Filing guides
Software or an accountant? Three ways to file company accounts and a CT600 in 2026
Software from £12, an accountant from £279, or an accountant-prepared filing service from £49.99. Published prices compared, checked 9 October 2026.
6 min read
By Andy Drummond ACA, ICAEW member 1882910. Published 9 October 2026. Prices checked 9 October 2026.
HMRC closed its free filing service on 31 March 2026. If you used it, you now need another way to file two things each year: your accounts at Companies House, and your CT600 Company Tax Return with HMRC.
There are three ways to do it. I run the third, so read this knowing that. I have set out the other two as fairly as I can, using the prices each provider publishes on its own website.
The three routes at a glance
Route | Who prepares the accounts | Price a year |
|---|---|---|
Software | You do | About £12 to £167 a year with VAT |
An accountant | The accountant, from your records | About £279 to £479 a year with VAT |
A filing service | A chartered accountant, from your answers | £49.99 to £149.99, or £199.99 to £299.99 if I work from your records. No VAT added |
Route 1: software
You enter your own profit and loss and balance sheet figures. The software turns them into accounts and a CT600 in iXBRL, the tagged format HMRC requires, and sends them.
It is the cheapest route. It suits you if you kept your own books and are comfortable deciding what goes where in a set of accounts. The software checks the arithmetic. No accountant checks whether the figures are right.
Provider | Published price | With VAT |
|---|---|---|
Tax Optimiser | £10 plus VAT | £12.00 |
SimpleCompanyTax | £28 a year including VAT | £28.00 |
Taxley | £49.95 a return, no VAT charged | £49.95 |
TinyTax | £59 a year plus VAT | £70.80 |
Easy Digital Filing | £119 plus VAT, and £20 plus VAT to file at Companies House | £166.80 |
All five file with both Companies House and HMRC. Easy Digital Filing charges extra for the Companies House filing, which is included in its figure above.
Bookkeeping packages can do it too. FreeAgent's limited company plan is £33 a month plus VAT and files accounts and a CT600 for most micro-entities.
Route 2: an accountant
You send your records. The accountant prepares the accounts and the CT600 and files both.
It costs more. It is the right choice if you want VAT returns, payroll or bookkeeping looked after through the year, or if there is anything in the company you are unsure how to treat. Several online firms publish a fixed price:
Provider | Published price | With VAT |
|---|---|---|
DMP Accountants | From £279, no VAT added | £279.00 |
Bohzo Accountants | £299, VAT not stated | £299.00 or more |
SmartFiling | From £299 plus VAT | £358.80 |
Experlu | £349 plus VAT | £418.80 |
The Online Accountants | £349 plus VAT | £418.80 |
Easy Digital Filing, managed service | £379 plus VAT | £454.80 |
Taxflow Partners | From £399 plus VAT | £478.80 |
A local accountant will usually want to see your records before quoting.
Route 3: a filing service
This is what I built annual-accounts.co.uk to be. You answer 10 simple questions online, as you would with software. I then prepare the accounts and the CT600 as an accountant would, send them to you to approve, and file both with Companies House and HMRC.
Cash received in the year | Standard filing | Managed service |
|---|---|---|
Dormant, or under £1,000 | £49.99 a year | £199.99 a year |
Up to £30,000 | £99.99 a year | £249.99 a year |
Over £30,000 | £149.99 a year | £299.99 a year |
No VAT is added to these prices.
It costs less than route 2 for a plain reason. I only take companies with simple finances, and for the standard filing I work from your answers and not from your records. If your company needs me to work from its records, that is the managed service. If it needs more than that, I will tell you an accountant suits you better.
Which route should you choose?
Choose software if you prepared your own accounts for HMRC's old service and were confident in the figures.
Choose an accountant if you want VAT returns, payroll or bookkeeping done through the year, or you want advice as well as filing.
Choose a filing service if your company is small and simple and you would rather a chartered accountant prepared the accounts than do it yourself.
Questions
Do I need an accountant to file company accounts?
No. There is no legal requirement to use one. Whichever route you take, you approve the accounts as a director and you are responsible for them.
Do all of these file with both Companies House and HMRC?
Most do, and it is worth checking before you pay. Some software files the CT600 with HMRC and leaves the Companies House accounts to you, or charges extra for them.
What is iXBRL, and do I need to worry about it?
iXBRL is a tagged electronic format. HMRC only accepts the accounts and tax computation that go with a CT600 in iXBRL. Every route on this page produces it for you.
Are these prices still right?
I checked each provider's own website on 9 October 2026. Prices change, so check before you buy.
Sources
Prices are from each provider's own website on 9 October 2026:
Tax Optimiser: taxoptimiser.co.uk/pricing
SimpleCompanyTax: simplecompanytax.co.uk/pricing
TinyTax: tinytax.co.uk/pricing
Easy Digital Filing: easydigitalfiling.com/public/pricing
FreeAgent: freeagent.com/pricing
DMP Accountants: dmp-accountants.co.uk/company-accounts-279
Bohzo Accountants: bohzoaccountants.co.uk/services/limited-company-accounts
SmartFiling: smartfiling.co.uk/services/micro-entity-accounts-filing
Experlu: experlu.co.uk/limited-company-tax-returns
The Online Accountants: theonlineaccountants.uk/accountants-fees
Taxflow Partners: taxflowpartners.com/services/company-accounts-tax-filing
From £49.99 a year. See what is included.
