Former users of HMRC's closed CATO service can file their first return through Nova free of charge. Nova is also built for 1 April 2028, when Companies House moves accounts filing to commercial software.
LONDON, UK / ACCESS Newswire / October 21, 2026 / DataTracks, the regulatory reporting software and services provider, has launched DataTracks Nova, software that prepares a UK micro-entity's accounts and Corporation Tax return from a single set of figures, produces the iXBRL that HMRC requires now and Companies House will require from 1 April 2028, and files the CT600 with HMRC. Companies House accounts filing runs from the same data in the same product.
Until 31 March 2026, many smaller UK companies with straightforward affairs had a free way to do this themselves. CATO (Company Accounts and Tax Online) was a free HMRC online service, run jointly with Companies House, that let a company prepare and submit its own Corporation Tax return and accounts through a simple web form, with no software to buy and no accountant needed. It was only open to companies filing without an agent. HMRC closed it on 31 March 2026.
Since 1 April 2026, companies have generally had to use commercial software to file Corporation Tax returns with HMRC. For returns with a filing date on or after that date, the initial late-filing penalty doubled from £100 to £200, with a further £200 penalty once a return is three months late.
Former CATO users can file their first CT600 through Nova free of charge. Nova checks eligibility at sign-up, so most former CATO users will not need to provide evidence that they used CATO.
"The UK is moving company filing from free government forms to commercial software, one regulator at a time. That is the right direction for the quality of the data, but it puts a new cost on companies that used to file for themselves at no charge," said Kailash Chandrasekar, Vice President, Marketing at DataTracks. "Nova is built so that a director with no accountant can prepare, check and file both filings from the figures they already have. And if a company was filing for free last year, we do not think a change in government systems should be the reason it starts paying."
The next change is already fixed. Companies House has confirmed that from 1 April 2028 every UK company must file its annual accounts using commercial software, in iXBRL, and the web and paper filing routes for accounts close. Micro-entities and small companies will have to file a profit and loss account with Companies House for the first time, though they can choose to keep it off the public register, and the option to file abridged accounts is removed.
"Most of the attention this year has gone to CATO, which has already closed. The bigger change for a small company is April 2028," said Kailash. "From then, a micro-entity's profit and loss account goes to Companies House as well as HMRC, in the same machine-readable format. Companies that prepare both filings from one set of figures now will find 2028 a much smaller step."
Nova pulls company details from the Companies House register at sign-up, calculates Corporation Tax as figures are entered, checks the return and accounts against HMRC and Companies House validation rules before anything is submitted, and generates the iXBRL automatically. It comes in two plans. Nova Ignite is for former CATO users and includes their free first filing. Nova Core, charged per filing, serves other eligible companies and accountants filing for several clients, with a multi-company dashboard, team access and volume discounts.
The launch takes DataTracks' UK filing work to the smallest companies on the register. DataTracks is already listed by HMRC as an iXBRL Managed Tagging Service provider, through its UK entity DTracks Limited, and as a commercial software supplier for Pillar 2 returns, and is recognised by Companies House as a software provider. Until now that work has largely served large companies and multinational groups.
Nova is available now at datatracks.com/uk/nova. The free first filing for former CATO users is a limited introductory offer.
About DataTracks
DataTracks is a software and services provider for regulatory reporting, working with businesses in more than 25 countries. It has delivered over 450,000 reports for more than 30,000 customers since 2005. It is listed by HMRC as an iXBRL Managed Tagging Service provider, through its UK entity DTracks Limited, and as a commercial software supplier for Pillar 2 returns, and is recognised by Companies House as a software provider. DataTracks holds ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certification and holds an independent SOC 2 Type II attestation report.
Media Contact
Kailash Chandrasekar
VP & Head, Marketing
DataTracks
Media Relations: mediarelations@datatracks.com
Phone: +44 20 4514 5352
https://datatracks.com/uk/nova
General Enquiries
contact@datatracks.com
SOURCE: DataTracks Global Private Limited
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/datatracks-launches-nova-filing-software-that-takes-uk-micro-enti-1239320
