Company formation & filings
Dormant company accounts
A dormant company remains on the Companies House register with all the filing obligations of an active one, reduced only in form. Every year it must file accounts within nine months of its accounting reference date and a confirmation statement within fourteen days of its review date, and the absence of any activity does not alter either deadline. The accounts for a dormant company are the simplified AA02: a balance sheet showing the share capital, any amount due to or from the director and the required statements, with no profit and loss account, directors' report or extended notes. The form is short; the obligation to file it on time is identical to any other company's.
£49 · fixed, per year
Next deadlines
- Companies House identity verification for directors and PSCs, phased in from 18 November 2025
- Confirmation statement due within 14 days of your review date, at least once every 12 months
- Dormant company accounts (AA02) due 9 months after the accounting reference date
- Companies House accounts due 9 months after your year end (a 31 December year end files by 30 September)
Fees
Packages, fixed and published
£49
Dormant accounts (AA02) prepared and filed
£79
AA02 + confirmation statement together (+£50 CH fee)
£69
Late accounts rescue — filed fast, position explained
Who this is for
Dormant Company Accounts
Dormant limited companies across the UK: companies formed to protect a name, companies holding a future business, companies that have stopped trading and are being kept rather than closed, guarantee companies and clubs with no transactions, subsidiaries held in reserve, and companies whose dormant accounts are already overdue.
What is included
Inside the fixed fee
- Confirmation that the company genuinely qualifies as dormant for the period, with the transactions that would disqualify it checked
- Dormant company accounts on form AA02 prepared with the correct balance sheet and statements
- Electronic filing with Companies House and the acceptance confirmation forwarded to you
- Confirmation statement filed in the same exercise in the £79 package, with the £50 Companies House fee shown separately
- HMRC dormancy position confirmed so no Corporation Tax return is demanded
- Late accounts filed quickly with the penalty position explained, in the £69 rescue service
In detail
How dormant company accounts works
The qualifying condition is strict. A company is dormant for a financial year only if it has had no significant accounting transactions, and the sole exceptions are the payment for shares on incorporation, fees paid to Companies House and penalties for late filing. A bank charge, interest received, a subscription or an accountant's fee paid from the company's own account each ends dormancy for that year and requires full accounts instead. Our £49 service begins by checking the year against this test before preparing anything, and we invoice the director personally rather than the company so that our own fee cannot be the transaction that breaks dormancy.
The AA02 is prepared with the balance sheet reflecting the company's actual position: called-up share capital not paid shown as an asset where the director never paid for the shares, or cash or an amount due to the director where they did, with the statements the Companies Act requires for a dormant company. It is filed electronically with Companies House and the acceptance is forwarded to you. The £79 package files the confirmation statement in the same exercise, with the £50 Companies House fee shown separately, so that both of the year's obligations are discharged at once and the company has one annual contact with us rather than two deadlines to remember.
Late dormant accounts attract exactly the same penalties as any private company's: £150 up to one month late, £375 up to three months, £750 up to six months and £1,500 beyond, doubled where the previous year was also late, with compulsory strike-off following persistent default. Owners of dormant companies are routinely surprised by this because they assumed inactivity meant exemption. Our £69 rescue service files the overdue accounts quickly and explains the penalty position honestly, including whether an appeal has any prospect, which for late filing it rarely does. We also confirm HMRC's records show the company as dormant, since an HMRC that has not been told will issue notices to file Corporation Tax returns and penalise their absence.
Companies move in and out of dormancy. A company that traded and has stopped files full accounts and a CT600 for the last trading year, tells HMRC it has ceased, and files dormant accounts thereafter; our make-a-company-dormant service handles that transition. A dormant company that starts trading tells HMRC within three months and from that period files full accounts and a Corporation Tax return, moving to our limited company accounts service. Between those events, the annual AA02 and confirmation statement keep the company in good standing for a known fee, with the dates diarised and reminders sent. Everything is online and nothing is filed until you approve it.
Process
From first message to filed
Scope the job
We find out what you need filed, when it is due and what state the records are in, and tell you which fixed-fee package applies.
Agree the price
The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.
Hand over the records
Photographs, PDFs, software access or a spreadsheet, sent however suits you. We confirm what we have and what is missing within two working days.
Approve, then we submit
You review the draft with our explanation, sign off, and we file. Receipts, copies and the next deadlines come back to you immediately.
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Corporation Tax rates and marginal relief
Corporation Tax is not a flat rate. Profits to £50,000 pay 19%, profits above £250,000 pay 25%, and the band between is taxed at an effective marginal rate of 26.5% through the marginal relief mechanism. Associated companies share the thresholds, which catches directors who own more than one company and is the most common cause of underpaid tax in owner-managed groups.
The VAT registration threshold
VAT registration is compulsory once taxable turnover in any rolling twelve-month period exceeds £90,000, or when you expect to exceed that in the next thirty days alone. The test is rolling, not by tax year, and includes zero-rated sales. Businesses regularly cross it without noticing, and late registration means accounting for VAT on sales where it was never charged to customers.
Director's loan accounts
A director's loan account records money moving between a director and the company that is not salary or dividend. If the director owes the company money nine months and one day after the year end, the company pays section 455 tax at 35.75% of the balance, refundable only when the loan is repaid. Loans over £10,000 are also a benefit in kind unless interest is charged at HMRC's official rate.
