HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Companies House have announced a new common approach to filing company accounts online.

In a bid to reduce administrative burden on businesses, Companies House has said it will accept company accounts in a data format known as Inline XBRL – the same format in which all company tax returns must be submitted to HMRC from April 2011.

Companies House will introduce the Inline XBRL service for unaudited full accounts from summer 2010 and will continue to develop it capabilities for all the main account types it receives.

HMRC's Inline XBRL service will be available from November this year.

Gareth Jones, chief executive of Companies House, said: "This early statement of our intentions will reassure businesses that both HMRC and Companies House are working closely together to align our services to make the filing of accounts as easy as possible for UK companies."

Last month, HMRC announced plans to write to half a million companies and tax agents to make them aware of the change to Inline XBRL and advise that they familiarise themselves with the system before it becomes compulsory.