Limited Companies are registered for a variety of reasons. Sometimes there is an immediate need to trade. Sometimes the objective is to try and protect the name by registering it before someone else does. Sometimes a company will be needed in the future but may not trade for over a year. A limited company may be a dormant company.
You can now register a dormant limited company in less than 10 mins, entirely online using our website.
A trading company is required to file accounts with Companies House, with the specific requirements depending on its size. A trading company must also file a corporation tax return with HMRC and pay corporation tax if due. There are various financial penalties applied from both Companies House and HMRC for late filing of such documents. Companies House can also prosecute directors in cases of non-filing and may even strike the company off the register and dissolve it, leading to company bank account being frozen and assets being passed to the crown!
A dormant company has less requirements. In order to be dormant, the company must not trade during its financial year.
A dormant company must still file an annual conformation statement and pay an annual £13 fee to Companies House. The confirmation statement is very different to accounts and confirm the company information held is correct – for example registered office address and shareholders.
A dormant company must ensure they comply with registering changes to offices and PSC’s (persons of significant control) for example, a new director or PSC must be notified to Companies House within 14 days of appointment/becoming a PSC. You can learn more about PSC from my previous article