Trading status: Active or Dormant

Last updated: 12 October 2026

Short version. Trading status records whether the company was Active or Dormant in this accounting period, and Dormant files the accounts and any CT600 as dormant, with no profit and loss figures and no tax computation. A new filing starts with Dormant selected, so select Active if the company had any income, including bank interest, or any business activity in the period. HMRC and Companies House use different dormancy tests, so check both before you leave it on Dormant.

Go to the steps and entry details

On this page

Starts on DormantAccounts and CT600Any period up to 18 monthsWhere you see it: Company Profile & Period › Trading status

What this choice does

Trading status records whether the company was Active or Dormant in this accounting period, and Dormant files the accounts and any CT600 as dormant, with no profit and loss figures and no tax computation.

Active shows What the company does on this screen, and the Profit & loss and Tax adjustments sections on Financial Data. The CT600 is sent with a tax computation.
Dormant hides What the company does and How do you want to enter your figures?. On Financial Data you complete the Balance sheet and Employees sections only, and no Corporation Tax is worked out.
With Dormant, the wizard asks Did the company trade before this accounting period? unless the period starts on the day the company was incorporated. What the answer changes
The accounts are prepared as dormant accounts: no profit and loss account, the principal activity shown as dormant, and the audit exemption statement for dormant companies under section 480 of the Companies Act 2006.
Any CT600 is sent with the dormant accounts but without a tax computation. The return states the reason "Company dormant", because HMRC's guide asks you to explain when computations are not sent. HMRC Company Tax Return guide, box 90
The choice applies to the whole filing. It does not tell HMRC or Companies House that the company is dormant from now on. Telling HMRC is a separate step

Is Dormant right for this period?

The wizard trusts your answer and does not check it. Whether the company was dormant is for you, or your accountant, to decide against the official definitions below.

Use it if all of these are true

The company had no income at all in this accounting period, not even bank interest.
It did not trade, provide services, buy or sell, let property, advertise, employ anyone or manage investments in the period.
The accounts have no profit and loss figures to show. The only transactions, if any, are ones Companies House disregards, such as the confirmation statement fee or money paid for shares when the company was formed.

Do not use it if

The company had any income in the period, including bank interest or rent.Use instead: Select Active, then follow Standard return
The company was dormant for part of the period and then started trading.Use instead: Dormant at first, then trading
The company stopped trading during this period.Use instead: Final CT600 after the trade stops
The company paid costs, such as bank charges or accountancy fees, that its accounts need to show.Dormant accounts have no profit and loss account. See why the two tests differ

Common mistake: leaving Dormant selected

The form starts on Dormant, so a company that earned a little bank interest can easily be filed as dormant by accident. HMRC treats earning interest as being active for Corporation Tax. With Dormant selected there is nowhere to enter the interest, and the CT600 goes to HMRC as a dormant return. With Active the interest goes in Interest receivable and similar income and is taxed.

Left on Dormant (wrong for this company)

Bank interest in the period: £300
Interest reported to HMRC: None
Tax computation: Not attached
Corporation Tax worked out: None

Active (right for this company)

Interest receivable and similar income: £300
Taxable total profits: £300
Rate: 19%
Corporation Tax: £57

The figures are for 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, a 12-month period with no associated companies, so the 19% small profits rate applies.

More help: HMRC: what is active for Corporation Tax · Bank interest after a company stops trading · GOV.UK: Corporation Tax rates

Why HMRC and Companies House can disagree

The wizard has one Trading status for the filing, but the two bodies define dormant differently. A company can be dormant for one and not the other.

HMRC, for Corporation Tax: A company is usually dormant if it has stopped trading and has no other income, or is a new company that has not started trading. HMRC says trading includes buying, selling, renting property, advertising, employing someone or getting interest. GOV.UK: dormant for Corporation Tax · HMRC: what dormant means
Companies House, for the accounts: A company is dormant if it had no significant accounting transactions in the financial year. Only a short list is disregarded: money paid for shares when the company was formed, Companies House fees for a change of name, re-registration or a confirmation statement, and penalties for filing accounts late. GOV.UK: dormant for Companies House · Companies Act 2006, section 1169
Example of a difference: Bank charges paid in the year must be recorded in the company’s accounting records, so they can stop the company being dormant for Companies House. They are not income or business activity for HMRC.

Telling HMRC is separate. Filing a dormant CT600 shows HMRC that the company was dormant for that period. If the company has stopped trading and has no other income, you can also tell HMRC it is dormant. After that, you do not need to file another Company Tax Return unless HMRC sends a further notice to deliver one. You tell HMRC directly, not through the filing wizard. If HMRC has already sent a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return for the period, a CT600 is still needed.

Companies House is separate too. A dormant company still files annual accounts and a confirmation statement with Companies House. Dormant accounts at Companies House

Did the company trade before this period?

