dormant company
similarly, a dormant company cannot pay dividends to shareholders without losing dormant company status .
the formation costs of the dormant company must not be paid be the company itself .
dormant companies are required to prepare dormant accounts and a confirmation statements for companies house every year .
a dormant company that carries on any such activities will forfeit its dormant trading status and be required to prepare full statutory accounts .
. and even if your company is quite dormant we can provide a “going dormant” service. you can find out more at :
a dormant company must submit its income tax return unless the company has been granted waiver of income tax return submission. a dormant company may submit its income tax return by :
hmrc won’t send you another ‘notice to deliver a company tax return’ once they make your company dormant .
there is no formal process to declare a company as dormant. in fact you still have filing duties to adhere to even if the company is dormant .
if the hmrc thinks that the company is dormant it will send a letter stating that they have decided to treat the company as dormant and the company does not have to pay corporation tax or file company tax returns. on the other hand, if an individual things that their company is dormant, they can inform hmrc that the company is dormant for corporation tax
there are a number of reasons why a company may be dormant. a company can be dormant from the moment it’s formed or an existing trading company might become dormant. in essence, a dormant company is one that has had no significant accounting transactions during the accounting period. a significant accounting transaction is defined as one that the company should enter in its accounting records. provided no such transactions occur then the company can have dormant company status .
companies house defines a company as being dormant “where it has had no significant accounting transactions during the relevant accounting period”. the only transactions allowable for a dormant company are :
you’ll still need to file a company tax return online - this will show hmrc that your company is dormant .
you don’t need to pay corporation tax or file another company tax return once you’ve told hmrc your company is dormant .
if dormant company status is lost because of a significant accounting transaction, the company will have to file normal accounts .
of the accounting period. this means that a company is not dormant if for example :
there is currently no time limit on how long a limited company can currently remain as “dormant” .
dormant companies are required to file a company tax return with hmrc if they were previously trading before becoming dormant. companies that are dormant from the date of incorporation do not have to file any tax returns until they become active .
a dormant company needs to file an annual return with companies house every year. the following company details need to be specified :
if the company itself settles an invoice, perhaps one issued by an accountant for preparing the dormant accounts, this transaction must be put through the accounts and the company would cease to be dormant .
however, once again the company must file dormant accounts, an annual return and let hmrc know that it is dormant and a corporation tax return will not be due .
your dormant company still needs to file accounts, but inform direct makes it a really simple process .
in a nutshell, a dormant company is one that is not trading and has no accounting transactions .
warning! many “dormant companies” with bank accounts will often (even if not trading) incur transactions such as bank charges and companies house filing fees which may affect the dormant nature of your company or the ability to file dormant accounts with companies house .
hmrc refers to a dormant company as: “… a company that’s not active, not liable for corporation tax or not within the charge to corporation tax. ” and gives examples of acceptable dormant companies as follows ;
remember also that by definition a dormant company cannot have paid employees as the payroll expense would have to be recorded in the company’s accounting records .
other than this tax return, a dormant company should have no further obligation to contact hmrc until it begins trading or the company is dissolved .
my company is dormant but is gst registered. can i still apply for a waiver of form c - s / c submission for my company ?
here we look at what this means in practice and explain how maintaining a dormant company need not be an administrative hassle. we also look at how keeping hold of a dormant company could be a sensible move for your business .
a dormant company is one that has been registered with companies house but is not carrying on any kind of business activity or receiving any form of income. therefore, hmrc considers it dormant (or inactive) for corporation tax purposes. it can be dormant from the date of its incorporation, or it can become dormant after a period of activity .
for companies house, business owners must file a confirmation statement and annual accounts with companies house even if the limited company is dormant for corporation tax or dormant according to companies house. a company is considered dormant by companies house if there has been no significant transaction in the financial year. significant transactions don’t include :
if you plan to restart trading, you must send ‘nil’ (empty) vat returns while your company is dormant .
dormant companies may submit to iras a hardcopy application by completing the
application for waiver of income tax return (form c - s / c) submission by a dormant company
( 597kb) .
