What exactly has closed?
The service that closed is the free one on gov.uk called "File your accounts and Company Tax Return". It was the joint service that let a small company do both jobs in one sitting: send the Company Tax Return (the CT600) to HMRC and send the annual accounts to Companies House. It closed on 31 March 2026, and the old start page now simply says the service has closed and points you elsewhere.
If you have used it for years, the closure can feel personal. It is not. The route changed for everyone at once, and gov.uk now directs self-filers to a list of commercial software instead. Plenty of directors are only discovering this now, exactly when their year end comes round.
What has NOT changed?
This is the part to hold on to, because it is most of the picture:
- You still have to file. If HMRC sends your company a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return, you must file one, even if the company made a loss or owes no tax at all.
- The tax return deadline is the same. Your Company Tax Return is due 12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers.
- The accounts deadline is the same. Your annual accounts are due at Companies House 9 months after your company's financial year ends (21 months after registration for a brand new company's first accounts).
- Filing is still done online. Paper is only allowed in narrow cases, such as having a reasonable excuse or filing in Welsh, so for almost everyone the answer is still a screen, just a different one.
In other words, the closure removed one way of filing. It did not remove, delay or soften any of your duties.
What are my options now?
There are two real routes, and one trap dressed up as a third option.
Option 1: file it yourself with commercial software
This is the closest thing to what you did before. Gov.uk's closure guidance says to use commercial software for the job, and to help you choose, HMRC publishes a directory of software suppliers, stating plainly that it accepts returns filed using any of the products shown in it. Some of the products in that directory handle both halves of the job, the tax return to HMRC and the accounts to Companies House, the way the old free service did. Others only do one half, so check before you commit.
If you were comfortable with the old service, you are likely to be comfortable with this route: the information you need is the same, only the doorway is different. Our guide on filing your Company Tax Return yourself in 2026 walks through the whole job step by step, and if the word "recognised" is new to you, what HMRC-recognised software actually means explains it in two minutes.
Option 2: hand it to an accountant
Genuinely the right answer for plenty of companies. If your company has anything unusual going on, for example group structures, big one-off transactions, or disputes, or you simply do not want to think about any of this, an accountant earns their fee. Gov.uk lists hiring an accountant alongside doing it yourself as the two ways to get a return filed.
The trade is straightforward: you pay more and do less. Software is usually the cheaper route and an accountant the more hands-off one; how the numbers compare for a company like yours is exactly what our guide on what it costs to file a Company Tax Return is for.
Option 3 is not an option: doing nothing
Waiting to see what happens has a price list. If your Company Tax Return is even one day late, the penalty is £200. Three months late adds another £200. At six months HMRC estimates your tax bill and adds 10% of the unpaid tax, and at twelve months another 10%. File late three times in a row and the fixed penalties rise to £1,000 each. These apply even if your company is dormant, made a loss, or owes nothing.
Companies House runs its own separate penalties for late accounts on top, which can reach £1,500 for a private company. Being late with both filings means being fined twice, by two different bodies, for the same forgotten year end.
How do I choose between software and an accountant?
A simple honest test:
- Was the old free service enough for you? If your company fitted it, a small company with straightforward numbers, then self-filing with commercial software is the natural replacement, and the skills you built carry over.
- Has something changed this year? New property income, a big asset sale, a group company, investors, anything that makes you hesitate: that hesitation is the signal to pay an accountant, at least for this year. There is no prize for struggling alone.
- How close is the deadline? If you are already near or past it, decide today. Every route takes some setup time, and the £200 clock does not pause while you choose.
Whichever you pick, make it a decision rather than a drift. The companies this closure hurts are the ones still deciding when the deadline passes.
What if my company is dormant?
A dormant company can apply to HMRC for an exemption from filing a Company Tax Return, so check that before paying anyone anything. But dormant companies must still file annual accounts with Companies House every year; the closure did not change that either.