How to File Final Returns When Your Company Has Ceased Trading

How do I file my final returns for a closing company? When closing your limited company, your filing obligations depend on your specific situation — whether accounts are overdue, whether HMRC has issued a Notice to Deliver a CT600, and whether your company has been trading or dormant. This guide explains how to file your final CT600 and accounts using TinyTax.

Before You Start

Before filing your final returns, you should:

1. Cease trading - Stop all business activity
2. Pay all debts - Clear any outstanding creditors
3. Distribute assets - Pay any remaining funds to shareholders
4. Close bank accounts - After final transactions

What You May Need to File

Depending on your situation, you may need to file:

• Both a final CT600 (to HMRC) and final statutory accounts (to Companies House), or
• Only a final CT600 (if Companies House accounts aren't yet due and the company is struck off first), or
• Only dormant accounts to Companies House (if dormant and HMRC hasn't required a CT600)

What TinyTax Prepares

TinyTax generates three documents for your final filing:

• CT600 — your Corporation Tax return (filed to HMRC)
• Tax Computation — shows how your tax liability was calculated (attached to your CT600)
• Statutory Accounts — your formal company accounts (filed to Companies House AND attached to your CT600)

The same statutory accounts are submitted to both HMRC and Companies House — you don't need to prepare them twice.

Step 1: Start the Strike-Off Process

Apply to strike off your company via Companies House:

1. Go to GOV.UK Strike Off Service
2. Complete form DS01 online (£33 fee)
3. Companies House will publish the application in the Gazette

Step 2: Set Up Your Final Period in TinyTax

Your final accounting period will typically be shorter than 12 months — from the day after your last filed accounts to the date you ceased trading.

Finding Your Company

1. Go to the TinyTax home page
2. Search for your company name or number in the search box
3. Select your company from the results

Already signed in? If you have a strike-off application in progress (DS01 filed), your dashboard row may show a "Too early" badge because the current accounting period hasn't ended yet. Under the badge you'll see a Company closing? File final return → link — click it to go straight into the filing form for the final return. You don't need to wait for the period to end.

Setting Your Final Period Dates

1. On the filing form, look below the Accounting Period dropdown for the link: Need different dates? (If your company has an active strike-off application, this will read Company closing? File final return →)
2. Click the link — a modal will ask why you need different dates
3. Select Company closing down and click Continue
4. The dropdown will be replaced by editable date fields, with your period start pre-filled

Set the dates to match your final accounting period:

• Period start: Pre-filled as the day after your last filed accounts ended (adjust if needed)
• Period end: The date trading ceased (or your chosen closure date)