dormant company accounts. a form consisting of a balance sheet, which shows that the company has not been involved in any significant transactions for the accounting period .
hmrc is notified automatically once a new company has been formed. shortly afterwards hmrc will be in touch with an “information for new companies” pack. complete the special form for dormant companies ‘ct41g – dormant company insert’. if the company starts trading you must notify hmrc within 3 months .
if your company has stopped trading and has no other income, you can tell hmrc that it’s dormant for corporation tax .
you can check here what to include in your accounts if your company is small and considered as dormant for companies house .
companies house defines a dormant company as one that “has had no significant accounting transactions during the accounting period”. hmrc refers to a dormant company as “one that’s not active, not liable for corporation tax or not within the charge to corporation tax” .
some might confuse the term non - trading with dormant but there is difference between the two. a non - trading company might mean that it isn’t doing any business but still has other accounting transactions being recorded in the books of accounts. on the other hand, a dormant company must not have any accounting transactions. therefore, it can be said that every dormant company can be a non - trader but not all non - trading companies are dormant .
a dormant company performing any such activities will be deprived of its inactive trading status and will have to prepare full statutory accounts .
for sole traders who are setting up a dormant company for the future and / or to protect their name it’s a case of ‘business as usual’. you should continue to trade as before and make sure you don’t use the dormant company for any transactions .
yes, the company can apply for waiver if it is likely to remain dormant for at least, the next two years .
no, dormant companies do not have to pay any tax until they become active. however, if a dormant company was previously trading, it must pay any outstanding tax liabilities to hmrc from that period of activity .
dormant companies may apply for a waiver via the
apply for waiver to submit tax return (dormant company )
e - service. this e - service is currently available to companies only and not tax agents .
dormant company status can be a great cost saving to the owners of a company but great care must be taken as just about any financial transactions must be reported in the company accounts. in fact, companies house has defined only the following few, very specific transactions that the company may put through their records and still submit dormant accounts :
in addition you must inform hmrc that the company is dormant so that it does not expect a corporation tax return to be filed .
accountancy fees for managing a dormant company are relatively minor, for example, fd analytical currently charges an annual fee of £85. 00 to maintain and protect your limited company .
if you register a dormant company limited by shares, the value of the shares can be set to match the amount you have guaranteed to contribute toward the other company’s debts .
a company is dormant if it has had no ‘significant accounting transactions’ during the accounting period. a significant accounting transaction is one which the company should enter in its accounting records .
each company may apply just once for the waiver. if the company has been granted the waiver previously and remained dormant, there is no need to submit the application again .
the payment of shares and guarantees will not be classed as a significant accounting transaction, because these fixed sums of capital are in place when your dormant company is incorporated. however, if it receives any kind of payment for its role as a guarantor, or if the directors or members (shareholders or guarantors) of the dormant company receive any income, the company will no longer be considered dormant .
your company or association may be ‘dormant’ if it’s not doing business (‘trading’) and doesn’t have any other income, for example investments .
you do not have to notify companies house when your company becomes dormant, but you will still have to file a confirmation statement (formerly known as an annual return) and dormant accounts every year. the submission of annual accounts is the way in which companies house is informed of a company’s dormant status, so they are notified at a much later date than hmrc .
a dormant company may still be required to submit its financial statements to the accounting and corporate regulatory authority (acra) for its annual return filing. for more information on acra' s filing requirements for dormant companies, please refer to
e - filing via urltoken using the file form c - s / c e - service. select the form for dormant company. there is no need to submit financial statements to iras. to e - file the form for dormant company template, you must first authorise yourself as an
approver
via easy. for more details, please refer to the user guide and tips on e - filing for dormant company .
if you register a dormant company limited by guarantee, the pre - determined sum of the guarantee can be set to match the amount you guarantee to contribute toward the other company’s debts .
don’t unwittingly involve your company in any significant transactions and make sure you keep up with your reporting requirements. in a nutshell, this is what’s needed to stay as a dormant company .
