The major change to filing requirements will see Companies House require fully digitised accounts from 1 April 2027. This means all companies will have to use accounting software to submit final accounts, starting for businesses with year ends of 31 July 2026, affecting over 400,000 companies.

Companies House has always said it would give companies at least 18 months’ notice about the end to paper returns.

All company directors have been sent an email by Companies House stating setting out the changes, which stated: ‘We’re contacting you now to give you plenty of time to prepare – you’ll have one full accounting year, plus nine months, to make the switch (a total of 21 months).

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