With Dormant selected, the wizard asks Did the company trade before this accounting period? and you cannot continue until you answer.

Never traded: The company has not traded at any time since it was formed. The accounts record that it has never traded.
Previously traded, but not in this period: The company traded in an earlier period but not in this one. The accounts record that it is no longer trading but traded in the past.
When the question is not asked: If the accounting period starts on the date Companies House shows the company was incorporated, the wizard records Never traded without asking. Drafts saved before the question was added keep their saved behaviour.

The answer changes only how the accounts describe the company's trading history. It does not change any CT600 figure.

More help: How the accounts are tagged

Accounts periods over 12 months

When your accounts period ends more than 12 months after it starts, even by one day, Companies House still receives one set of dormant accounts for the whole period. If you also file to HMRC, the wizard prepares two CT600s, one for the first 12 months and one for the rest. With Dormant selected, both go as dormant returns and no Corporation Tax is worked out for either.

Trading status covers the whole accounts period. If the company was dormant for part of it and traded for the rest, the accounts have profit and loss figures, and those can be entered only with Active selected. Follow the guide for that situation. If HMRC already has the first CT600, File only the remaining CT600 is also available for a dormant company.

More help: Dormant at first, then trading · How a long period splits into two CT600s · File only the remaining CT600

Worked example

Company: Juniper Example Ltd
History: Traded until 2024, then stopped. No income or transactions since.
This accounts period: 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. No income, no transactions.
HMRC: Sent a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return for this period.
Filing: Dormant accounts to Companies House and a dormant CT600 to HMRC.

The company and all figures on this page are fictional.

Before you start

Your balance sheet: The balances at the end of the period, and last year’s for comparison if asked. Enter the real balances. Dormant does not mean every figure is zero.
Whether HMRC expects a CT600: Check for a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return (CT603) or your HMRC business tax account. Filing to HMRC, Companies House, or both
Companies House authentication code: Needed to file the accounts there. Where to find it
Company UTR and Government Gateway details: Needed only if you file to HMRC. Where to find your UTR · Government Gateway

The company and all figures on this page are fictional.

Step by step

Start a new filing
Dashboard, company card
Click New filing. If you see Resume filing, click the small arrow beside it and choose Start new filing →
Confirm the company
Tick the confirmation box, then click Continue with this company →
Company Profile & Period
Accounting period
1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026
Special tax regimes
No
What are you filing?
Companies House & HMRC CT600Choose Companies House for the accounts only, if HMRC does not expect a CT600.
Filing purpose
Standard returnShown when the filing includes HMRC.
My HMRC Corporation Tax period is different from my statutory accounts period.
Leave unticked
Trading status
DormantAlready selected, because the form starts on Dormant. Leave it only if the company was dormant for the whole period. Otherwise select Active.
Did the company trade before this accounting period?
Previously traded, but not in this periodChoose Never traded if the company has never traded.
Click Next →.
Financial Data
The note at the top starts Dormant company filing. There is no Profit & loss section.
Balance sheet
Your balances at the end of the period
Average number of employees
Your average number of employees in the period, which can be 0
Click Next →.
More help: Entering dormant accounts
Review & file
Check the company, the period and the balance sheet. The price shown is the dormant price. A dormant company has no profit and loss account, so there is no publication choice for Companies House.
Optional
Click Preview your documents (free) to check the dormant accounts and the CT600 first
Subscribe
Click Unlock Filing and complete payment
Continue
Click Continue to submission
Filing credentials
Corporation Tax UTR
Your 10-digit UTR
Gateway User ID
Your Government Gateway user ID
Gateway Password
Your Government Gateway password
Authentication code
Your 6-character Companies House code
Select the director submitting this return
The director’s name
Accounts approval date
The date the directors approved the accountsWhat to enter
Declaration
Tick it
Click Submit to HMRC & Companies House.
After you submit
The filing page lists the Companies House filing and the HMRC submission under Gateway submissions. Each shows Accepted once it is confirmed. HMRC usually replies within a few minutes, but it can take longer.
More help: Filing statuses explained

Sample outcome

Dormant accountsNo profit and loss account. The accounts record that the company traded in the past but is no longer trading.

Dormant CT600Sent with the accounts and without a tax computation. No Corporation Tax is worked out.

HMRC not told for the futureTelling HMRC the company is dormant is a separate stepWhy

Not the right option?

Open the guide that matches what the company did in this period.

Standard returnAn active company with income. Files every CT600 the period needs.Dormant at first, then tradingDormant for part of the period, then started trading.Final CT600 after the trade stopsThe company stopped trading in this period.

Looking for a different field or step? See all filing wizard guides →

Official sources

Whether this route matches your filings is for you to decide, yourself or with your accountant.

Example companies and figures are fictional. Field names match the filing wizard as of 12 October 2026.