first, the bad news: dormant companies don’t escape the annual filing obligations required of all companies .
a dormant company should not be confused with a non - trading company. a company that is non - trading (i. e. not carrying out any business) may nevertheless be involved in other day to day financial transactions. for example, costs such as rent, wages, bank charges or legal fees must be reflected in the company’s accounting records and if this is the case, then even if non - trading, the company will not be considered dormant. remember that a company can only be dormant if it has had no significant accounting transactions during the accounting period .
companies house describes a dormant company as: “…if it has had no ‘significant accounting transactions’ during the accounting period. a ‘significant accounting transaction’ is one which the company should enter in its accounting records. ”
any other types of payments made or received are considered accounting transactions, which would jeopardize the dormant status of a company and the company will have to deal with submission of full constitutional or statutory accounts .
my company is newly incorporated and has been dormant since incorporation. it has not submitted any form c - s / c. can the company apply for waiver of form c - s / c submission ?
in addition to bank charges, earning interest on a bank account will cause a company to lose dormant status since this too will be considered a significant accounting transaction – even if the amount of interest is only a few pence. if a dormant company has a bank account, it is wise to take steps to make sure it neither incurs any charges nor earns any interest. better still, to avoid “accidents” consider whether the dormant company should have a bank account at all .
form your dormant company online with inform direct' s easy step by step process, which gives you everything you' ll need - all for just £25 .
no. if a company has been granted a waiver, the company need not file the eci .
a benefit of having dormant company status is that it reduces the statutory burden on a company. a private company that qualifies need only submit to companies house an abbreviated balance sheet and notes. it is not required to file a profit and loss account or directors’ report – although the company may still be required to prepare these for presentation to shareholders. dormant companies are also exempt from the requirement to file a corporation tax return .
to register a new company as dormant or change the trading status from active to dormant, you must contact your local corporation tax office in writing, stating the date from which it has been or will be dormant. you can find these contact details on any official letter from hmrc that has been delivered to your registered office address. alternatively, you can locate your nearest tax office. within approximately 15 days, you should receive notification at the registered office address that states acceptance of this dormant status .
a dormant company must submit its income tax return (form c - s / c) unless it has been granted a waiver to file the income tax return .
forming a company at this stage gives you the option of leaving it dormant. you then have the reassurance of being able to switch over easily to trading under that company name once it feels right for your business .
a dormant company that satisfies the qualifying conditions can apply to iras to be released from its obligation to file its income tax return (form c - s / c). the qualifying conditions for the company are :
if dormant company status is lost because of a significant accounting transaction, the company will have to file normal accounts. these will be more detailed and take longer to prepare. a company is much more likely to require the services of a professional accountant in producing them .
generally, a company or organisation is termed dormant if it is not doing business and does not have any other income, for example interests or investments. however, dormant means differently for company tax returns and corporation tax, and annual accounts and returns for companies house in case of a limited company. it’s a likely scenario for a company to be inactive right from its incorporation date, or after operating for a short period of time .
for example you must file dormant accounts at companies house by the due date and file the annual return each year .
in both situations there’s no time cap on this. so long as you keep on the right side of companies house and hmrc you can maintain a dormant company indefinitely .
for entrepreneurs who are yet to make the shift to operating as a company, registering a company with the same name as your business stops anyone else from taking that company name. this prevents confusion for customers and a possible reputational blow for you. maintaining the company as dormant also means it’s ready and waiting for when (or if) you decide you’d rather operate as a company .
given how easy it is to unwittingly incur a significant accounting transaction we strongly recommend the owners of dormant companies cover incidental expenses without using the company bank account. they can instead pay them personally or have another company pay them .
date your company became active (this will be the start of your company’s accounting period for corporation tax) .
a company can be registered at companies house even if there is no immediate intention for that company to trade .
at any one time there are an estimated 300, 000 dormant companies on the register. while many are associated with businesses that are approaching the end of their natural lives, others have been set up with the deliberate intention of the company remaining dormant (for the time being, at least) .
