Company formation & filings
Make your company dormant
A company that has stopped trading has two honest options: close it, or make it dormant. Dormancy keeps the company on the register with its name, number, history and bank relationships intact and the option to trade again at any time, in exchange for two short filings a year. It suits owners who have taken employment, moved the trade into another entity, finished a contract or project, or simply want to keep the name. But a company does not become dormant by stopping; it becomes dormant by making the transition properly, so that HMRC and Companies House both know and nothing continues to run that will generate transactions or missed returns.
£44 · fixed + £50 Companies House fee · plus £50 Companies House fee
Next deadlines
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- Confirmation statement due within 14 days of your review date, at least once every 12 months
Fees
Packages, fixed and published
£44
Company made dormant (CH + HMRC notified)
from £349
Dormancy + final trading accounts and CT600
£79/yr
Dormancy + ongoing annual filings, each year
The Companies House fee of £50 is charged by Companies House, shown separately on your quote and passed on at cost. It is not part of our fee.
Who this is for
Make a Company Dormant
Owners of limited companies across the UK that have stopped trading but may trade again, directors who have taken employment and want to keep their company, businesses that have moved their trade into another entity, companies between projects or contracts, companies whose owners want to preserve a name or trading history, and companies that have drifted into inactivity without telling anyone.
What is included
Inside the fixed fee
- The cessation date agreed and what must happen before it: final invoices, debts collected, creditors paid, bank account cleared
- HMRC notified that the company has ceased trading and is dormant for Corporation Tax
- VAT deregistration and PAYE scheme closure with final returns where the company was registered
- Final trading accounts and CT600 for the last active period, in the £349 package
- Confirmation statement filed with SIC code changed to dormant, with the £50 Companies House fee shown separately
- Ongoing dormant accounts and confirmation statement each year at £79, so the company stays in good standing
In detail
How make a company dormant works
The sequence matters. Trading ceases on an agreed date; final invoices are issued and collected and creditors paid; VAT is deregistered within thirty days of the last taxable supply with a final return accounting for any stock and assets held; the PAYE scheme is closed with final submissions and P45s; the bank account is cleared and closed or left at zero with charges waived, because a single bank charge after the date breaks dormancy for the year; and any remaining funds are extracted as dividend or salary or lent to the director, each with its own tax consequence. Our £44 service manages this sequence, notifies HMRC that the company has ceased and is dormant for Corporation Tax, and files a confirmation statement with the SIC code changed to 99999, with the £50 Companies House fee shown separately.
The final active period still owes full statutory accounts and a CT600, with Corporation Tax paid nine months and one day after the period end, and the £349 package includes them. Shortening the accounting period to the cessation date by filing form AA01 often helps, drawing a clean line so that the first dormant year begins immediately rather than part-way through a year that also contains trading, which would require full accounts for the whole of it. HMRC's confirmation that the company is dormant, which we obtain and keep, stops the notices to file that would otherwise arrive and the penalties for ignoring them.
From the first fully dormant year the company files dormant accounts on form AA02 and a confirmation statement each year, and our £79 annual service does both together with the Companies House fee shown separately, invoicing the director personally so that our fee is not a transaction in the company. The company must still have a registered office that meets the appropriate-address rules, a registered email address, at least one director and verified officers and PSCs, and our registered office service suits dormant companies whose owners have moved or want their home address off the register. What the company must not do is receive or pay anything other than Companies House fees and penalties.
Restarting is straightforward: HMRC is told within three months of trading resuming, a bank account is opened, VAT and PAYE registrations are made again if needed, and from that period full accounts and a Corporation Tax return are filed, moving the company to our limited company accounts service. Where an owner is unsure whether dormancy or closure is right, the £29 pre-closure check gives an honest comparison of the costs and consequences, and our strike-off service handles closure where that is the answer. Everything is online, fees are fixed 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
Closing a company
A solvent company that has finished its purpose can be dissolved by voluntary strike-off: form DS01 with a £13 Companies House fee, after three months without trading and with all debts paid, final accounts and tax return filed, and assets distributed. HMRC objects to any application where returns or tax are outstanding, so the sequence matters more than the form.
Switching accountants
The main reasons people switch accountant are surprise invoices, missed deadlines and not understanding what they are being told. Switching involves a clearance letter between the firms, a transfer of records and agent authorisations, and a short handover of the current position. It takes about two weeks and should cost nothing extra.
Allowable expenses
The expenses sole traders most often miss are home working costs, claimed by actual proportion or HMRC's flat rate, the business share of phone and internet, mileage at 45p for the first 10,000 business miles, and training that maintains existing skills. The ones most often claimed wrongly are commuting, entertaining customers and clothes that could be worn outside work.
