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Costly Changes to CIC Account Filing

  • York Together
  • Jul 20
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 17


The way Community Interest Companies file annual accounts is changing…and it’s going to cost them money. 


Community Interest Companies (CICs) have to file annual accounts and Corporate Tax returns annually. 


Small CICs with simple tax affairs have been able to use the free online service from HMRC and Companies House for company tax returns and company accounts.



An illustration of a woman feeling concerned and unsure while staring at her laptop screen
Woman feeling concerned and unsure at her laptop

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What is the change?


From 31 March 2026 the  joint online filing service will permanently close for Corporate tax returns, meaning that from 1st April 2026 CICs will need to pay for and submit their returns through third party software.


The rule applies to the free joint filing service (sometimes called “CATO” — Company Accounts & Tax Online). It doesn’t mean that all free filing options everywhere are being removed in every case in 2026, but in practice, the free service for many small / unrepresented companies will no longer exist


The Government provided an update in May 2025 to say: 


“We have conducted extensive engagement with software providers and have thoroughly explored the market. Based on this insight, we now understand that free software options are not available as we had initially anticipated”.

This applies to all CICs regardless of their size and income.

An update provided by the Government in May 2025.
Update provided by the Government in May 2025

Why is this change happening? 

A key reason that this change has been introduced is because of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which has brought about stricter corporate governance and anti-fraud measures. 


This Act also requires all CICs (regardless of size), to prove they are who they say they are by verifying their identity. Read more about how identity verification will work.



What commercial software is available? 

The government has created a tool to help you find third-party software that they will accept.  Find software for filing company accounts.


There are no free options available. 



What is York Together doing


In addition to alerting  CICs in York to this change, we are:


  1. Reaching out to partners to set up information sessions, 

We are reaching out to Social Enterprise UK (the infrastructure body for CICs), and local accountants to explore whether we can host training/information sessions to CICs to explain, and help you to prepare for this change. 


  1. Talking to other Funders

We’re sharing this information with other local funders. Our hope is that they will in turn reach out to any CICs that they fund, alert them to this change, and consider how they might be able to support their grantees to meet these additional costs.  


  1. Writing to MPs

We’re writing to York’s two MPs and asking them to raise this issue in Government and explore what support can be provided to grassroots CICs. 



Tell us how this will impact you

We want to better understand how this might impact small, grassroots CICs in York. Please get in touch to tell us how it will impact you and what support you think you might need. 




 
 
 

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