this is one of the most common query that people have about dormant company. here it is important to understand that companies house status “ active ” does not mean that the limited company is trading; it just means that the company is “live” and not in liquidation or being struck off .
there in no need to immediately notify companies house when your dormant company becomes active. you will provide notification of your it’s active trading status when the next annual accounts are filed .
after informing your local corporation tax office that it has ceased trading, you should receive a ‘notice to deliver a company tax return’. this must be completed to cover the period of activity before your company became dormant and to work out the amount of corporation tax your company owes, if any .
a dormant company can be set up as limited by shares or limited by guarantee for the sole purpose of acting as a guarantor of another company and agreeing to contribute a sum of money towards its debts in the event of insolvency. however, to maintain its dormant status, a corporate guarantor must not have any ‘significant accounting transactions’ going through its accounts at any time .
a dormant company is one that does not carry on business and had no income for the whole of the basis period. for example, if a company did not carry on business and had no income for the whole of the basis period ending in year 2016, it will be regarded as a dormant company for year of assessment (ya) 2017. for more details, please refer to basis period and year of assessment .
if you are intentionally or unintentionally turning your dormant company active you will become liable for a full set of trading accounts and corporation tax assessment for the relevant period. to avoid this hassle the key is not to conduct any transactions through the company .
for example, a company has a financial year ending on 31 dec 2016. it was dormant for the period from 1 jan to 31 dec 2016, which relates to ya 2017. the dormant company cannot claim capital allowances or deduction of expenses incurred from 1 jan to 31 dec 2016 in its ya 2017 tax return. it can, however, bring forward unutilised losses that existed before ya 2017 to be utilised in future yas (where it is no longer dormant), if it fulfills the shareholding test .
company history: your company history begins as soon as the company is incorporated (or “formed”) when starting a new company if it was only recently formed, this can sometimes create difficulties when, for example, pitching for business – you would like to project the image that your business is well established, but it is difficult to do this if the company was only formed 6 weeks ago! forming the company early on in the process, and maintaining as dormant can assist with this process .
there can be several reasons for a company to be inactive – to reserve a company name, to reorganise a previously active business; or any other basis. it is possible for a limited company to stay dormant for an undefined period, but the local corporation tax office needs to be notified as soon as possible .
yes, a dormant company can do so if the donations were made to an approved institution of a public character (ipc) or to the singapore government for the benefit of the local community .
it can remain dormant for any length of time, but you must inform your local corporation tax office as soon as possible and maintain a number of statutory obligations for companies house, including filing annual returns and dormant accounts, reporting changes to registered company details, and keeping records up - to - date and available for public inspection .
it is advisable to avoid opening a business bank account whilst your company is dormant. if it previously traded, it would be a good idea to close any business bank accounts to avoid any bank changes being applied to the account or unexpected payments being made, both of which would forfeit your company’s dormant status. any incidental payments you may require making can just be paid from a personal account .
my company owned investments (e. g. real properties, fixed deposits and foreign shares) during the year ending on 30 jun 2016. however, the company did not carry on business during the same period. can my company complete the income tax return (form c - s / c) as a dormant company for ya 2017 if it only received interest income from the fixed deposits ?
. however, if the income received is a one - off transaction and the company will continue to remain dormant, you may submit a letter to iras explaining as such and attach the company' s financial statements and tax computation for that relevant ya with the letter .
if you have a private limited company that doesn’t need an auditor, you could file your companies house accounts and hmrc company tax return together, using company accounts and tax online (cato) .
a ct600 corporation tax return to be filed with hmrc (although if you contact hmrc in writing explaining that the company is dormant, they will often waive the requirement of a corporation tax return until trading begins) .
once the business owner decided to change the status of the company from dormant to active, it’s imperative to inform the hmrc within 3 months of performing any form of business activity or receiving any payment. if the company has never been trading, it should be registered for corporation tax online. hmrc will expect the company to provide the following statutory details :
fees paid to the registrar of companies for a change of company name, the re - registration of a company and filing annual returns .
all other types of payments made or received are considered ‘significant accounting transactions’, which would jeopardise the dormant status and require the submission of full statutory accounts .
