worked example below sets out the Companies House and HMRC dates for a private company whose 12-month year ends on Tuesday 31 March 2026. The authentication code rows assume the full 10 working days for the post and skip the bank holidays on 25 and 28 December 2026, which apply in every UK nation (GOV.UK: UK bank holidays). The safe request date leaves 10 more working days to file, get a decision and correct a rejection, because accounts rejected near the deadline get no extra time. Corporation Tax falls due on 1 January 2027, a bank holiday, so the payment must reach HMRC by 31 December unless you pay by Faster Payments or card (GOV.UK: Pay your Corporation Tax bill: Overview).

Taxley's worked example: year end 31 March 2026 (dates calculated on 28 September 2026)

Which routes can you use to file company accounts in 2026?

Until 31 March 2028 there are three routes: Companies House's online service, commercial software and paper. The online service accepts unaudited micro-entity, abridged and small full accounts, plus dormant accounts for companies that have never traded; full audited accounts can only be filed online through software (GOV.UK: Filing your Companies House information online).

Signing in to Companies House WebFiling has needed GOV.UK One Login since 13 October 2025. The first time you sign in, you connect the WebFiling account to a One Login and may have to re-enter each company's authentication code, but you don't need to verify your identity to connect (GOV.UK: WebFiling accounts move to GOV.UK One Login). Only one person can connect each WebFiling account, so anyone who shared a login needs their own One Login with a different email address. The dormant accounts template is only for companies that have never traded. Companies House's fee list has no fee for filing a UK company's annual accounts, while a confirmation statement costs £50 online (GOV.UK: Companies House fees). Directors also have to verify their identity with Companies House.

Commercial software sends the accounts in iXBRL (inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language), which tags each figure so a computer can read it, and needs the company authentication code plus a presenter ID and code (GOV.UK: Using software to file your company's information). Not every package files every accounts type, so check yours does. Paper accounts take longest to process: the balance sheet must be signed by a director with that director's name printed, and the company name and number must appear on the accounts (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). From 1 April 2028, the online service and paper close for accounts and every company must use software, as our guide to software-only accounts filing from 2028 explains.

How do you file company accounts with Companies House online, step by step?

Filing online takes seven steps: find the deadline, get the authentication code, choose the accounts type, have the accounts approved and signed, sign in, submit, then confirm acceptance. The online service suits micro-entity, small and never-traded dormant companies, and software filing follows the same order with a different sign-in (GOV.UK: File your company's annual accounts with Companies House).

Step 1: Find the company number and filing deadline

Search for the company on Companies House's Find and update company information service to see its company number, accounting reference date and next accounts due date; GOV.UK points anyone unsure of their deadline there (GOV.UK: Get information about a company). Sign up for Companies House email reminders at the same time. Note whether these are the company's first accounts, because a first period longer than 12 months has its own deadline.

Step 2: Request the authentication code if you don't have it

The company authentication code is a 6-character code of letters and numbers that authorises online filings and is the equivalent of a company officer's signature (GOV.UK: Company authentication codes for online filing). If it's lost, request it through WebFiling. Companies House posts it to the registered office, or to your home address if you can't access the office, and it can take up to 10 working days to arrive. It is never sent by email or given out by phone.

Step 3: Choose the type of accounts the company can file

Know the accounts type before you start, because the online service asks for it first. For periods beginning on or after 6 April 2025, a micro-entity meets at least 2 of these: turnover up to £1 million, a balance sheet total up to £500,000, and 10 or fewer employees on average (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). Abridged accounts need every member's agreement, and dormant accounts are for a year with no significant accounting transactions. FRS 105 or FRS 102 Section 1A explains the choice.

Step 4: Have the directors approve the accounts and a director sign them

The directors must approve the accounts, and a director signs the balance sheet on the board's behalf and prints their name, with statements such as the micro-entity or audit exemption statement above the signature (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). The copy you file must match the accounts prepared for the members, apart from any parts a micro-entity or small company may leave out. Online, the authentication code replaces the handwritten signature, but approval still comes first.

Step 5: Sign in with GOV.UK One Login or open your filing software

Start from GOV.UK's "File your company's annual accounts" page, which continues on the Companies House service (GOV.UK: File your company's annual accounts with Companies House). WebFiling needs GOV.UK One Login, so create one with the email address your WebFiling account uses if you don't have one yet. If you use commercial software instead, check that it files your accounts type to Companies House and that the company's authentication code is saved in it.

Step 6: Enter the accounts, add the authentication code and submit

Select the accounts type, enter the balance sheet and notes exactly as the directors approved them, and include the required statements; the service's built-in checks help you avoid errors and rejection. If a small company leaves out the profit and loss account, the balance sheet must say so. Enter the authentication code and submit. In Taxley, you instead press "File accounts at Companies House" on the filing page once the return is paid and the accounts are finished; the saved code authorises it. Companies House acknowledges the filing almost immediately and aims to process most online filings within 24 hours (GOV.UK: Filing your Companies House information online).

Step 7: Confirm Companies House accepted the accounts

Confirm acceptance before you treat the job as done. Companies House sends a confirmation once it accepts the accounts, and a rejected online filing can be corrected and resent, but only acceptable accounts delivered by the deadline avoid a penalty (GOV.UK: Filing your Companies House information online). Accepted accounts go on the public record, so check the company's filing history on Find and update company information. The Company Tax Return is filed with HMRC separately.

