Retrospectively inform HMRC of company dormant

Can this be done?

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A new client of mine came to me and required two years of company accounts to be prepared. Once these were done and filled he received an unexpected tax bill for a year in which he believed the company was dormant.

Upon checking companies house I can see a dormant set of accounts were filed for that year. And the tax which HMRC state is due, is a determination which was recently made shortly after the accounts we prepared was filed. So it appears HMRC were never informed of the dormant status, and have made a determination of the tax due.

My question is, can I retrospectively inform HMRC the company was dormant during that period and thus remove the liabilities, or do I now need to submit a set of dormant accounts?

My concern is, if I were to submit a set of dormant accounts, the penalties for late filing would still stand, whereas if they had been informed on time, there would have been no requirement to file with HMRC.

Thoughts please? Thank you.

Replies (7)

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By johngroganjga
10th May 2022 09:32

The obvious way to notify HMRC that a company was dormant for a particular period in the past is to provide them with accounts for that period. That should lead to them vacating the estimated assessment, as we used to call it. I will leave it to others to comment on whether late filing penalties are still exigible.

Thanks (1)
RedFive
By RedFive
10th May 2022 09:35

I've written to HMRC in repsonse to the CT £100 penalty charge letter and simply stated the company was dormant. Did not supply accounts or anything else.

The penalty was removed.

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Replying to RedFive:
ALISK
By atleastisoundknowledgable...
11th May 2022 08:33

I have to do this quite often. Takes forever, but they remove & stop chasing the ‘debt’ eventually.

Thanks (1)
Replying to atleastisoundknowledgable...:
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By Cazzie B
11th May 2022 10:07

If the client ceased or was always dormant use the link I posted above
It removes the periods and any penalties within days, that don't apply

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Replying to Cazzie B:
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By SXGuy
11th May 2022 10:32

The clients company was dormant during the first year and has been trading the last 2 years. Will I be able to supply the period the company was dormant for?

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By SXGuy
10th May 2022 10:47

Thank you for the helpful replies.

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