Yes: the law puts the duty on the directors

GOV.UK lists what directors of a limited company must do. They must prepare the annual accounts, complete the Company Tax Return, file the accounts and the return, and keep the company’s records2.

The same page says you can hire other people to manage some of these things day to day. But the directors are still legally responsible for the company’s records, accounts and performance2.

So the question is not whether you are allowed to do it yourself. You are. The real question is whether you want to, and whether your company is simple enough.

Before accounts are filed, the directors must approve them1. That is true whoever prepared them. An accountant can prepare your accounts. They cannot take the duty away from you.

What you’ll need

For the filing itself, you need four things.

  1. Your bank statements for the whole year. Fileyear’s job page asks for a bank statement as a CSV file. Your records of what the money was for matter too: invoices, receipts, and any loans to or from the director.
  2. The Companies House authentication code. You need a Companies House password and an authentication code to file accounts online with Companies House1. See what the authentication code is.
  3. The company’s UTR. This is the company’s Unique Taxpayer Reference for Corporation Tax. See what a UTR is.
  4. The company’s HMRC login. This is the login for the company’s Corporation Tax account with HMRC. Fileyear’s job page lists it among the things you need.

Fileyear also asks a few plain-English questions, such as bills owed at the year end and any director’s loan.

When it’s straightforward

Doing it yourself is realistic when the company is simple. These signs help.

  • It is a micro-entity. A company is a micro-entity if it meets two of three tests: turnover of £1 million or less, a balance sheet of £500,000 or less, and 10 employees or fewer4. Micro-entities can file simpler accounts.
  • It is small, not large. A small company meets two of: turnover up to £15 million, a balance sheet up to £7.5 million, and 50 employees or fewer4. The software prepares small company accounts too, and works the size out from your figures.
  • It has one main bank account. All the income and spending can be read from one statement.
  • No special claims. No group, no R&D relief, no audit.

A one-person consultancy, a small trading company, a property company or a dormant company are typical examples. None of these needs an accountant by law. They need care and the right software.

What doing it yourself costs you

The saving is real, but it is not free. You pay with your time and your attention.

  • Your time. Gathering the records, answering the year-end questions and checking the draft is yours to do.
  • Your judgement. Software can sort bank lines and fill in forms. It cannot know about an arrangement it was never told about. If you took money out as a loan, rather than as pay or dividends, say so. The director’s loan guide explains why that matters for tax.
  • Your signature. You approve the accounts. If a figure is wrong, it is wrong in your name as a director.

Read the draft as if you were the person who has to defend it. If a number surprises you, find out why before you approve it.

Keep your bank statements and receipts for the year as well. They are the records behind the figures, and the directors are responsible for keeping them2.

When to use an accountant

Be fair to accountants. They earn their fee in some cases, and for a few companies you have no choice.

Use an accountant if:

  • Your accounts must be audited. Fileyear does not file audited accounts.
  • The company is part of a group that prepares group accounts. Fileyear does not prepare these.
  • You are claiming R&D tax relief. That needs specialist advice, and Fileyear cannot file it.
  • It is a financial holding company, holding shares in banks, insurers or other regulated financial businesses.
  • It is above the small company limits. Fileyear prepares micro-entity and small company accounts only, so a bigger company needs an accountant, usually with an audit.
  • You want advice, not filing. An accountant can plan how you pay yourself, check your tax position and answer questions about your own situation. Software that files returns does not give that advice.
  • Your records are a mess. Someone has to sort a year of unlabelled transactions. That can be you, or a bookkeeper.

Fileyear asks about the group, R&D and audit points in its own questions, and turns the company away before you pay if one applies. Charities and sole traders are outside what Fileyear files: a charity’s annual return goes to the Charity Commission, and a sole trader files a personal Self Assessment return with HMRC.

Step by step: accounts first, then the tax return

The filing has two destinations and two sets of rules.

  1. Work out the accounting period. The company filing deadlines guide has worked examples.
  2. Prepare the accounts from your records. For a micro-entity these are the simpler micro-entity accounts, with last year’s figures alongside this year’s.
  3. Get the directors’ approval. The accounts must be approved by the directors before they are filed1.
  4. File the accounts with Companies House, using your authentication code1. You can file online or on paper for now3. From 1 April 2028 you must use commercial software1.
  5. Work out the Corporation Tax and prepare the Company Tax Return: the CT600, with the tax computation and the accounts.
  6. File the return with HMRC through commercial software. Since 1 April 2026 that is the route, unless you have a reasonable excuse or file in Welsh3. The old HMRC service is covered in CATO has closed.
  7. Pay the Corporation Tax. Payment is separate from the return, and is usually due 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period5.

The return itself is due 12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers5. A company must file one if HMRC sends it a notice to deliver, even with a loss or no tax to pay5. A dormant company may not need one: see the dormant company guide.

What Fileyear does, and what it does not promise

Fileyear prepares the accounts and the CT600 from your bank statement, for you to check. You submit them under your own logins. You see the figures before you pay. The accounts and tax return cost <span class=”fy-price” data-fy-price=”file-company-accounts-and-tax-return”></span> for a trading company, and the price for other company types is shown before you pay. See pricing.

There is one thing to know about the tax return. For an accounting period ending after 31 March 2026, HMRC has not yet published the format Fileyear needs. So Fileyear records the return as waiting for HMRC and does not send it now. The accounts go to Companies House as normal. Fileyear says it will file the return as soon as HMRC publishes the format, at no extra cost. The return is not due until 12 months after your year end5.

Fileyear is independent software. It is not part of, or endorsed by, HMRC or Companies House.

How long it takes

Fileyear’s job page says about 20 minutes. That covers preparing and checking. It does not include finding your authentication code if you do not have one yet, or sorting out missing records. How long an accountant takes depends on the accountant.

So, which should you choose?

Neither choice is wrong, and you can change your mind from one year to the next.

Do it yourself if the company is small, has one bank account and no special claims, and you can read a set of accounts and check it. Pay an accountant if the company is audited, in a group or claiming R&D relief, or if you want advice rather than filing. If you are unsure, ask an accountant for a one-off review, and file the rest yourself.