Last updated: 2 October 2026 · Written by Axel
Filleted accounts are a cut-down copy of your company's annual accounts that you send to Companies House, with the profit and loss account (and, for small companies, the directors' report) left out. Everything you file there goes on the public register, so filleting is how a small limited company keeps its turnover and profit off it. It is a public-record choice only: HMRC still gets your accounts, including the profit and loss account, with your Company Tax Return, and the rules change in April 2028.
"Filleted" is a nickname, not a legal term. The Companies Act calls it a filing exemption under section 444, and GOV.UK's accounts guidance doesn't use the word, though HMRC's own manual does. It means "small company accounts filed without the profit and loss account". Here's what that means in practice, who can do it, and the mistakes that cost people money.
What filleted accounts actually are
Every limited company has to prepare one full set of statutory accounts each year. According to GOV.UK's guide to annual accounts, that full set includes:
- a balance sheet (what the company owns, owes and is owed at the year end)
- a profit and loss account (sales, running costs and the profit or loss for the year)
- notes about the accounts
- a directors' report, unless you're a micro-entity
The filleting happens at the filing stage, not the preparation stage. You still prepare everything. You just choose not to send some of it to Companies House. Small companies can currently choose whether to send the directors' report and the profit and loss account to Companies House. Micro-entities can send just a balance sheet with less information.
So a filleted set is usually the balance sheet plus notes. Anyone can download it free, but they can't see what you turned over or what you paid yourself.
Who can file a filleted set
You need to qualify as small or micro. GOV.UK sets the thresholds on its micro-entity and small company page. You qualify if you meet any two of the conditions in each column:
| Micro-entity | Small company | |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £1 million or less | £15 million or less |
| Balance sheet total | £500,000 or less | £7.5 million or less |
| Employees | 10 or fewer | 50 or fewer |
Most one-van trades, freelancers and small service businesses sit comfortably in the micro column. Micro-entities can already send only a simplified balance sheet with less information, which is the leanest public filing there is.
Filleted, abridged and micro: not the same thing
People mix these up, and it matters because one of them is being scrapped.
| Type | What it is | Public P&L? |
|---|---|---|
| Filleted | Small company accounts with the P&L and directors' report left off the Companies House copy | No |
| Abridged | A shortened version of the accounts, which needs every member's consent | Not if you leave the P&L off |
| Micro-entity | The simplest format, for companies under the micro thresholds, with a minimal balance sheet | Usually no |
My honest view: if you're micro, micro-entity accounts are the simplest route and give away the least.
What stays private and what doesn't
With a filleted or micro-entity filing, these stay off the public register:
- your turnover
- your gross and net profit
- your expenses and what the company paid in salaries
- the directors' report (small companies)
These are still public:
- the balance sheet: cash at bank, money owed to and by the company, fixed assets, share capital and reserves
- the company's name, number, registered office, directors and people with significant control (from the confirmation statement and other filings)
Bear in mind that the balance sheet tells a careful reader quite a lot. Retained profits that climb every year show the business is making money even if the P&L is hidden. Filleting is privacy for the detail, not invisibility.
HMRC still wants the profit and loss account
This is the mistake that bites. GOV.UK is clear that you send copies of your statutory accounts to HMRC as part of your Company Tax Return, and HMRC's own Company Taxation Manual spells it out. Filing without the profit and loss account "is known as filing 'filleted' accounts, and is a filing exemption under s444 of the Act", and "The accounts required by HMRC are those full accounts as prepared for the members, not the 'filleted' accounts." Your CT600 works out the company's profit or loss for Corporation Tax, and HMRC can't do that from a balance sheet alone.
So in one year a typical small company files:
- Companies House: the filleted or micro-entity accounts (public).
- HMRC: the CT600, your company accounts and the Corporation Tax computation, which GOV.UK lists as the three things your software must file (private). Per the manual above, those are the full accounts as prepared for the shareholders, profit and loss account included.
