Dormant Company Accounts Filing in Trowbridge for Dormant Limited Companies

Dormant company accounts are the annual accounts filed with Companies House by a company that is dormant for Companies House purposes — broadly, a company with no significant accounting transactions in the relevant financial period. They are usually shorter and simpler than the accounts of a trading company, although the exact content and disclosure requirements depend on the company's circumstances and the applicable Companies House rules. Dormant company accounts are not the same thing as a confirmation statement, a Corporation Tax Return (CT600), a VAT Return, or a payroll filing; each of those is a separate obligation with its own purpose and its own deadline.

A company is generally treated as dormant for Companies House purposes when it has no significant accounting transactions during the financial period in question. Certain items are commonly disregarded when assessing this — for example, payments for shares taken by subscribers to the memorandum and fees paid to Companies House itself — but genuine trading activity, income received, or ordinary business costs such as bank charges usually do count as transactions. Because the test is applied period by period, a company can be dormant for one financial year and not for the next. If your company has had any activity at all, it is worth checking the position before assuming that dormant accounts are the correct route.

Yes, in most cases. A company that is dormant for Companies House purposes generally still has an annual accounts filing obligation, unless the company has been formally dissolved or another specific rule applies. Being dormant is not the same as being exempt from filing. The accounts may well be prepared on a dormant basis, and they are often much shorter than trading accounts, but the filing itself still needs to be made. It is also worth remembering that the filing deadline is driven by the company's accounting reference date rather than by how much or how little activity took place during the year.

Yes. A confirmation statement is a separate Companies House filing from your annual accounts, and a dormant company is generally still required to file one. It confirms that the information Companies House holds about the company — such as the directors, the registered office address, and the share capital — is up to date. Filing dormant company accounts does not satisfy the confirmation statement requirement, and filing a confirmation statement does not satisfy the accounts requirement. Both need to be dealt with separately, even for a company with no trading activity.

They can be considerably simpler. Where a company qualifies as dormant for Companies House purposes, the accounts may be prepared in a much shorter form, and a dormant company may have different accounting requirements from an active trading company. That said, the exact requirements depend on the company's circumstances and the applicable Companies House rules. It is also worth noting that there is no single universal dormant accounts form that suits every dormant company; the correct form or filing route depends on factors such as whether this is the company's first accounting period and whether it has ever traded, so a form such as AA02 will not be appropriate in every case.

No — these are separate concepts with separate tests. Companies House looks at whether the company has had significant accounting transactions for the purposes of preparing and filing annual accounts. HMRC applies its own criteria when deciding whether a company is dormant for Corporation Tax purposes, and its focus is on whether the company is liable to Corporation Tax. A company can therefore be dormant for one purpose and not the other. Filing dormant company accounts with Companies House does not automatically make you dormant with HMRC, and it does not notify HMRC of anything, so it is worth confirming your tax position separately.

It depends on the company's circumstances and on HMRC's view of its status. Where HMRC has confirmed that a company is dormant for Corporation Tax purposes, a Corporation Tax Return is often not required for that period — but this is not automatic, and HMRC can still require a company to file a return. Filing dormant company accounts with Companies House is a separate matter and does not settle, replace, or change your Corporation Tax position. Where there has been any activity, any income, or a request from HMRC, a return may still be due, so it is sensible to check rather than assume.

Typically we need the company name and registration number, the start and end dates of the accounting period, and confirmation of whether this is the company's first set of accounts. It also helps to know about anything that has happened during the period — any transactions, changes to share capital, or changes to the company's registered details. Bank statements, or a simple note confirming that there was no activity, are useful too. With that information we can establish whether your company qualifies as dormant for Companies House purposes and prepare the appropriate dormant company accounts for filing.