Restarting a non-trading or dormant company

You must tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if your dormant company or association starts trading again. This will set up your company for Corporation Tax.

If your company has started trading for the first time, find out how to add Corporation Tax services to your business account.

You’ll need your company’s Government Gateway user ID and password to do this. If you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you sign in.

You’ll also need to put together statutory accounts and Company Tax Returns after your company’s year end.

  1. Tell HMRC that your dormant company has restarted trading by registering for Corporation Tax again. Sign in to your business tax account and follow the guidance to register.

  2. Send accounts to Companies House within 9 months of your company’s year end.

  3. Pay any Corporation Tax due within 9 months and 1 day of your company’s year end.

  4. Send a Company Tax Return - including full statutory accounts - to HMRC within 12 months of your company’s year end.

Deadlines for accounts and returns

You should have been sending accounts to Companies House each year while your company was dormant - so your reporting dates stay the same for annual returns and accounts.

Your Corporation Tax accounting period is different. It begins when your company restarts business activities.

You can:

  • keep your company’s accounting reference date the same with Companies House
  • prepare statutory accounts as usual for the 12 months up until your accounting reference date
  • send your accounts to Companies House and use them to complete your Company Tax Return

Your Companies House accounting reference date and the end of your Corporation Tax accounting period will be the same if you do this.

Example

Your non-trading or dormant company’s accounting reference date is 30 September. You start business activities again on 1 May.

You make a set of statutory accounts for the usual period, from 1 October to 30 September.

You send your accounts to Companies House, and your Company Tax Return for the period 1 May to 30 September to HMRC.

After this, you’ll need to complete accounts and and a Company Tax Return from 1 October to 30 September each year.

Related content