What do I have to file for a dormant limited company in the UK?

Full answer

A company is dormant when it has no significant accounting transactions in a financial period. This affects people who have registered a company name to protect it, are holding a company before trading, or have paused a business but want to keep the shell alive. There are two separate authorities. With Companies House you must still file accounts every year and a confirmation statement (which checks the registered details such as directors, shareholders and registered office). A dormant company can normally file simplified dormant accounts rather than full statutory accounts, which keeps the process light. Missing these deadlines triggers automatic late-filing penalties and, ultimately, compulsory strike-off. With HMRC, you should tell them the company is dormant for Corporation Tax. Once HMRC accepts dormancy, they will not expect a Company Tax return for the dormant period, so the 19% small-profits Corporation Tax rate is simply not in play because there are no profits. If the company later starts trading, you must tell HMRC within the required window and resume filing CT returns; the main rates are 19% on profits up to GBP 50,000 and 25% above GBP 250,000, with marginal relief in between. Watch points: even small transactions can break dormancy, for example paying a filing fee from the company bank account or receiving bank interest, so it is often cleanest to have no active company bank movements. Directors' legal duties continue, and the company still exists for legal purposes. If you genuinely never intend to trade, voluntary strike-off may be cheaper than maintaining annual filings, but only if the company has no debts and meets the conditions. Specific penalty amounts and the strike-off process are set by Companies House, so check current details on gov.uk before acting.

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