Filing accounts for a non-trading company with a Bounce Back Loan

By Ben Davies · Updated 26 September 2026

A lot of companies are in the same spot: they stopped trading years ago, but they took a Bounce Back Loan during COVID and are still repaying it. While it is repaying — from the company's own bank account or from yours — the company is not dormant, but it does not need a full accountant either. It files FRS 105 micro-entity accounts — the short accounts for a company that isn't trading but had some money move — and DormantFile handles them.

This guide explains why, and what you actually file.

Why a repaid loan means you can't file dormant accounts

A company is dormant only if it has had no significant accounting transactions in the period. A loan repayment made from the company's own bank account is a significant accounting transaction. So is interest added to the loan, which builds up every day. Either one breaks dormancy.

There is an important distinction here:

• Repayments made from the company's own account are company transactions. The company is non-trading but no longer dormant, so it files micro-entity accounts instead.
• Repayments you make from your personal funds still change the company's books: it owes the lender less and owes you more, and it has to record that. So they don't keep the company dormant either. See our guide on a Bounce Back Loan and a dormant company.

What you file instead

Two filings, the same as a dormant company — only the accounts document changes:

• FRS 105 micro-entity accounts to Companies House: a short balance sheet showing the loan and the company's cash, rather than dormant accounts.
• A CT600 to HMRC whenever it sends a notice to deliver one. Repaying a loan isn't income, and the loan interest is a cost, so there is no Corporation Tax to pay.

The company is non-trading, not profit-making — the only reason it can't use the dormant route is the transactions on its books.

The figures you need

Micro-entity accounts are built from a handful of numbers. For a company whose only activity is the loan, that is:

• The loan balance at the start of the year
• Anything repaid during the year
• Any interest charged during the year
• The loan balance at the end of the year
• Cash at bank at the period end

From those, the balance sheet articulates: the outstanding loan sits under creditors (usually due after more than one year), cash sits under current assets, and net assets equal the company's cash less the loan still owed. If the loan is larger than the cash — which is common — the company shows net liabilities, and that is fine for a micro-entity.

How to file it with DormantFile

1. Add your company and confirm it isn't trading.
2. At the accounts step, choose micro-entity accounts rather than dormant.
3. Enter the loan figures and cash above. We derive the balance sheet and check it balances before you go any further.
4. Preview the exact iXBRL document that will be filed.
5. Submit. The accounts go directly to Companies House via the official software filing API; the CT600 goes to HMRC.

See how it works for the full walkthrough, or pricing — it's the same £19/year whether you file dormant or micro-entity accounts.

When you do need an accountant

The line to watch is income. Repaying a loan isn't income, so there is no tax to pay. But if the company also receives interest, dividends, or rent, there is income to report and tax to consider — and a return showing none would be wrong. In that case, speak to an accountant. The same goes if the company holds other assets or has a more complicated history.

Key points

• Repaying a Bounce Back Loan changes the company's books whoever makes the payment, so the company is non-trading but not dormant.
• You can't file dormant accounts for that period — you file FRS 105 micro-entity accounts instead.
• There is still no tax to pay on the CT600: repaying a loan isn't income.
• You don't need a full accountant for this — DormantFile files micro-entity accounts and the CT600 from a few figures.
• If the company has income or gains, that's different — there's tax to consider, and an accountant should look at it.