Salary versus dividends
Directors of their own companies usually take a salary at or just above the National Insurance thresholds, which keeps the year qualifying for State Pension and is deductible for Corporation Tax, with further income as dividends. Dividends above the £500 allowance are taxed at 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35% by band and can only be paid from distributable profits after tax, with a minute and voucher each time.
Payments on account
A common surprise in Self Assessment is the January payment that is far larger than expected. That is the balancing payment for the year just ended plus the first payment on account for the year ahead, which HMRC sets at half of the bill just calculated. We put the figure in your hands months ahead and tell you how to adjust it legitimately when circumstances change.
The Self Assessment calendar
Self Assessment runs on a fixed annual cycle. Registration by 5 October following the tax year, online filing and payment by 31 January, and a second instalment on 31 July for those making payments on account. The penalties for lateness are automatic and escalate monthly, which is why we file early and chase approvals well before the window closes.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
The biggest change to Self Assessment in a generation is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, now live for higher-earning sole traders and landlords and arriving for the rest in stages. Quarterly updates are due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, built from digital records. The practical consequence is that spreadsheet-and-shoebox bookkeeping is ending for anyone above the threshold.
Questions
Dormant Company Accounts: your questions answered
What are dormant company accounts?
Simplified accounts for a company with no significant accounting transactions in the financial year, filed on form AA02 with Companies House. They consist of a balance sheet showing the share capital and any amounts due to or from the director, with the required statements. No profit and loss account, directors' report or notes beyond the minimum are needed.
What does it cost?
Preparing and filing the AA02 is £49. Filing the AA02 together with the confirmation statement is £79 plus the £50 Companies House fee for the statement. Rescuing late dormant accounts is £69. Companies House charges nothing to file accounts themselves; the fee is only for the confirmation statement.
What makes a company dormant for accounts purposes?
No significant accounting transactions during the financial year. The only permitted transactions are payment for shares taken on incorporation, fees paid to Companies House, and penalties for late filing. Anything else, including bank charges, interest, or an accountant's invoice paid from company funds, means the company is not dormant and must file full accounts.
When are dormant accounts due?
Nine months after the accounting reference date, like any private company's accounts. A first set is due 21 months after incorporation. The deadline is unaffected by the company being dormant, and Companies House sends the same reminders and penalties.
What are the penalties for late dormant accounts?
The same as for any private company: £150 up to one month late, £375 up to three months, £750 up to six months and £1,500 beyond, doubled if the previous year was also late. Persistent failure leads to compulsory strike-off. Our £69 rescue service files quickly and explains the penalty position.
Does a dormant company need a confirmation statement too?
Yes, every year, with the £50 Companies House fee. It is a separate filing from the accounts. Our £79 package files both together, which is the simplest way to keep a dormant company compliant with one annual exercise.
Does HMRC need anything from a dormant company?
Once HMRC has been told the company is dormant it does not require Corporation Tax returns until trading starts. If HMRC has not been told, it will issue notices to file and penalties for ignoring them. We confirm HMRC's records as part of the service and notify them if it has not been done.
My company traded before and is now dormant. Which accounts do I file?
For the first year that includes any trading, full accounts and a CT600. For subsequent years with no transactions, dormant accounts. HMRC must be told the company has ceased trading. Our make-a-company-dormant service handles the transition; this service covers the dormant years after it.
Can a dormant company have unpaid share capital?
Yes. The AA02 shows called-up share capital not paid as an asset, which is common where the director never actually paid for the shares. Alternatively the director pays personally and the balance sheet shows cash or an amount owed to the director. Either is acceptable and we present whichever reflects reality.
Who should pay your fee and the Companies House fee?
The director or shareholder personally. If the company pays from its own funds the payment is an accounting transaction that ends dormancy for the year, requiring full accounts. We invoice the director for this reason and explain it on every engagement.
Can I file dormant accounts myself?
Yes, online through Companies House, if the company qualifies and you are confident of the balance sheet entries. The value we add is checking that it does qualify, getting the figures right, filing the confirmation statement at the same time and remembering the date next year. Most clients find £49 a year a fair price for not thinking about it.
How do I bring the company out of dormancy?
Start trading, tell HMRC within three months, open a bank account and from that period file full accounts and a Corporation Tax return. Nothing changes at Companies House except the type of accounts filed. We move you to the limited company accounts service at that point.
Where
A national service
Dormant Company Accounts is a Companies House or HMRC filing that works identically wherever your business is based, so it has one page for the whole United Kingdom rather than a page for each town. The process, the fee and the turnaround are the same for a company in Belfast, Glasgow, Cardiff or London. England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland: all covered.
Related
Other services in company formation & filings
- Company Formation from £49
- Limited by Guarantee Formation from £49
- Dormant Company Formation from £29
- Non-Resident UK Company Formation from £149
- Registered Office Address from £69/yr
- Registered Office Address Change £29
- Confirmation Statement Filing £33
- Company Name Change £49
- Director Appointments & Resignations £29
- PSC Register Changes £39
- SIC Code Change £39
- VAT Registration £49
- PAYE Employer Registration £49
- UTR Registration £29
- CIS Registration £49
- Make a Company Dormant £44
- Company Strike-Off & Dissolution £59
Get dormant company accounts for a fixed fee
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.