To deregister for Corporation Tax with HMRC, tell HMRC that your company has stopped trading or has never traded, which makes it dormant for Corporation Tax purposes. You can do this through the GOV.UK online service, by phone, or by post. Once HMRC accepts the notification, you no longer need to pay Corporation Tax or file Company Tax Returns unless the company starts trading again.1GOV.UK. Dormant for Corporation Tax
What Counts as Stopped Trading
HMRC treats a company as dormant for Corporation Tax when it is not carrying on any business and has no other income, including investment returns or rental payments.2GOV.UK. Corporation Tax Even small amounts of bank interest can disqualify the company, because HMRC reads incoming money as a sign of economic activity. If you are winding down, close the business bank account or move the balance to a non-interest-bearing account before you notify HMRC. Otherwise the notification and the account activity will contradict each other.
What You Need Before You Notify
Gather three things first. Your company’s 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference, which appears on previous HMRC correspondence and is sometimes labelled simply “tax reference.”3GOV.UK. Find Your UTR Number The exact date the company stopped trading. And the registered office address currently held on file — if it has changed, update it before submitting the dormancy notification so the details match.
Check whether you already hold a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return (form CT603) for the current period. If you do, you still have to file that return even after telling HMRC you are dormant. The return itself is what shows HMRC the company was dormant during the period.1GOV.UK. Dormant for Corporation Tax
The Three Ways to Tell HMRC
The fastest route is the GOV.UK online service. Sign in with a Government Gateway user ID or a GOV.UK One Login and follow the prompts to report that the company has stopped trading or has never traded.4GOV.UK. Tell HMRC Your Company Is Dormant for Corporation Tax The form asks for the UTR, the date trading stopped, and the registered office details. A tax agent can submit the notification on your behalf using their agent code.
If you cannot use the online service, HMRC also accepts the notification by phone or post through the Corporation Tax enquiries contact.4GOV.UK. Tell HMRC Your Company Is Dormant for Corporation Tax The phone route is useful when you have questions about outstanding notices or want confirmation on the spot.
After you notify HMRC, you may receive a letter confirming they will treat the company as dormant and that you no longer need to pay Corporation Tax or file Company Tax Returns.1GOV.UK. Dormant for Corporation Tax Keep it. It is the simplest proof that you took the right steps if questions come up later.
Filing the Final Company Tax Return
Deregistering does not erase outstanding filing obligations. If you were issued a CT603 notice for the final trading period, you must file a Company Tax Return (CT600) for that period online, with full statutory accounts and tax computations in iXBRL format.5GOV.UK. Corporation Tax: Online Filing at the End of a Company’s Life The filing deadline is 12 months after the end of the accounting period, and any Corporation Tax owed must be paid within nine months and one day of the period end.
If the company made a loss in its final year of trading, you may be able to claim terminal loss relief, which offsets that loss against profits from earlier years. You claim it on the final Company Tax Return.6GOV.UK. Strike Off Your Limited Company From the Companies Register – Close Down Your Company Worth checking even for a modest loss, because the refund comes out of tax already paid in profitable years.
What Happens If the Final Return Is Late
Missing the Company Tax Return deadline triggers automatic penalties that escalate the longer you wait. For returns with a filing date on or after 1 April 2026, the flat-rate penalties are:7GOV.UK. Corporation Tax: Penalty Determinations – CT211 Notes
- Up to 3 months late: £200
- More than 3 months late: £400
- Third successive late return, up to 3 months: £1,000
- Third successive late return, more than 3 months: £2,000
On top of the flat rate, if the return is still missing 18 months after the end of the accounting period, HMRC adds a tax-related penalty of 10% of the unpaid tax. That figure doubles to 20% if the return remains outstanding beyond two years.7GOV.UK. Corporation Tax: Penalty Determinations – CT211 Notes For a company that owes nothing, the flat-rate penalties are still a nuisance. For one that owes tax, letting the final return slip gets expensive quickly.
Deregistering Is Not the Same as Closing the Company
Telling HMRC the company is dormant only ends the Corporation Tax obligation. The company itself stays on the Companies House register, and a dormant company must still file a confirmation statement and annual accounts every year.8GOV.UK. Dormant for Companies House If the company qualifies as small and is also dormant under the Companies House definition, you can file simplified dormant accounts, but the filing deadline still applies.
If you want the company to stop existing altogether, you need to apply separately to strike it off through Companies House. Before you apply, you must send final statutory accounts and a Company Tax Return to HMRC and pay all outstanding Corporation Tax.6GOV.UK. Strike Off Your Limited Company From the Companies Register – Close Down Your Company Dormancy is the right choice if you might use the company again; strike-off is the right choice if you will not.
The two definitions of dormant do not line up. Companies House calls a company dormant if it has had no significant transactions during the financial year, excluding items like filing fees, late filing penalties, and money paid for shares at incorporation.8GOV.UK. Dormant for Companies House A company can be dormant for one body and not the other, so check both before deciding what you owe each.
If You Start Trading Again
If the company later resumes business, you must tell HMRC so they can set it up for Corporation Tax again. You do this by signing in to your business tax account and registering for Corporation Tax.9GOV.UK. Restarting a Non-Trading or Dormant Company The Corporation Tax accounting period restarts from the date you begin business activities, and the normal deadlines resume: Corporation Tax paid within nine months and one day of the period end, and the Company Tax Return filed within 12 months.