Micro-entity accounts: who qualifies, what you file, and what 2028 changes

Do you qualify — the two-of-three test

For financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, a company is a micro-entity if it meets at least two of three conditions: turnover not more than £1 million, balance sheet total (gross assets) not more than £500,000, and not more than 10 employees on average. For years that began before that date the older limits apply — £632,000 turnover and £316,000 gross assets, with the same 10-employee test. Meeting the test is optional, not compulsory: a company that qualifies may still choose to file small-company or full accounts.

What micro-entity accounts contain

Micro-entity accounts filed at Companies House today are a balance sheet with two short notes at its foot — financial commitments and guarantees, and directors' advances or credits. No directors' report is required, no audit is required for most, and the profit and loss account is not filed publicly until the April 2028 changes take effect. This is the smallest full-accounts filing available, which is exactly why it is worth knowing whether you qualify: the alternative is materially more work.

Micro-entity or dormant — the line that decides your filing

These are different statuses answering different questions, and a company can be one without the other. Dormant means no significant accounting transactions at all during the period; micro-entity means the company trades but stays under the size thresholds. The practical test is the same one that decides dormancy: a single bank charge or accountancy fee paid from the company's own account breaks dormancy — and a company that has broken dormancy but stays small files micro-entity accounts, not dormant ones. If you are unsure which side of that line you are on, the dormancy test is the one to answer first.

Deadlines and penalties are the same

Being a micro-entity changes what the accounts contain, not when they are due. The deadline is 9 months after the accounting reference date (up to 21 months from incorporation for a first, longer-than-12-month period), and the late-filing penalty runs on the same bands as every other private company: £150, then £375 past one month, £750 past three and £1,500 past six, doubled if you were late the previous year too. The confirmation statement remains a separate annual filing with its own date.

What changes on 1 April 2028

From 1 April 2028 micro-entities must deliver a profit and loss account to Companies House, and accounts must be filed by commercial software in iXBRL format — the web and paper routes close. The government has announced an option not to publish the profit and loss on the public register, but the regulations creating that option have not been made yet, so treat non-publication as unconfirmed until they are. Abridged accounts are abolished in the same package.

Official sources

• GOV.UK — Micro-entities, small and dormant companies
• Companies Act 2006, s.384A — Companies qualifying as micro-entities
• GOV.UK — File your company annual accounts

Sources checked 31 August 2026.