Dormant company accounts
penalties guide and tax return required for a dormant company

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Guide to filing dormant company accounts and submitting returns:

  • Dormant company filing requirements and how to file:
  • Dormant companies do still get penalties.
  • A dormant company does still need to prepare accounts, file dormant accounts and file tax returns.
  • You need to comply with all Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs filing requirements within normal penalty filing deadlines to avoid fines in default; you have to:
  • Accounts and forms you need to fill in:
  • Companies House:
  • File accounts - submit dormant accounts to Companies House.

Much simplified company dormant accounts apply if:

  • Dormant company definition:
  • No "significant accounting transactions" have taken place from the beginning to the end of the accounting period and
  • No significant entries have been made through the company bank account.
  • No dividends have been paid.
  • No other events have taken place which would require an entry in the company accounts.
  • Closing the company bank account is the simplest way to keep a company dormant.
  • Do not open a company bank account until you are ready to trade.

We have a fixed tariff fee for preparing accounts corporation tax etc. for dormant companies and other nil returns. We will quote a low competitive fee for companies which are almost dormant.

A single transaction will void the dormant status

  • Exempt from "transactions" in assessing dormant company status are:
  • Original formation share capital.
  • Three categories of payment to Companies House:
  • CS01 annual return filing fee, £40.00 or £13.00 with efiling.
  • Change of name filing fee £10.
  • Companies House penalties.

Dormant company dividends

  • Dividends can be paid from dormant companies.
  • Paying dividends - A dormant company can pay a dividend but then it ceases to be dormant.
  • This is more a problem of definition.
  • File dormant accounts for complete years in which no dividend was paid.
  • Accounts and corporation tax returns in the year of the dividend will still be fairly simple.
  • Ask us for a quotation; based on our dormant update tariff of £150 + VAT.

Dormant company accounts and penalties

  • Most penalties also apply to dormant companies.
  • Update your dormant company £150 + VAT.
  • See our tariff for a Dormant company inclusive support service to avoid penalties; including accounts, Corporation Tax return and Form CS01 (AR01) Confirmation Statement annual return and anything else you need to do with your dormant company.
  • Penalties will have to be paid if the company is continuing and if unpaid will be subject to county court judgment and legal enforcement with additional legal fees.

How to avoid penalties

The online way to register dormant status with HMRC:
https://www.gov.uk/tell-hmrc-your-company-is-dormant-for-corporation-tax


Apply for a Government Gateway
• You first enter your email address.
• You get back a confirmation code which you use to move forward with the application.
Have available:
• Unique Taxpayer Reference UTR - if you have one.
• National Insurance number.
• Driving license or passport details to link you into other Government records.
• There are various security checking options; you have to choose two. The driving license and passport options are the most straight-forward.
• Telephone number.
• You need to be ready to receive text or email security numbers from HMRC.
Apply: "Create sign in details" on the Sign in screen.
• You get a Government Gateway number.
• Set the Password.
• You are then ready to use the Government Gateway.

About setting up your Government Gateway.
The manual way to register dormant status with HMRC:
  • Avoid Corporation Tax penalties when your company is dormant by filing a form: CT41G Dormant Company insert. You need to ensure that this has been accepted by HM Revenue & Customs and that they have the proper address, particularly if the registered office has changed or is with a registration agent.
  • Avoid failure to notify Corporation Tax penalties when the company starts any business activity by filing form CT41g (CT41g-clubs for clubs and societies).
  • Come off dormant company tax status by filing CT41g when the company starts any business activity.
  • Cancel Construction industry schemes CIS; otherwise penalties will accumulate.
  • Deregister for VAT to cancel VAT returns and cancel PAYE schemes to avoid having to argue penalties and assessments down to nil by filing nil returns.
  • If the company is being:
  • struck off or
  • is going into liquidation
  • penalties will not need to be paid but
  • accounts still need to be prepared for Corporation Tax purposes.
  • HMRC may halt the strike off process if VAT returns CT600 Corporation Tax returns and accounts are outstanding.

Let us help avoid dormant company difficulties; talk to us about dormant companies