a company owned investments (e. g. real properties, fixed deposits and foreign shares) during the financial year ending on 30 jun 2016. however, the company did not carry on business and had no income from its investments during the same period. the company will be regarded as a dormant company for ya 2017 and would need to submit its ya 2017 income tax return (form c - s / c) by :
recognising the distinct status of non - trading companies and dormant companies, companies house provides a separate sic code for each. the standard industrial classification (sic) code describes the main business activity of the company and must be included when forming a company (from 30 june 2016) and, where not previously advised to companies house, detailed in the confirmation statement. for non - trading companies the appropriate code is 74990 and for dormant companies 99999 .
there are many reasons why a company may be dormant – to reserve a company name whilst preparing to launch the business; restructuring a previously active business; or an owner requires an extended period of time off due to illness, maternity leave, travel, a sabbatical, or any other reason .
submitting a hard copy of the income tax return (form c - s / c). the dormant company need only complete page 1 of form c - s / c and need not submit its financial statements to iras .
trading includes buying, selling, renting property, advertising, employing someone or getting interest. hmrc has detailed guidance on what counts as dormant for corporation tax .
you must still file annual accounts and a confirmation statement (previously annual return) - exactly what you must do depends on if you’re dormant for companies house .
dormant companies are far from ‘high maintenance’ commitments. want to find out how setting one up is much easier than you think? check out our formation packages .
no. as the company was in receipt of interest income in the financial year ending 30 jun 2016, it will not be regarded as a dormant company for ya 2017. hence, it has to complete all pages of the income tax return (form c - s / c) for ya 2017 .
the revenue focuses (unsurprisingly) on tax. it defines a dormant company as one that is “not active, not liable for corporation tax or not within the charge to corporation tax. ” this includes new companies that haven’t started trading yet .
every company must file a confirmation statement (which replaced the annual return from 30 june 2016) at least once every 12 months. for this companies house charge a fee – currently £13. the payment of this fee, by the company from its own resources, would again not be classified as a significant accounting transaction. in addition to the confirmation statement fee companies can also pay a fee on changing the company name and / or a re - registration fee: these too can be put through the company accounts without loss of dormant company status .
for the very simplest dormant companies, those that have not traded since incorporation and where the only transaction recorded is the issue of subscriber shares, companies house has reduced the filing burden further still. they have produced form aa02 (also known as form dca) – a highly simplified dormant company accounts template. to qualify for this simplified submission, fees, such as the companies house confirmation statement filing fee, must have been paid by a third party without right to reimbursement from the company .
warning! even though the company is not trading, late returns and filings will incur the same fees, penalties and repercussions as a “live” trading company .
confirmation of any new appointments / change of details of current company officers (e. g. if you add or remove a director or company secretary) .
even in the case of dormant companies directors are still required to supply certain information to companies house each year. failure to do so is a criminal offence and will result in a penalty and in some cases can also result in the company being struck off the register .
in the course of setting up and running any company, business owners regularly come into contact with two public bodies: the uk’s central register of companies (companies house) and, of course, the tax man (hmrc). there’s a subtle but important difference between the definition of a dormant company from the point of view of these two organisations :
so, is a dormant company something for you at this stage? it’s worth serious consideration if you want to protect your business name, but don’t treat this as an ‘easy alternative’ to trademarking. there’s also a lot to be said for getting everything in place well in advance of the point in time when you feel ready to trade as a company .
paying fees to companies house for filing a confirmation statement and changing the company name .
my company was granted a waiver of form c - s / c submission previously, but the company has received income this year. what do i need to do ?
in addition, if you appoint a new director to the company you need to complete and file form ap01. if a director resigns from the company notification should be given to companies house using form tm01, but you must be careful to ensure that the company has at least one director at all times. notification of a change of registered office address for the dormant company is dealt with by submitting form ad01. these notifications should be given within 14 days of the change (it’s quicker and easier to file the relevant forms online) .