What does Companies House publish from your accounts?

Everything in the accounts you deliver goes on the public record, so the real choice is what you deliver. Micro-entities and small companies can currently leave the profit and loss account out of the Companies House copy, and dormant accounts need neither a profit and loss account nor a directors' report (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts).

A micro-entity can send Companies House just its balance sheet, with less information than a small company shows (GOV.UK: Micro-entity, small and dormant company accounts). A small company chooses whether to send its profit and loss account and directors' report, and must say on the balance sheet if it leaves out the profit and loss account. Abridged accounts show a sub-set of the full headings. None of this hides figures from HMRC, which receives the full statutory accounts with the Company Tax Return. From 1 April 2028, micro-entities and small companies must deliver a profit and loss account, with an option to opt out of publishing it, and abridged accounts end (GOV.UK: Companies House accounts filing changes from April 2028). The signing director's printed name is published too, so check the copy before you file.

Why does Companies House reject accounts, and how long do you have to resubmit?

Companies House rejects accounts that don't meet the Companies Act, for example when the balance sheet is not signed, and it gives no extra time to resubmit: the corrected accounts must still arrive by the original deadline (GOV.UK: Late filing penalties). If they arrive late, the company gets an automatic late filing penalty.

GOV.UK's filing rules show what Companies House checks. The balance sheet must be signed by a director and show that director's printed name, even when the signature is legible; the company name and number must appear on one of the component parts; and a directors' report needs the signer's printed name (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). Required statements, such as the micro-entity statement or the members' agreement to abridged accounts, are part of the same rules. Online filing has built-in checks, and a rejected online filing can be corrected and resent quickly, while paper sent by post might take a week or more to process (GOV.UK: Filing your Companies House information online).

The time you have to resubmit is whatever remains before the original deadline. Once the deadline passes, the record shows the accounts as overdue until Companies House has examined and accepted them, even if you sent them on time (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts). A private company's penalty is £150 up to 1 month late, then £375, £750 and £1,500 after 6 months, doubled when accounts are late in 2 successive financial years (GOV.UK: Late filing penalties). An appeal based on relying on an accountant, or on accounts delayed in the post, is unlikely to succeed. In the worked example, accounts filed in early December 2026 leave about 3 weeks to correct a rejection.

Do the accounts also have to go to HMRC with the CT600?

Yes, as a separate submission. HMRC needs the company's accounts and tax computation in iXBRL with the Company Tax Return (CT600), filed through commercial software, while the Companies House filing is made on its own (GOV.UK: Company Tax Return obligations). Filing the accounts at Companies House does not send them to HMRC, and filing with HMRC does not send them to Companies House.

HMRC's "File your accounts and Company Tax Return" online service, which filed with both HMRC and Companies House, closed on 31 March 2026, and GOV.UK says companies should now use commercial software to file annual accounts and Company Tax Returns with HMRC (GOV.UK: Closure of HMRC's file-your-accounts-and-tax-return service). File company accounts and tax return online now CATO has closed covers what replaced it. The Company Tax Return is due 12 months after the accounting period ends, 3 months after the Companies House deadline for a 12-month year (GOV.UK: Company Tax Returns: Overview). HMRC receives the full statutory accounts, including the profit and loss account, even when the Companies House copy leaves it out. CT600, accounts or confirmation statement? sets out which filing goes where, and what to check in iXBRL accounts covers the format.

Frequently asked questions

Does Taxley file company accounts at Companies House?

Yes. Taxley has filed accounts at Companies House, live, since 28 September 2026: micro-entity, small, abridged and dormant accounts it builds, at no extra fee, once the return is paid and the accounts are finished, using the company's authentication code. You file the confirmation statement, and any accounts you uploaded, yourself.

Can I file micro-entity accounts online myself?

Yes. Until 31 March 2028, Companies House's online service accepts micro-entity accounts, with sign-in through GOV.UK One Login and the company's authentication code. Companies House lists no fee for filing them. From 1 April 2028, micro-entity accounts must be filed through commercial software. File micro entity accounts online with your CT600 shows how Taxley does it.

What is the Companies House authentication code used for?

It authorises information filed online for the company and is the equivalent of a company officer's signature. The same 6-character code works in WebFiling, Find and update company information and commercial software. It is different from the personal code a person receives after verifying their identity.

Do I need GOV.UK One Login to file accounts at Companies House?

You need it to sign in to Companies House WebFiling, which has required GOV.UK One Login since 13 October 2025. Connecting an existing WebFiling account doesn't require identity verification. Filing through commercial software relies on the company authentication code and presenter details rather than a WebFiling sign-in.

Can I correct accounts after Companies House has accepted them?

Yes, by sending amended accounts for the same period on paper, or through software if you filed the originals with it and it allows corrections. The amended accounts must say they replace the originals, and the original accounts stay on file at Companies House, so check every figure before you submit.

General information, not personalised accounting or tax advice. Rules and dates checked on GOV.UK on 28 September 2026; you remain responsible for the accuracy of the accounts you file.