How DormantFile works
You set it up once. We keep the dates and watch your company's public record. When the deadline comes round, your accounts and tax return go straight to Companies House and HMRC — and you don't need to know a thing about accounting.
The whole thing in 80 seconds — what's due, what it costs, and how we file the accounts and tax return.
Start here: which sounds like your company?
We're built for companies and LLPs that aren't trading. Find the one that sounds like yours and you'll know what you owe.
It's dormant
Nothing significant has happened in the year — whether it has never traded, or traded once and stopped. Dormant doesn't mean empty: if it still owes money, is owed money or holds assets from its trading years, it can still be dormant, as long as nothing about those figures changes in the year — nothing paid or collected, no interest added, nothing written off or written down. Its dormant accounts show them. You file dormant accounts to Companies House, plus a Company Tax Return showing nothing to pay (a nil CT600) to HMRC when HMRC writes asking for one (a 'notice to deliver'). This is the main path.
It's not trading, but has a transaction or two
Often a Bounce Back Loan being repaid. That stops it counting as dormant in law, so at the filing step you choose micro-entity (FRS 105) accounts instead, and we prepare them from a few figures. Read the micro-entity guide →
It's an LLP
Dormant, or non-trading with a transaction or two on the books — we file short micro-entity LLP accounts (FRS 105) for those. It works the same way, with two differences. A designated member (one of the members responsible for the LLP's filings) approves the accounts rather than a director. And there's no Company Tax Return: an LLP is taxed as a partnership, so the only HMRC return is the Partnership Tax Return (SA800), and only if HMRC sends you a notice asking for one. If they have, switch on the Partnership Tax Return in Settings and we file it showing nothing to pay. Read the LLP guide →
It's behind on its filings
We show every outstanding period for your company. File them one at a time, oldest first, and it's brought back up to date.
HMRC hasn't asked for a tax return
Then you only need annual accounts. A Company Tax Return (CT600) is only due when HMRC writes asking for one (a 'notice to deliver'). Accounts and the tax return are separate filings, so you can file one without the other. Read the Company Tax Return guide →
Get set up
about 2 minutesFind your company, choose a plan, and create an account. That's the whole setup.
- 1
Find your company
Type your company's name or number. We pull its details and deadlines from Companies House, so there's nothing to copy in.
- 2
Choose: watch free, or file
Watch your deadlines for free, or pick a plan that files. Then create your account — just an email and a password.
- 3
File when you're ready
Preparing your return is free. A subscription unlocks filing: £19 a year for one company, £39 for up to 10, or £49 for up to 100, renewing annually until you cancel.
We watch your deadlines
automaticYour accounts are due nine months after your company's year end (its accounting reference date), or 21 months from incorporation for the first set. We work that out, keep it, and start emailing you well before it arrives.
Reminders sent at
File and confirm
about 2 minutesCheck the details, hit file. Your accounts and tax return go straight to Companies House and HMRC.
File your accounts to Companies House
Submit your dormant or micro-entity accounts. If the balance sheet still carries figures from trading years, you can start from the ones in your last filed accounts, check them and save. Enter your Companies House code and we build the accounts in the format Companies House requires and send them straight to it.
File your nil Company Tax Return (CT600) to HMRC
Enter your HMRC login (Government Gateway user ID and password). It's used once when you file and deleted straight away. The return goes straight to HMRC.
Get your confirmation
Once a filing is accepted, we show confirmation in your dashboard and send you an email. Filing records are stored so you always have a history.
Then turn on autopilot for next year (optional)
Switch autopilot on whenever you like, from the company's autopilot page or settings. We keep your Companies House code encrypted, build next year's dormant accounts ahead of time, and email you 30 days before the deadline. One click files them, and that's the accounts done for the year. Switching it off later keeps the code saved so turning it back on is one click; deleting the code from settings removes it there and then. Dormant accounts only — the Company Tax Return is always filed by you.
What you'll see
The last screen before you file
Company number, period, accounts type, and the director signing — confirmed on one card. Your saved authentication code is applied at the final step, so there is nothing to type in.
- 1Filing type and period, read from the register
- 2The balance sheet: share capital alone, or the figures it still carries from trading years
- 3The director signing, as Companies House holds them
The confirm step for MERIDIAN LANE HOLDINGS LTD's latest accounts.
A closer look at the Company Tax Return (CT600)
Corporation TaxYour Company Tax Return is the one part you set up yourself, because only you know the periods HMRC has asked for. Here's how the Company Tax Return section works once you're inside DormantFile.
Switch on the tax return section
Enter your company's 10-digit tax reference (UTR) in Settings to switch on the Company Tax Return section. HMRC sends every company one after it's set up, on a letter called a CT41G. You only need a return when HMRC writes asking for one — accounts and the tax return are separate filings.
Add the period to file
You tell us the period HMRC expects a return for. We suggest the dates from your accounts and Companies House record, and you confirm them. A period longer than 12 months is split into two returns, as HMRC requires.
Attach your accounts
Every Company Tax Return includes a copy of your annual accounts. We attach the ones you filed here, or you can fetch them from Companies House or upload your own file in the digital format HMRC requires (iXBRL).
Sign and send the nil return
Confirm the director filing, preview the exact return, then enter your HMRC login to authorise it. We build the return showing nothing to pay — no profit, no tax — send it to HMRC, and email you the moment it's accepted.
Already filed a period elsewhere? Mark it as filed to clear it from your list. For a full walkthrough, see how CT600 filing works in DormantFile.
What you'll see
The Company Tax Return tab
Outstanding and completed returns in two lists. Add the period HMRC has asked for — we suggest dates from your accounts, you confirm them — and file when the matching accounts are in.
- 1Outstanding and completed returns, counted
- 2Add the period HMRC expects — you confirm the dates
- 3File once the matching accounts are attached
The Company Tax Return tab, with one period you entered still to file and two returns accepted.
See it in action
Real screens from the product, in the order you meet them.
Search the register by name or number; we read the dates and history.
Your credentials stay yours
We never store your HMRC login details, and your Companies House code is only saved if you choose to save it. Here is exactly what happens to them.
Your HMRC login (Government Gateway)
Used once when you file, then deleted straight away. Never stored, never logged.
Your Companies House code (authentication code)
The 6-character code Companies House posts to the company's registered office. Used in-session to sign your Companies House filing. Stored only if you choose to save it — encrypted, never logged. Turning autopilot off keeps it saved so re-enabling is one click; remove it any time from the company’s settings, which deletes it immediately.
Ready to get started?
Find your company, pick a plan, and we watch the dates from then on. When it's time to file, your accounts and tax return go directly to Companies House and HMRC. From £19 a year.
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