Dormant Company Filing: Accounts, HMRC and CS01

Dormant does not mean that a limited company can ignore its filing deadlines. Companies House and HMRC use different tests, and each can require action even when the company has no sales.

Check both definitions

For Companies House, a company is generally dormant during a financial year if it has no significant accounting transactions. Certain transactions are excluded, such as subscriber share payments on incorporation and specified Companies House fees or late-accounts penalties. Ordinary costs or bank interest can affect the position: inspect the records rather than assuming an unused company qualifies.

For Corporation Tax, HMRC generally treats a company as dormant when it is not active, trading or carrying on business. A company that stopped trading part-way through a period may still have a return and tax to settle for its active period.

Check the official dormancy guidance against the company's actual activity. The public register's status is not a decision about the company's Corporation Tax obligations.

Companies House accounts still matter

Check the accounts due date on the company register. A qualifying dormant company must still deliver accounts unless a specific exemption applies. First private-company accounts are normally due 21 months after incorporation; later accounts are normally due nine months after the year end. Check the recorded deadline, particularly after a year-end change.

A company dormant since incorporation may be able to use the simple dormant accounts route, including form AA02 where appropriate. Read the form or online service's eligibility conditions. A company that previously traded, holds more complex balances or has transactions outside that route may need a different set of accounts.

Prepare the figures and required statements, obtain director approval, submit through the supported route and keep acceptance evidence. Zero turnover does not justify entering zero in every balance-sheet box.

Confirmation statements remain due

Dormant companies still file confirmation statements. The first digital statement in a 12-month payment period costs £50; paper filing costs £110. The payment period is separate from the annual review period. Complete required identity verification and register updates before filing.

Follow the confirmation-statement checklist. Filing dormant accounts does not also file a confirmation statement.

Tell HMRC and handle notices to file

Tell HMRC if the company is dormant for Corporation Tax using its official process. Once HMRC agrees, it will normally not require further Company Tax Returns until the company becomes active or HMRC asks for a return.

If HMRC has already issued a notice to deliver a return, do not discard it. Ask HMRC to withdraw the notice if appropriate, or file the required return. If tax is owed for an earlier active period, dormancy does not remove that liability.

Do not send a nil CT600 automatically just because Companies House accounts are dormant. First establish whether HMRC requires a return and what period it covers.

Example: a company that stops trading

A company stops taking work in June but has a financial year ending in March. It may need accounts covering the whole financial year and a Company Tax Return for an active accounting period. Outstanding expenses, interest or assets can affect the analysis. Simply describing the company as dormant from June does not remove the earlier obligations.

Keep the closure-of-trade date, bank records, HMRC correspondence and the Companies House deadline together. Get advice if the two authorities' periods or requirements do not align.

When the company restarts

Tell HMRC when the company becomes active again and check the Corporation Tax registration requirements. Resume proper accounting records, review VAT/PAYE obligations if applicable and prepare the appropriate trading accounts and returns. The company's Companies House filing timetable does not automatically restart with trading.

Review company deadlines and filing tasks in Unfiled. Use the available preparation and filing options for the company's actual circumstances, with the accounts guide and CT600 guide as separate checklists.

Official sources

Reviewed 30 September 2026: dormant companies, dormancy for Companies House, dormancy for Corporation Tax and Companies House fees.