there are lots of reasons why the owner of an existing company may choose to call a halt on trading. this could be down to a decision to shift focus to another venture for instance or to take time out for personal reasons. does this mean that the company needs to be wound up? not necessarily. compared to dissolving the company and then having to apply to have it restored to the register if circumstances change, keeping it alive as a dormant company is a cost - effective and relatively easy way of leaving your options open .
are you keen to protect the emerging brand name of your fledgling business? perhaps you are still in the planning stage with an eye on operating as a limited company in the future? these are just two of the situations where setting up a dormant company can make sense for a startup. so what’s involved and is it worth it? here’s what every entrepreneur needs to know…
if a company is late in filing its accounts then hmrc will issue an automatic penalty. the company can pay this penalty and it will not classify as a significant accounting transaction .
to start, enter your company name to see if it' s available ...
certain fees paid to the registrar of companies: i. e. for filing annual returns, for the re - registration of a company or for a change of company name .
when a company is incorporated the very first shareholders – often called the subscribers – will usually pay or agree to pay something for their shares. the company needs to account for this. so, if four initial subscribers each paid £1. 00 for a £1. 00 share then the company would have a paid up capital of £4. 00. this would be represented by an asset, generally recorded as cash in hand of £4. 00. the receipt of this £4. 00 would not be a significant accounting transaction and dormant company status would not be jeopardised .
dormant companies must also ensure statutory records are kept up - to - date and made available for public inspection at the registered office or sail address. any changes to the registered details of a company must be reported to companies house as soon as possible. the public record will be updated accordingly .
are you a safe bet for investors or recipient of bank finance? having a dormant company in place can help to show that you are organised, that you’re thinking ahead and you’re confident of your business meeting its milestones. and that ultimately you may need to alter the structure of the business .
if and when you are ready to make your dormant company active, you must contact hmrc within 3 months of carrying on any kind of business activity or receiving any form of income. if your company has never traded before, it must be registered for corporation tax online and you will be required to create a government gateway account. hmrc will ask you to provide the following statutory information :
before declaring your company as dormant, you should ensure all outstanding bills have been paid, including directors’ salaries, employees’ wages, shareholders’ dividends, direct debits for service providers, and all accounts with suppliers. if it is owed any money from clients, you should arrange to have these accounts settled .
filing confirmation statements (these used to be called' annual returns') may sound like a time - consuming burden, but with dormant companies this need not be the case. essentially, you are ‘checking in’ with companies house each year to confirm whether anything has changed. reminders are sent well in advance – and with webfiling the in built checks and pre - populated data stop you from missing essential information. for more info on how this works, see our article entitled' filing dormant company accounts' .
standard industrial classification (sic) code (the nature of your company’s main business activities) .
accounting reference date (ard) (the date to which your company accounts will be prepared) .
once a company has been granted a waiver from a specific date, the company will not be issued with form c - s / c from that date onwards. as such, a company whose waiver application had been approved will not need to submit the application form on a yearly basis to iras .
a company that will never trade because it has been formed solely to hold an asset such as property .
while item 1 above is fairly obvious and unlikely to cause any issues, take care with items 2 and 3 to avoid triggering a significant accounting transaction. this may occur when the sums demanded require payment from an account: if there is a cost of making the payment, such as a fee for processing a cheque, then this cost, however small, will be considered a significant accounting transaction and would cause the company to lose dormant company status .
if your company was previously trading, hmrc will send a ‘notice to deliver a company tax return’ after you have contacted your local corporation tax office. this must be completed for the corporation tax accounting period prior to it becoming dormant. it must be delivered to hmrc online. you will have to pay any corporation tax that it owes if it made a profit during that time. you should also close down your payroll and cancel your vat registration, if applicable .
any such transactions will mean that the company has to file accounts and corporation tax returns in the normal way .
for active companies that wish to become dormant it’s a matter of winding down existing financial arrangements. typically, this involves making sure that all existing customers are aware that you are ceasing trading through the company and terminating any outstanding contracts. the payroll must be closed and a set of final accounts needs to be drawn up, including payment of any outstanding corporation tax .
