Dormant Company Accounts Filing in Thatcham

Dormant company accounts are the annual accounts a company prepares for Companies House when it has been dormant for Companies House purposes during the accounting period. They are typically much shorter than the accounts of a trading company because there is little or no financial activity to report. A dormant balance sheet usually shows minimal or no assets and liabilities, and the notes explain the company's dormant position. The exact content depends on the company's circumstances and the applicable Companies House rules, which is why it is worth confirming the correct format before you file.

For Companies House purposes, a company is generally dormant when it has had no significant accounting transactions during the accounting period. Day-to-day trading activity, income, purchases and similar transactions would normally take the company outside dormancy for that period. Some transactions may be disregarded, so it is not always a simple yes or no, and a company cannot simply declare itself dormant because it has had a quiet year. If the company has received any income or incurred costs that count as significant accounting transactions, the appropriate accounts are likely to be trading accounts rather than dormant accounts.

Yes, in most cases. A company that is dormant for Companies House purposes generally still has an annual accounts filing obligation and must file accounts covering each relevant accounting period. Being dormant does not act as an exemption from filing. The only common exceptions are where the company has been formally dissolved, or where another specific rule applies to that company. Because the requirements depend on the company's circumstances, it is worth checking the position each year rather than assuming nothing needs to be filed.

Yes. A confirmation statement is a separate Companies House filing from dormant company accounts, and it is usually required even when the company is dormant. It confirms that the information Companies House holds about the company, such as the registered office address, directors and shareholders, is correct as at the confirmation date. Filing dormant accounts does not file the confirmation statement, and filing a confirmation statement does not file the accounts. Treating them as two distinct annual tasks helps you keep the company's record in order.

No, these are two separate positions. Companies House dormancy is about the company's accounting transactions for annual accounts purposes. Dormancy for Corporation Tax is a different concept dealt with by HMRC, and a company can be dormant for one purpose but not the other. Filing dormant company accounts with Companies House does not automatically tell HMRC that the company is dormant, so any Corporation Tax position should be considered separately on its own merits.

A Corporation Tax Return (CT600) is an HMRC obligation, not a Companies House one, and whether one is required depends on the company's circumstances and on whether HMRC has issued a notice to file. A company that has never traded or has stopped trading may not need to complete one for a particular period, but that is a separate decision from preparing dormant company accounts. If HMRC has asked for a return, the company should deal with that request directly rather than assuming the dormant accounts filing covers it.

We usually need the company's registered details, the accounting period the accounts cover, confirmation of the company's activities during that period, and a note of any transactions that did occur, however small. Bank statements or a brief summary of any money movements are helpful because they show whether anything happened that could affect the dormant position. Details of any change to directors, shareholders or the registered office are useful too, particularly if a confirmation statement is being filed alongside. The more complete the picture you provide, the more confidently we can prepare the right documents.

If annual accounts are filed after the deadline, Companies House operates a late filing penalty regime, and the amount involved generally depends on how overdue the accounts are. Filing late also leaves a visible mark on the company's filing history, which can matter if the company is later sold, used for a loan application or closed down. Penalties are not something that can be removed simply by filing dormant accounts, so the practical answer is to treat the deadline as real and get the accounts prepared in good time, even for a company with no activity.