Voluntary strike-off and your final Corporation Tax returns
Short version. Voluntary strike-off does not remove the company’s final Corporation Tax obligations. Prepare the return to the cessation date and assess any later interest or receipts. The final trading return may not be the company’s last tax return.
On this page
1. Understand the treatment
GOV.UK’s close-down guidance requires final statutory accounts and a Company Tax Return to HMRC, identifying the final trading accounts and planned strike-off, and payment of outstanding taxes. Read the complete guidance for employees, creditors, assets and the application. These are separate from the filing service.
The trading accounting period ends at cessation under CTA 2009 section 10. A later period starts immediately afterwards if the company remains within Corporation Tax under section 9. Statutory accounts dates may differ. Final accounts for this close-down purpose do not have to be filed with Companies House, according to GOV.UK.
Later non-trading interest belongs in box 170. A qualifying post-cessation receipt can go in box 205. Reconsider CIHC status for that later accounting period. Voluntary strike-off is not the winding-up exception in section 18N(5).
2. Fictional worked example
In this fictional example, accounts cover 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026. The trade ends on 31 December 2025. The company remains within the charge and later receives £1,000 bank interest. Prepare a trading return ending 31 December and a later return beginning 1 January. Assume the later company is a CIHC, with no deductions or reliefs: £1,000 in box 170 gives £250 tax at 25%.
One set of accounts can cover both Corporation Tax periods, but each CT600 needs its own figures and computation. File the trading return using the final CT600 steps, then the later return. Check both computations before filing. Do not assign the later interest to the trading return merely to make it the last return.
3. Common mistakes
- Ending the trading return at the accounts date after cessation.
- Ignoring money expected after dissolution. GOV.UK warns that remaining assets, including future refunds, pass to the Crown.
- Assuming the section 198 election is part of an ordinary online filing.
The service does not support the section 198 election to apply cessation-period rates to qualifying receipts. HMRC’s CT600 guide says that if you elect to apply the cessation-year rate, you may not be able to file your return online
, and directs you to your HMRC office for clarification. Read the complete election guidance before choosing another route.
4. How to file
SimpleCompanyTax prepares supported micro-company returns from your figures. Follow the exact filing steps and review each return’s computation before approving the filing. For more background, read later bank interest and post-cessation receipts and the election limitation.
This is general guidance. Your company’s treatment depends on its circumstances. Decide the classification and claims yourself or with your accountant.