Dormant Company Accounts Filing in Greenham for Dormant and Non-Trading Limited Companies

Dormant company accounts are the annual accounts a company prepares for a financial period in which it was dormant for Companies House purposes — broadly, a period with no significant accounting transactions. They are a simplified set of accounts compared with a trading company's, but they are still formal statutory accounts prepared under the applicable rules and filed at Companies House where the company is required to file. Because the requirements can vary between companies, we confirm your circumstances before deciding how your dormant company accounts should be prepared and submitted.

For Companies House purposes, a company is generally treated as dormant when it has had no significant accounting transactions during the period. Certain transactions are usually disregarded for this test — for example, taking shares as subscriber shares, paying penalties or late filing fees, and some payments to Companies House itself. The detail matters, and a single transaction can change the picture, so it is worth reviewing your bank account and records for the period rather than relying on the fact that the company has not been trading in the everyday sense.

In most cases, yes. A company that is dormant for Companies House purposes generally still needs to file annual accounts for each period unless it has been formally dissolved or another specific rule applies. Dormancy does not remove the filing obligation, it changes the type of accounts that are prepared. If you are unsure whether your company has reached its accounts filing date or what it should file, it is best to check the position for your company rather than assume that nothing is required.

A confirmation statement is a separate Companies House filing from dormant company accounts, and a dormant company will usually still need to file one at least once every 12 months. The confirmation statement confirms that the information Companies House holds about the company — such as its registered office, directors, shareholders and share capital — is correct as at the confirmation date. Filing dormant accounts does not replace it, and filing a confirmation statement does not replace dormant accounts; they are two distinct obligations with their own deadlines.

Yes. A dormant company may have different accounting requirements from an active trading company, and the accounts are usually much shorter — often a simple balance sheet with limited notes, prepared under the dormant company provisions of the applicable rules. However, dormant accounts are not automatically the right answer for every company that is quiet. A company with income, expenses, loans, investments or other activity may need a different format entirely, and the correct filing route depends on the company's circumstances and the current Companies House rules. We check this before preparing anything.

No, they are separate concepts. Companies House dormancy relates to whether a company has had significant accounting transactions for the purposes of its annual accounts. HMRC dormancy relates to a company's Corporation Tax position and is assessed under HMRC's own rules. A company can be dormant for one purpose and not the other, so filing dormant accounts at Companies House does not automatically tell HMRC that the company is dormant, and it does not by itself close down any Corporation Tax obligations. Where Corporation Tax is relevant, the position with HMRC should be dealt with separately.

We typically need the company's registered details, the financial period we are preparing for, and confirmation of what happened — or did not happen — during that period, including any bank transactions, loans, expenses or other movements in the accounts. We also need to know whether the previous accounts were prepared on a dormant basis and whether anything has changed since. The exact list depends on the company, so we confirm the requirements once we understand your circumstances. Having your bank statements and records to hand usually makes the process much quicker.

Yes. Many directors of dormant and non-trading companies use an accountant for Dormant Company Accounts Filing because the rules around dormancy, the format of the accounts and the related confirmation statement are easy to misread. We prepare the accounts that fit your company's position, file them with Companies House where required, and help you keep track of the annual filing cycle. We cannot guarantee any outcome at Companies House, but we can make sure your submission is prepared carefully and reflects the information you provide.