Filing the filleted set at Companies House does nothing for HMRC. They're separate bodies with separate deadlines and separate penalties.
Deadlines and penalties
| Filing | Deadline | Late penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts to Companies House | 9 months after your accounting reference date | £150 up to 1 month late, rising to £1,500 after 6 months |
| First accounts to Companies House | 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months after the accounting reference date if that's longer | Same scale |
| CT600 to HMRC | 12 months after the end of the accounting period | £200 at 1 day, another £200 at 3 months |
| Corporation Tax payment | Usually 9 months and 1 day after the period ends | Interest |
The Companies House late filing penalties double if your accounts are late two years in a row. On the HMRC side, a return more than 6 months late adds 10% of the unpaid tax, and if your return is late three times in a row the £200 penalties become £1,000 each (GOV.UK). Deadlines are dated from your own year end, so check yours on the filing deadlines page, and if it's your company's first year, the first accounting period guide explains why the dates often don't line up.
The April 2028 changes: filleting as we know it ends
Companies House announced in June 2026 that its accounts reforms will apply from April 2028, rather than April 2027 as first planned. The headline changes:
- Small companies and micro-entities will have to file a profit and loss account with Companies House, with an option to opt out of having it published on the public register.
- Abridged accounts go. From April 2028 companies will no longer be able to file them.
- Software only. From April 2028 accounts must go through commercial software in iXBRL format. Companies House's web and paper routes close for accounts.
- The parts of the accounts must be filed together.
So the privacy survives in a different shape: the P&L will always be filed with Companies House, and the opt-out only stops it being published on the register. You won't be able to leave it out any more. For anything filed before April 2028 the current rules apply. You don't need to do anything differently this year.
Common mistakes
- Filing at Companies House and thinking you're done. The CT600 is a separate return with its own penalties.
- Assuming HMRC accepts the filleted version. HMRC wants the accounts as prepared for the members, not the filleted version, so the P&L goes with your CT600.
- Skipping the profit and loss account entirely. You can leave it off the public filing, but you still have to prepare it.
- Using small company accounts when you qualify as micro. More work, and more on the public record than you need.
- Forgetting the confirmation statement. It's a separate yearly filing. If your company didn't trade, our dormant company accounts guide covers the lighter version.
Get an accountant if your company is near the small company limits, is in a group, has complex shareholdings, or needs an audit. Software is great for straightforward micro companies, but it isn't a substitute for advice in those cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are filleted accounts?
They're a small company's annual accounts filed at Companies House without the profit and loss account and directors' report. It's an informal name, not a legal term. The accounts are still prepared in full for your shareholders, and that version goes to HMRC with your Company Tax Return.
Are filleted accounts the same as micro-entity accounts?
No. Micro-entity accounts are a simpler format for companies under the micro thresholds, with a minimal balance sheet. Both keep your profit and loss off the public record, but micro-entity accounts are less work if you qualify.
Can I still file filleted accounts in 2026?
Yes. The current rules apply to accounts filed before April 2028. From then on, small companies and micro-entities will have to file a profit and loss account with Companies House, with the option to opt out of having it published.
Do I send filleted accounts to HMRC?
No. HMRC's guidance says it needs the accounts as prepared for the members, not the filleted ones, so the profit and loss account goes to HMRC with your Company Tax Return and computations.
File both in one go
If your company is a micro-entity, A.X.E.L Filing prepares your micro-entity accounts and your CT600 and submits them to Companies House and HMRC with your own Government Gateway login, for £49 for both. The Companies House copy is filleted by default, so your profit and loss stays off the register, and HMRC gets the full accounts it asks for. It's software, not an accountant, so if you're near the small company limits, in a group or need an audit, you'll still want an accountant's advice (see pricing for dormant and amendment filings). For a straightforward micro company, though, it does the job without a subscription. Start your filing at file.axel.trade.
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