the provided information will be added to the hmrc’s records and determine the company’s accounting period for corporation tax. this will run from the date the company starts to trade, until the ard of the company’s annual accounts. hmrc will send a letter to the company’s registered office address with details of deadlines for paying corporation tax and filing company tax returns. the business should maintain correct records (business as well as accounting) to complete these tax returns and determine the company’s tax liabilities. also, a company might consider appointing a tax advisor or an accountant like dns accountants to assist with such matters. in case a company employees staff, it will have to register as an employer for pay - as - you - earn (paye). moreover, the business will have to register for value added tax (vat), presuming its annual turn - over will surpass £82, 000 (2015 - 16 thresholds) .
the company needs to cancel its gst registration before applying for a waiver of form c - s / c submission .
hmrc will add this information to their computer records and work out your company’s accounting period for corporation tax. this will run from the date it begins trading, up until the accounting reference date (ard) of your company’s annual accounts .
an annual return, incorporating a balance sheet and including a declaration that the company has been inactive throughout the accounting period .
once the application is approved, the company will not be issued with a form c - s / c in future .
now, the good news: these requirements are actually pretty straightforward. after all, there is essentially nothing happening with a dormant company, which means there’s very little in the way of substantive information to deal with. online filing is a real timesaver too. with webfiling most of the forms are auto - completed for you and there’s no possibility of the forms getting lost in the post .
the good news is that, with the right help, setting up a company can be a quick and pain - free process – without an accountant’s bill in sight. if you need more advice before making the move toward company formation, check out the articles in our help centre or get a step - by - step break - down by reading our company formation guide .
it is suggested that business bank accounts should not be opened while the company is inactive. in case the company was trading previously, it is advisable to close any business bank accounts to avoid any bank charges or unforeseen payments being made, both of which would alter the company’s inactive status. any minor payments that may need to be made can be done from a personal account .
knowing exactly how to account for your company is vital – getting it wrong could result in a fine. we can help with our
under “view corporate tax notices”. to view the letter, please ensure that you are authorised for “corporate tax matters” for the company via
the waiver is not applicable to a foreign company or a foreign company' s singapore branch which is registered with the accounting and corporate regulatory authority (acra). such entitles are required to notify acra once they cease to carry on business in singapore so that acra can remove the company / branch from its register. this is in accordance to section 377 (1) of the companies act .
company no. 07887285. registered office address: clydesdale house, 1 - 5 queen street, ipswich, suffolk, ip1 1sw, england .
if you set up a new company but the company has not yet started trading you need to notify your local corporation tax office. if you start trading you must inform hmrc within 3 months of starting your tax accounting period. this hmrc guide provides further details and links to the hmrc online registration service .
you will be notified of the outcome of your application in writing at the company' s registered address within two months from the date iras receives the waiver application .
you will receive a letter at your registered office address with your company’s deadlines for paying corporation tax and filing company tax returns. you must maintain accurate business and accounting records to be able to complete these tax returns and work out its tax liabilities. you may wish to consider appointing an accountant or tax advisor to help with such matters .
any unutilised donations arising from a ya can be carried forward to subsequent ya, up to a maximum of five years and subject to the company meeting the shareholding test .
company name protection: if you form your limited company with the name “xyz limited” this name is protected – nobody else can obtain this name or trade as “xyz limited”. this may be particularly useful if you trade as a sole trader and don’t want a competitor to take a similar (or the same name) and capitalise on your brand and goodwill .
the annual return. a standard form ar01 which gives a snapshot of current information concerning your company. there’s a charge of £13 if you file this online, or £40 by post .
as a sole trader your business is gaining ground and you’re starting to get market recognition. so far, so good. but what if someone else registers a company with the same name? worse still, even if that business is outside your niche, what happens if the internet is suddenly peppered with poor reviews for a limited company with the same name as your business ?
it must not own any investments (e. g. shares, real properties, fixed deposits). if the company owns investments, it must not derive any income from these investments ;
registering the company name is an effective way of getting in there first. it helps avoid customer confusion and protects your brand. this could also be the right time to think about trademarking for full protection .
