# Micro-entity eligibility checker

Source: https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/tools/micro-entity-checker/

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026

Enter this year's and last year's turnover, balance sheet total and employees to see whether the company can prepare micro-entity accounts. For years beginning on or after 6 April 2025 it must be within two of £1m turnover, £500,000 balance sheet total and 10 employees, normally in two consecutive years, and not be excluded, for example as a charity.

## Micro-entity limits

| Limit | Years beginning on or after 6 April 2025 | Years beginning before 6 April 2025 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Turnover | up to £1m | up to £632,000 |
| Balance sheet total | up to £500,000 | up to £316,000 |
| Average number of employees | up to 10 | up to 10 |

As at 25 October 2026. A company meets the conditions when it is within two of the three limits (Companies Act 2006, s384A).

## Check micro-entity status

Enter the figures and select Check micro-entity status.

## Worked example: the transitional rule

A company's financial year 2026 begins on 1 January 2026: turnover £800,000, balance sheet total £350,000, 6 employees. Its 2025 year began on 1 January 2025: turnover £700,000, balance sheet total £400,000, 8 employees.

- Against the old limits (£632,000 and £316,000), 2025 fails on turnover and balance sheet total, so for its 2025 accounts, which began before 6 April 2025, the company was not a micro-entity.
- For 2026, the new limits apply, and the transitional rule tests the earlier years against the new limits as well. 2025 then meets them, and so does 2026. Two consecutive years meet the conditions, so the company is a micro-entity for 2026.

The new thresholds cannot be used for the accounts of a year that began before 6 April 2025; they only change how earlier years count in the two-year test.

## Who cannot use the micro-entity provisions

Even within the limits, a company cannot use them if at any time in the year it was (Companies Act 2006, s384B):

- excluded from the small companies regime: a public company, an authorised insurance company, a banking company, an e-money issuer, a MiFID investment firm or a UCITS management company, or a member of an ineligible group;
- an investment undertaking, a financial holding undertaking, a credit institution or an insurance undertaking;
- a charity;
- a parent company that prepares group accounts voluntarily, or a company that is not a parent but whose accounts are included in consolidated group accounts for the year.

A parent company qualifies as a micro-entity only if it qualifies on its own figures and the group it heads qualifies as small.

## What micro-entity status means

- The company may prepare its accounts under FRS 105: a balance sheet with a few notes at its foot and a profit and loss account, at historical cost, with no deferred tax. It may instead use FRS 102 Section 1A, for example to revalue property.
- The accounts are presumed to give a true and fair view, and the balance sheet states that they were prepared under the micro-entity provisions.
- It does not prepare a directors' report, and it may file only the balance sheet and notes at Companies House.

See an [example of micro-entity accounts](https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/templates/micro-entity-accounts-example/) and the [company size calculator](https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/tools/company-size-calculator/) for the small and medium-sized limits.

## Assumptions and limits

- For a financial year that is not 12 months long, the turnover limit is adjusted in proportion to the number of months; the balance sheet and employee limits are not. The Act does not say whether to count months or days.
- Last year's figures are tested as a 12-month year. If last year was not the company's first year and you are not sure of its status, work it out for the year before as well.
- The balance sheet total is all assets before deducting liabilities; employees are the monthly average of people employed under contracts of service.

## Frequently asked questions

**What are the micro-entity thresholds for 2025?**
For financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025: turnover up to £1m, balance sheet total up to £500,000 and up to 10 employees. A company must be within two of the three.

**Can a charity file micro-entity accounts?**
No. Charities are excluded from the micro-entity provisions, whatever their size.

**My company grew past the limits this year. Is it still a micro-entity?**
Usually yes, for this year. After the first year a company changes size only when it meets, or stops meeting, the conditions in two consecutive years.

**Does a micro-entity need a directors' report?**
No. A company that qualifies as a micro-entity does not have to prepare a directors' report.

**Can I use the new thresholds for a year that started in 2024?**
No. The new thresholds apply to financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025. They only re-test earlier years for the two-year rule.

## Sources

- [Companies Act 2006, section 384A](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/384A)
- [Companies Act 2006, section 384B](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/384B)
- [Companies Act 2006, section 384](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/384)
- [Companies Act 2006, section 382](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/382)
- [Companies Act 2006, section 396](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/396)
- [Companies Act 2006, section 415](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/415)
- [The Companies (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/1303)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/1303/made)
- [FRC: FRS 105 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime (September 2024)](https://www.frc.org.uk/documents/7662/FRS_105_September_2024_V7owJHN.pdf)
- [Companies House: preparing and filing Companies House accounts](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/filing-your-companies-house-accounts/life-of-a-company-part-1-accounts)

## Related pages

- [Company size calculator](https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/tools/company-size-calculator/)
- [Tools and templates](https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/tools/)
- [Company size](https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/guides/company-size/)
- [Companies House accounts filing deadline calculator](https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/tools/filing-deadline-calculator/)
- [First accounts deadline calculator](https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/tools/first-accounts-deadline-calculator/)
- [Late filing penalty calculator](https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/tools/late-filing-penalty-calculator/)
- [Corporation Tax and marginal relief calculator](https://www.statutoryaccounts.io/tools/corporation-tax-calculator/)