For years, small and micro companies have been able to keep things fairly simple: a folder of receipts, a spreadsheet, maybe a paper form sent off to Companies House once a year. That approach is fading fast. Across both HMRC and Companies House, the direction of travel is the same — paper-based and manual processes are being phased out in favour of digital record-keeping and software-based filing.
Corporation Tax sits right at the centre of this shift. Here's what small and micro company directors need to know about their obligations, and why getting your systems online now is worth doing sooner rather than later.
Corporation Tax: the basics haven't changed
If you run a limited company, Corporation Tax is payable on your company's taxable profits — broadly, your income less allowable expenses, reliefs and allowances.
At the end of your accounting period, your company needs to prepare its annual accounts and submit a Company Tax Return to HMRC. The Corporation Tax payment deadline is usually 9 months and 1 day after the end of your accounting period, while the company tax return itself must normally be filed within 12 months of the period end.
For example, if your accounting period ends on 31 March 2026, any Corporation Tax due would normally need to be paid by 1 January 2027, with the Company Tax Return following by 31 March 2027.
Crucially, HMRC doesn't send you a bill. Your company is responsible for calculating what it owes and making sure both the return and the payment go in on time — which is precisely where organised, digital records make life easier than a shoebox of paperwork.
Two separate filings, two separate systems
One of the most common points of confusion for small company owners is the relationship between Companies House and HMRC. They're separate bodies with separate obligations, and filing with one doesn't tick the box for the other.
Companies House maintains the public register of companies. Your company needs to prepare and file annual accounts, complete its confirmation statement, and report relevant changes during the year.
HMRC, meanwhile, deals with Corporation Tax. Your company must submit its Company Tax Return and pay whatever Corporation Tax is due — and even though your accounts may contain much of the same underlying financial information, HMRC is clear that accounts shared with Companies House still need to be submitted separately as part of your Company Tax Return.
Keeping digital records that both filings can draw on consistently — rather than reconstructing figures twice from paper — is one of the simplest ways to cut down on duplicated work and errors.
Micro companies aren't exempt from the basics
Micro companies benefit particularly from staying organised throughout the year rather than scrambling at deadline time.
Companies House currently defines a micro-entity as a company meeting at least two of three criteria: turnover of no more than £1,000,000, a balance sheet total of no more than £500,000, and no more than 10 average employees.
If your company qualifies, you may be able to prepare and file simpler micro-entity accounts, subject to the relevant rules and exclusions. But qualifying as micro doesn't remove the underlying obligations — you still need to keep appropriate financial records, calculate your taxable profits correctly, submit your Company Tax Return, and pay any Corporation Tax owed.
The bigger shift: Companies House is going digital-only
The clearest sign of where things are heading comes from Companies House itself. From 1 April 2028, all companies will be required to file annual accounts using commercial software — the current web-based and paper accounts filing services will close from that date.
Alongside this, the government has confirmed reforms requiring small companies and micro-entities to file profit and loss accounts, though eligible companies will be able to opt out of having those figures published on the public register. These particular changes have been pushed back to April 2028 to give companies and software providers more time to get ready.
In other words: this isn't a distant possibility, it's a confirmed deadline. Paper and manual web-form filing for accounts has an expiry date.
Why it makes sense to digitise now, not later
None of this means you need to overhaul everything overnight. But there's a clear practical case for moving your record-keeping and filing processes online well before software becomes mandatory:
- Less duplicated effort. Digital records that feed both your Company Tax Return and your Companies House filings save you re-entering the same figures twice.
- Fewer errors. Manual transcription from paper is where mistakes creep in — mismatched figures, missed deadlines, transposed numbers.
- Deadline visibility. Software and digital tools make it far easier to track your Corporation Tax payment date and Company Tax Return deadline, which fall at different points and are easy to lose track of on paper.
- A head start on 2028. Getting comfortable with digital accounts filing now means the transition to mandatory software-based filing is a non-event rather than a scramble.
The takeaway for small company directors
Corporation Tax and Companies House filing remain two distinct responsibilities, even though they draw on the same underlying financial records. What's changing is how companies are expected to manage and submit that information — with paper and manual processes steadily being retired in favour of digital record-keeping and commercial software.
For small and micro companies, the sensible approach is the same one that's always worked well: keep accurate digital records throughout the year, use accounting software suited to your size of business, stay on top of your deadlines, and make sure whoever handles your filings — whether that's you, an accountant, or a finance team — understands where the requirements are heading.
With Companies House confirming that software-based accounts filing becomes mandatory from April 2028, there's a real advantage to getting your systems in order now, rather than waiting until the switch is compulsory.
