A dormant company is one that has not traded. That means that no money can have gone in or out of the company. People often register companies with Companies House and keep them dormant in order to protect the company name or intellectual property, or simply because they are not ready to start trading. All limited companies, including dormant companies, need to file accounts with Companies House every year but the ones for dormant companies are a specially simplified version.
Dormant v Non-Trading
Technically, ‘dormant companies’ are ones which have never traded. If you have a company which has been trading but which you are not going to use for a period of time this is a ‘non-trading’ company. In practice the management of a dormant and a non-trading company are similar and people often talk about making a company ‘dormant’ for a period of time.
To make a non-trading company ‘dormant’ it has to have had no money going through its accounts since the end of the previous financial year. If you have done any transactions since your last accounts were submitted to Companies House then you cannot file ‘dormant’ company accounts.
What are Dormant Accounts?
Dormant accounts are a simplified version of the annual accounts that all companies have to file. Dormant company accounts have to include:
- A balance sheet (which shows no activity through the company)
- The previous year’s figures (for comparison)
- An audit exemption statement (if you qualify)
However dormant accounts do not need to include profit and loss statements or director’s reports and you usually do not need to have the company audited. This makes them much quicker, and cheaper, to prepare.
HMRC and Dormant Companies
With our Dormant Accountancy package, you’ll appoint us as your agent and we will submit your Dormant Company Accounts on your behalf.
Related reading: How to register a dormant company.