HMRC and Companies House have announced that from 31 March 2026, the joint online filing service used to submit company accounts and Corporation Tax returns will close.
From 1 April 2026, commercial software will be needed to file annual accounts and Corporation Tax returns with HMRC.
The current online filing service will remain available to file and amend company tax returns with HMRC and accounts with Companies House, up to and including 31 March 2026.
Why is the service closing?
HMRC say that the service designed to support small, unrepresented, businesses with simple tax affairs with their online filing does not meet modern digital standards or recent changes to UK company law.
Alternative commercial products can offer much more than the current free service, such as improved validation, tax support and reminders.
Companies House say that closing the service reinforces changes taking place, such as implementing further measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act and introducing new processes such as Identity Verification.
What should be done before the service closes?
HMRC recommend that affected companies use the current service to download and save at least the last three years' of filed returns, on or before 31 March 2026, as part of Retaining complete business records. Previous returns will not be accessible after this date.
Future access to previously submitted returns may be needed if:
- Any queries about what was previously submitted to HMRC or Companies House arise.
- The company decides to use an agent in the future, and they ask to see previous accounts and tax returns.
- HMRC opens a compliance check.
To download previous submissions:
- Go to the ‘track your submissions’ page and select the period you want to save a copy of your return for.
- Select either the ‘HMRC’ or ‘Companies House’ submission link.
- On the filing summary page, select ‘save your return in HTML’.
- You will be asked where to save the file or it will download to a folder on your computer.
Amending returns or accounts after 31 March 2026
From 1 April 2026, to amend Corporation Tax returns previously submitted or re-file a rejected return after the free service has closed, there are three options available:
- Use commercial software.
- Write or send a paper return to the company's Corporation Tax office.
- Use an agent.
To change or correct accounts filed with Companies House, it will be necessary to use software or file paper accounts.
Filing Corporation Tax returns and accounts after 31 March 2026
Corporation Tax returns must generally be filed with HMRC online; several commercial software suppliers produce products to facilitate this.
- Such software will be needed from 1 April 2026.
Companies should consider their reporting needs and make sure that any selected software allows them to file:
- A CT600 (Corporation Tax return).
- A Corporation Tax computation.
- Company accounts, Tagged in iXBRL format where relevant.
It may be possible for some charities, community amateur sports clubs and flat management companies to apply for a Corporation Tax filing exemption where they are Dormant.
It will remain necessary to file annual accounts with Companies House and many software providers also cater for this.
- It will also continue to be possible to use web services or paper to file accounts with Companies House, although this may be short-lived as Companies House say "in the future, you’ll only be able to file accounts with Companies House using third party software".
Useful guides on this topic
iXBRL: a guide for advisers
What are the iXBRL filing requirements?
Companies: Trading, non-trading and accounting periods
When is a company classed as trading, non-trading or dormant for Corporation Tax? What are the tax filing obligations in each case?
Penalties: Corporation Tax
What penalties apply for later filing or payment of Corporation Tax?
Companies: Filing & payment deadlines
What are the filing and payment deadlines for companies? What penalties apply?
Record-keeping & tax: What, how and until when?
How long do you need to keep your books and records for tax? Record-keeping for Income Tax (IT), PAYE, Capital Gains Tax (CGT), VAT and Corporation Tax (CT). What if you lose your records?
How to start a company
How do you go about creating a company? What do you need to do start a company? A practical guide on how to form (incorporate) a private limited company covering the key points that you need to consider.
External links
HMRC: Closure of the service to file your company accounts and tax return
Companies House: The online accounts and company tax return service is closing