Record keeping
HMRC requires records of all income and expenses, bank statements, invoices and receipts to be kept for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline of the tax year they relate to, and companies must keep records for six years from the end of the accounting period. Digital copies are acceptable. Under Making Tax Digital the records must be kept in compatible software.
The 60-day property CGT return
The 60-day Capital Gains Tax return on residential property is the deadline landlords most often miss, because it falls outside the Self Assessment cycle and runs from completion, not exchange. Private residence relief for periods you lived in the property, plus the final nine months, reduces the gain. Penalties for a late return mirror Self Assessment, starting at £100.
Crypto records and reporting
Most crypto holders have taxable events they do not recognise, because every swap is a disposal even when no pounds change hands. The computation requires the complete transaction history from every exchange and wallet, pooled by asset with HMRC's matching rules applied. Exchange-generated tax reports are frequently wrong because they cannot see transfers between a user's own wallets.
The trading and property allowances
Small side incomes are covered by two £1,000 allowances, one for trading and one for property, which remove the need to register or report income below that level. Once income exceeds £1,000, the allowance can be used in place of expenses, a choice worth making deliberately: a freelancer with £900 of costs is better off with the allowance, one with £3,000 is not.
Questions
Make a Company Dormant: your questions answered
What does it cost?
The core service at £44 notifies HMRC and Companies House, closes registrations and files a confirmation statement with the SIC code changed to dormant; the Companies House fee of £50 for the statement is separate. The £349 package adds the final trading accounts and CT600. Ongoing dormant filings are £79 a year plus the Companies House fee.
Should I make the company dormant or close it?
Dormant if you may trade again, want to keep the name or history, or expect to need the company for something. Closed if you are certain you will not, since dormancy costs around £130 a year including Companies House fees and closure costs once. Our £29 pre-closure check gives an honest view, and our strike-off service handles closure.
What has to happen before the company can be dormant?
All trading must stop, final invoices issued and collected, creditors paid, VAT and PAYE finalised, and the bank account emptied or closed so that no further transactions occur. Any transaction after the chosen date, including bank charges, breaks dormancy for that year. We agree the sequence and the date with you.
How do I tell HMRC the company is dormant?
By notifying HMRC in writing or through the business tax account that the company has ceased trading from a given date, after filing the Corporation Tax return for the final active period. HMRC confirms the company is dormant and stops issuing notices to file. We make the notification and keep the confirmation.
Do I need to deregister for VAT?
Yes, within 30 days of ceasing to make taxable supplies, with a final return accounting for VAT on any stock and assets held worth over £1,000 in VAT terms. Failing to deregister leaves the company liable for returns it cannot complete. We file the deregistration and the final return.
What about PAYE?
The scheme must be closed with a final Full Payment Submission and Employer Payment Summary marking it as the final submission, and P45s issued to any employees including the director. An open scheme with no submissions attracts penalties for missing returns. We close it in the correct order.
What accounts are needed for the last trading period?
Full statutory accounts and a CT600 covering the period up to the cessation date or the normal year end, with Corporation Tax paid nine months and one day after the period end. These are the £349 package. From the next period, if no transactions occur, dormant accounts on form AA02 are filed instead.
Can I shorten the accounting period to the cessation date?
Yes, by filing form AA01 to change the accounting reference date, which can be shortened as often as you like. This draws a clean line between the trading period and dormancy and means the first dormant year starts immediately. We advise whether it helps in your case.
What if there is money left in the company?
It can be paid out as a dividend or salary before dormancy, left in the bank if the account generates no transactions (most accounts do, so this is risky), or lent to the director and shown on the dormant balance sheet. Each has tax consequences. We advise on the cleanest route for the amount involved.
What must I not do once the company is dormant?
Receive or pay anything through the company other than Companies House fees and penalties. No bank charges, no interest, no subscriptions, no accountant's fees from company funds. Keep the bank account closed or at zero with charges waived. Pay our fees and Companies House fees personally.
How do I restart trading later?
Tell HMRC within three months of starting, reopen or open a bank account, re-register for VAT and PAYE if needed, and from that period file full accounts and a CT600. Nothing changes at Companies House other than the type of accounts and, optionally, the SIC code. We handle the restart as a fixed fee.
Does my company still need a registered office and directors while dormant?
Yes. All the normal requirements continue: a registered office, a registered email address, at least one director, and identity verification for officers and PSCs. Our registered office service suits dormant companies whose owners have moved or do not want a home address on the register.
Where
A national service
Make a Company Dormant 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
- Dormant Company Accounts £49
- Company Strike-Off & Dissolution £59
Get make a company dormant for a fixed fee
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.