Can a CIC be dormant?
By Ben Davies · Updated 5 October 2026
We file a CIC's tax return — not its accounts
See what we cover for CICsYes — but with two CIC-specific catches that ordinary companies don't have.
A community interest company can be dormant in the normal sense: no significant accounting transactions in the period. HMRC treats a dormant CIC like any dormant company — CICs get no special tax status, so the usual rule applies: a CT600 is due when HMRC sends a notice to deliver one. If a notice does arrive, DormantFile can file that CT600.
The catches:
- Filing never gets cheaper or simpler. A dormant CIC still files accounts every year with a CIC34 report and a £15 fee, by post or through the Companies House CIC service — it can't file them through filing software, DormantFile included, the way an ordinary dormant company can.
- Dormancy has a shelf life. The CIC Regulator has said CICs, unlike ordinary companies, are not expected to stay dormant for an extended period — its guidance points to around five years, after which a dormant CIC risks failing the community interest test. A CIC with no realistic prospect of restarting activity should consider converting to an ordinary limited company (which can then sit dormant indefinitely) or dissolving.
An ordinary limited company can sit dormant for as long as its owners like: its accounts and tax return filed each year for a small annual subscription, plus the £50 confirmation statement fee. A CIC dormant long-term is swimming against its own regulator.
Read the full guide: How to file CIC accounts — including for a dormant CIC