Dormant Company Accounts

Do you have a limited company that has ceased to trade? If so, then you have two options:

Keep filing annual returns each year to the Companies Registration Office (CRO)

Our fee to file an annual return to the CRO for your small dormant company is only €195 plus Vat* . The CRO have their own filing fees for processing your annual return which is payable in addition to our fee. For more information on filing fees and late penalties, please click here. Contact us today for more information or see our FAQ.

*This fee level is for companies that are able to claim Audit Exemption – please contact us if you have any queries about this.

Close the company down

If you wish to close your company down, there are two routes:

  • Voluntary strike-off (for companies with little or no assets or liabilities)
  • Liquidation procedure (for companies with large assets or liabilities)

Advantages of keeping a dormant limited company alive vs. voluntary strike-off

Keep the company alive:

  • If the company owes you money (i.e. directors loan account), you may be able to recoup the debt from the company if it commences a profitable trade;
  • If you intend to use the company for a business sometime within the next two years, you can avoid the hassle of striking-off one company and incorporating another (in fact, if that timeline is less than two years, the costs of keeping the company alive will most likely be less than the fees for strike-off and the incorporation of a new company).
  • Any losses accrued in the company may be used against future profits earned in the same trade, thereby reducing your corporation tax bill.

Voluntary strike-off:

  • Dispense with the requirement to have to make annual filings to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) once the strike-off is complete.
  • Avoid late filing penalties and possible audit fees that would be payable if the company were to miss that filing deadline.
  • If you don’t intend to use your company again within approx two years, it would be cheaper to perform a voluntary strike-off than to continue making annual filings to the CRO.
  • Performing a strike-off may mean that you don’t have to file any more income tax returns with Revenue.
  • If you need a company for a new business, you might prefer to strike-off your current company and open a new one with the proverbial clean slate.
To discuss your requirements and our service, call our confidential advice line or use the “request a call back” below.

FAQ'S

A dormant company is one that doesn’t trade and has no accounting transactions. If your company has traded or did have transactions during the year, then contact us for a quotation.

Also, to qualify for our €195 plus Vat fee, the company must be audit exempt. If your company is not audit exempt, then please contact us so we can refer you to our associate audit firm.

All Irish companies must deliver an annual return to the CRO each calendar year, regardless of the company’s trading status. There are significant penalties for a company which misses its filing deadline. These include late filing penalties and even involuntary strike-off.

No. If your company is dormant, then a tax cancellation notice should be filed with Revenue under all tax headings effective from the date it ceased trading

There will then be no requirement to file any tax returns for periods after the effective date of cancellation

To discuss your requirements and our service, call our confidential advice line or use the “request a call back” on the right hand side of the page

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Last Updated March 2023.