Shelving or closing a company

ilgitano.2015

Hi all,

I have been working on and off as a contractor (IT) for several years, and travelling between times. I am now and have been for the last two years employed, but I find my company costing me near £1000 pounds a year in accountants fees with no income to offset that at all. Can anyone advise on what would be the best way to minimise this?

As a company director, I am required to fill in a personal return I understand.

All of this is costing a packet. Is it possible to shelf the company? Or close it somehow? It's assets at this time is about £5000 debt to me.

chrismac1

There is no legal requirement for a company director to be in self-assessment. However, lots of HMRC staff are unaware of this so it can be difficult to get out of it.

Meanwhile you are totally being ripped off on the fees. For an active company doing regular invoicing, what you're paying is OK. But if your company qualifies as a dormant one - and it should - then 100 plus VAT is my standard fee.

And the work involved in that is just the annual return, plus fee, and filing a load of zeroes. So some of my clients just do their own. The £100 fee basically covers the admin. of having a client, money laundering regs. and making sure it's a genuine dormant company.

Keeping it dormant means it's available if you ever become a contractor again. The other option is to strike it off - £10 fee and a bit of form-filling at Companies House. This process takes 6 months or so, by the end of which your company no longer exists. So clear out the bank accounts first!

jblessing

You need to talk to your accountant - make him earn that 1000. But if the company does not owe anyone else money then you can complete a form ds01 to dissolve the company

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strike-off-a-company-from-the-register-ds01

theGrinch

£1000 a year is just too much but more worryingly is their advice to keep it as such. As said, £100 a year for dormant accounts or striking it off yourself are the two options.

redmalc

I have been a director for many years completing self assessment,last year i received a letter from HMRC advising i do not need to complete self assessment again.
I never paid more than £150 to my accountant for the priveledge of his services.