Companies House Proposal to Strike-Off: Why Accounts Filing Is Blocked

If you try to file your annual accounts and see a message that TinyTax can't submit them because Companies House records show the company is in proposal-to-strike-off, this guide explains why, and what to do.

What the message means

The block appears when Companies House's own record for your company shows a status detail of "active – proposal to strike off". This happens after a first Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off has been published, usually because a filing was overdue.

While that status is set, the Companies House filing system rejects electronic (iXBRL) accounts — so TinyTax stops the submission up front rather than send it and have it bounce back as a rejection. The status is read live from Companies House every time you file, so the block reflects their current record, not cached data on our side.

You can still file your CT600 with HMRC

A proposal-to-strike-off only affects Companies House accounts. Your company hasn't been struck off the register, so HMRC still accepts a Corporation Tax (CT600) return. You can file that part now from your dashboard while the Companies House status is being resolved.

How to clear the block

The block lifts automatically once Companies House shows the company as plain "active" again. To get there:

1. If you want to keep the company going — bring any overdue filings up to date (the overdue accounts or confirmation statement that triggered the strike-off). Companies House will normally discontinue the strike-off once filings are current.
2. If the strike-off has already been discontinued — check the company's filing history at Companies House. A "Discontinuance of compulsory strike-off action" entry means the action has been stopped. Companies House sometimes takes time to clear the "proposal to strike off" status flag on the company record itself even after the discontinuance is published, so the two can disagree for a while.
3. If the status is stuck — contact Companies House (0303 1234 500 or [email protected]) and ask them to update the company status now the strike-off has been discontinued. Point them to the discontinuance entry in your filing history.

Once Companies House shows the company as active (with no proposal-to-strike-off), TinyTax re-checks their record on your next attempt and the accounts filing goes through — there's nothing you need to change on our side.

Common Questions

Companies House shows the strike-off was discontinued, so why is TinyTax still blocking me?

TinyTax reads the company's status detail from Companies House, which is separate from the filing-history list. If the discontinuance has been published in the filing history but Companies House hasn't yet cleared the "proposal to strike off" flag on the status itself, their filing system will still reject electronic accounts — and so the block stays until they update it.

Can I just file the accounts anyway?

No — Companies House would reject the submission while the proposal-to-strike-off status is set. The block saves you from a rejected filing. Resolve the status with Companies House first.

My company has already been struck off / dissolved — is this the same thing?

No. Proposal to strike off means the company is still active and can be saved. If it has been formally struck off or dissolved, see the separate guidance on filing for dissolved or struck-off companies.