Closing a company, in the right order
A solvent company can be closed by striking it off the register. TaxPip does not prepare or send the application. Preparing it is planned, but it is not available.
To Companies HouseOnce, when the company stops
Who needs it
Striking a company off the Companies Register, also called dissolving it, is the usual way to close a limited company that can pay its bills. GOV.UK says it is usually the cheapest way. You usually need the agreement of the company's directors and shareholders.
A company can only be struck off if it has not traded or sold off any stock in the last three months, has not changed its name in the last three months, is not threatened with liquidation and has no agreement with creditors, such as a Company Voluntary Arrangement. If it does not meet those conditions, it has to be liquidated instead.
A company that has only stopped trading does not have to close. It can stay dormant for as long as you like, and still files accounts and a confirmation statement: see dormant company accounts.
How it works here
Check the company can be struck off
TaxPip asks the four questions the conditions turn on, and says plainly when an answer means the company needs a different route.
Bring the filings up to date
The last accounts, the last Corporation Tax return and any tax still owed are listed from the deadlines TaxPip already tracks for the company.
Tell the people who need to know
TaxPip lists the people the directors have to tell, as GOV.UK's guidance describes them, and records when each was told.
File it, and keep the result
You, or your accountant, send the application to Companies House. TaxPip tracks the company's dates. Preparing and sending the application is planned, but it is not available.
What to have ready
- The agreement of the company's directors and shareholders.
- The company's authentication code from Companies House.
- The books for the last accounting period, reviewed.
What you will see once it is sent
Sending a filing from TaxPip is planned, but it is not available. When it is, every filing is saved before it is sent and followed until the authority has decided. These are the only states it can be in, and they only move forward.
Sending
Saved first, then sent. A crash cannot leave a filing that nobody has a record of.
Received
The authority has the message and has not decided.
Accepted
The authority has accepted it. The answer is kept with the filing.
Or it stops somewhere else
Rejected
The authority has said why not, and its reason is shown as it was sent.
Refused
The authority refused the message itself, so nothing was filed.
Unknown
The reply was lost, so there is no telling whether it arrived. It is never sent a second time by itself: you ask the authority, or say it never arrived.
What it covers, and what it does not
Solvent companies only.
A company that cannot pay its bills has other routes, such as liquidation, and needs an insolvency practitioner or a solicitor.
Not advice on whether to close.
The company loses its bank accounts when it is struck off, and GOV.UK says it has to be restored to get them back.
Not your own tax.
What a shareholder pays on money taken out when a company closes is for an accountant. TaxPip does not work it out.
A working draft.
No accountant has reviewed the calculations. Check the figures, or have them checked, before anything is sent.
Questions
Can a company that lets property be struck off?
Only once it has stopped. The company must not have traded in the last three months, and letting property is business activity, so it has to have stopped first. Whether yours meets the conditions is for the directors, or an adviser.
What happens to the bank accounts?
The company loses access to them when it is struck off, and cannot send or receive money. It has to be restored to the register to get them back.
Who submits the application to Companies House?
You do, or your accountant. TaxPip does not prepare or send the application. Doing so is planned, but it is not available.
Keep reading
- Dormant company accounts: what a UK company files
What a dormant UK limited company files, what counts as dormant, why a company that lets property is not, and what this software does for one.
- Filing deadlines for a UK limited company
When a private limited company files accounts, pays Corporation Tax, files its CT600 and sends its confirmation statement, and how the dates work.
- Annual accounts for a UK micro company
Micro-entity (FRS 105) annual accounts built from your books and tagged in iXBRL, ready to file with Companies House. Free during early access.
Try it on your own books
Free during early access. An account takes an email address and a code: there is no password, no card to enter, and nothing is charged.