Direct URL If the Dashboard Flow Isn't Working

If the "Need different dates?" link isn't visible or the dashboard shows "Too early" with no accessible filing button, you can open the final-period form directly. Make sure you're logged in first at https://tinytax.co.uk/dashboard, then open this URL in the same browser tab — replace the placeholders with your own values:

``` https://tinytax.co.uk/submission-form.php?company_id=&period_start=&period_end=&filing_intent=both&edit_dates=true&custom_dates=1 ```

Parameter guide:

• `company_id` — the numeric ID of the company in your dashboard (visible in the URL when you open the company drawer)
• `period_start` — the first day of your final accounting period (the day after your last filed period ended), in `YYYY-MM-DD` format
• `period_end` — the last day of your final accounting period, in `YYYY-MM-DD` format
• `filing_intent=both` — files CT600 and accounts together in one submission; use `ct600` instead if you've already filed accounts at Companies House
• `edit_dates=true` — forces the date editor to be visible so you can set a custom period end
• `custom_dates=1` — required for short final periods — lets TinyTax skip the standard Companies House period-end check so the form will save and submit

Once the form loads, continue from Step 3 below.

Step 3: Complete Your Final Returns

For Dormant Companies

If your company was dormant (no trading activity), select Dormant company as the company type. You'll only need to confirm there was no activity during the period.

For Trading Companies

If your company traded during the final period:

1. Select Trading company as the company type
2. Enter your final profit and loss figures
3. Enter your closing balance sheet (typically showing zero or minimal assets after distributions)
4. Complete the tax calculation

Step 4: Submit to HMRC and Companies House

Your final returns are submitted separately to each authority:

HMRC Submission

Click to file your CT600 with HMRC. This submission includes:

• Your CT600 return
• Tax computation
• Statutory accounts (as an attachment)

Companies House Submission

Click to file your statutory accounts with Companies House.

- Once both submissions are accepted, your filing obligations are complete.

After Filing

Once your final returns are filed and accepted:

1. Keep records - Store copies of all filed documents for at least 6 years
2. Monitor the Gazette - Check for any objections to the strike-off
3. Wait for dissolution - The company will be dissolved approximately 3 months after the DS01 was filed (if no objections)

Common Questions

How do I change the accounting period end date?

If your company has ceased trading and you need to set a custom period end date in TinyTax:

1. On the filing form, click Need different dates? below the Accounting Period dropdown
2. Select Company closing down and click Continue
3. Edit the Period end to the date your company ceased trading

This lets you file for a shortened final period (e.g. 6 months instead of 12) without needing to change your Accounting Reference Date with Companies House first.

I can't see a Submit Corporation Tax button — only Submit Accounts to Companies House

This happens when the filing is marked dormant. TinyTax hides the Corporation Tax button on dormant filings, because a dormant company only needs a CT600 where HMRC has issued a Notice to Deliver one — most never do.

To reveal it:

1. Go to the Review & Submit page for the filing
2. Find the yellow panel headed Dormant companies don't normally need a CT600
3. Click Enable CT600 submission at the bottom of that panel
4. The green
   Submit Corporation Tax to HMRC
   button appears alongside the Companies House one

You'll need your HMRC Government Gateway user ID and password to submit.

Companies House rejected my final accounts with error 3081

Error 3081 means the balance sheet isn't made up to the accounting reference date Companies House holds for the company:

> The balance sheet is not made up to the correct accounting reference date or the date is missing.

Setting a custom period end in TinyTax tells us what period to report to HMRC. It does not change the date Companies House expects, and only an AA01 form can do that. So re-submitting the same accounts will be rejected the same way every time.

Two ways forward:

• If you're striking the company off — you generally don't need these accounts at all, provided your last full-year accounts are already on the register. File the CT600 to HMRC and stop at the Companies House step.
• If you do need the accounts filed at the closure date — change the accounting reference date with Companies House first using form AA01, wait for the register to update, then submit.

What if my company has been dormant for multiple years?

If you have unfiled dormant years, you may need to file accounts for each outstanding period. TinyTax will show any outstanding periods on your dashboard.

Can I file final accounts for a period that hasn't ended yet?

Yes — if you're closing your company mid-year, click Need different dates? and select Company closing down to enter your actual closure date rather than waiting for the full accounting period to end.

What happens if I don't file?

Your obligations depend on whether HMRC has issued a Notice to Deliver a CT600:

• If HMRC issued a notice: Late filing penalties may apply for unfiled CT600s, and HMRC may estimate your tax liability
• If no notice was issued: There's no penalty for not filing a CT600 (common for dormant companies)

For Companies House accounts, if the company is struck off before the filing deadline, Companies House typically won't pursue unfiled accounts as there's no longer a company to file against.

The system says "Submission Blocked" because my company is being struck off — what do I do?

Once you've applied for voluntary strike-off, Companies House lists the company as proposal to strike off and stops accepting electronic accounts, so TinyTax blocks the accounts submission and shows a "Submission Blocked" message. In almost all cases the answer is: you don't need to file those accounts.

• If the company is struck off before the accounts become due, Companies House won't pursue them — there's no longer a company to file against.
• So the right action is usually to do nothing and let the strike-off complete. You don't have to withdraw the strike-off (file a DS02) or pay the strike-off fee again just to push the accounts through.
• Your CT600 to HMRC for the final period can still be filed if you haven't already — that submission isn't blocked.

The only reason to withdraw the strike-off would be if you specifically want the final accounts to appear on the public register, which is optional.