the company cannot claim capital allowances and deduction of expenses incurred in the basis period relating to the current year of assessment (ya), as it did not carry on a trade or business during that period .
if your company employs staff, you must register as an employer for paye. you may also have to register it for vat if its annual turnover is expected to exceed £85, 000 (2017 - 18 threshold) .
read our comprehensive review of uk company formations in 2017, year - on - year growth rates and breakdown by county. this detailed insight is provided in the form of easy to understand infographics available for sharing through social media and on your own website
however, if you are filing your company’s first accounts and they cover a period of more than 12 months, the deadline will be 21 months of the date of incorporation. companies house will notify you of these filing dates in plenty of time .
intention to trade: many entrepreneurs will have an idea for a new product, design or business and wish to “start the process” of creating this entity, the company formation is clearly the first step (and a minor one !) but non - the - less begins the process. additionally, the annual filing requirements are good reminders of the idea that you had and that you need to take forward. this is often the case with internet based companies and directors who wish to secure a domain name and perhaps the same company name e. g urltoken limited
a company’s first confirmation statement must be delivered 12 months after the date of incorporation. subsequent statements are due 12 months after the date of the previous statement. there is no limit to the number or frequency of statements filed each year. the purpose is simply to confirm important details to ensure the public register remains accurate and up - to - date .
once the foreign company or singapore branch is removed from acra' s register, iras will receive the information from acra and will not send any more form c - s / c to the entity. however, the entity must submit all outstanding income tax returns, accounts and tax computations up to the date of cessation of business to iras so that its tax matters can be finalised up - to - date .
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this guide is for directors, secretaries and persons acting as advisers to uk registered companies. it covers the rules governing filing of accounts of uk registered companies .
you can use our companies house service, or webfiling to send us some accounts types .
you’ll need a companies house password and authentication code. you can register for these if you don’t have them .
10 april 2017 the companies, partnerships & groups (accounts & reports) regulations 2015 introduced a number of changes to accounts filing requirements. this revised version of the guidance covers these changes and streamlines the guidance by removing information that is outdated or no longer relevant .
30 june 2016 new version relating to changes brought in by the the small business, enterprise and employment act .
18 march 2015 guidance updated from version 4. 3 to version 4. 4
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if you don’t plan to restart trading in this tax year, you should close your paye scheme .
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upon satisfying all the above, you should not have to contact hmrc again until it begins trading .
the accounts consist of a balance sheet and any relevant notes. you can deliver this information to companies house by post or online using form aa02. the deadline for filing accounts is 9 months after the end of the financial year, which is known as the ‘accounting reference date’.
in the united kingdom , a dormant company is a company whose transactions have been limited to payment for shares taken by subscribers to the memorandum of association , fees paid to the registrar of companies for a change of company name , the re-registration of a company and filing annual returns and payment made in respect of civil penalties imposed by the registrar of companies for delivering accounts to the registrar after the statutory time allowed for filing . under the new companies act there are exceptions for certain companies . for example , some financial and insurance companies are under obligation to file their full accounts , regardless of their status . 
in the united kingdom, a dormant company is a company whose transactions have been limited to payment for shares taken by subscribers to the memorandum of association, fees paid to the registrar of companies for a change of company name, the re-registration of a company and filing annual returns and payment made in respect of civil penalties imposed by the registrar of companies for delivering accounts to the registrar after the statutory time allowed for filing. under the new companies act there are exceptions for certain companies. for example, some financial and insurance companies are under obligation to file their full accounts, regardless of their status.
in the united kingdom, a dormant company is a company whose transactions have been limited to payment for shares taken by subscribers to the memorandum of association, fees paid to the registrar of companies for a change of company name, the re-registration of a company and filing annual returns and payment made in respect of civil penalties imposed by the registrar of companies for delivering accounts to the registrar after the statutory time allowed for filing. under the new companies act there are exceptions for certain companies. for example, some financial and insurance companies are under obligation to file their full accounts, regardless of their status.