Closing a limited company with no money

halifaxmortgage

Hi, 

Would anyone please be able to help me regarding a limited company that was setup about 4 months ago and I need to close it.  The reason was that I was planning to setup a restaurant business.  At the time I didn't do much research and simply I paid Company Formations to set it up and they did everything for me.   However I'm now not going ahead with that and I'm actually in debt with people.  The company has no assets and only has £150 in the bank accoutn which is what's left-over from part of a £2000 director's loan I gave to it at the beginning. Most of that money has been spent in expenses.

I can't afford to wind-up the company myself, so what can I do to close it down without any repercussions?

Thanks

halifaxmortgage

Sorry for bumping, but can anyone please help me?

Thanks

Jeremy535897

See https://www.gov.uk/strike-off-your-company-from-companies-register/close-down-your-company and the following page https://www.gov.uk/strike-off-your-company-from-companies-register/apply-to-strike-off

It should be straightforward if the company has never traded, has no employees, and has no debts other than the amount due to you on the director's loan account.

Khaderbhai

OP has already confirmed there is debts though. Worth writing letters to all debtors explaining the above (no assets etc) and you will be applying to have the company struck off, they can still object to the strike off though. I don’t think there is a straightforward way, unless someone else jumps on this thread. @DullGreyGuy looking at you!

halifaxmortgage

Hi guys.  

Cheers for the replies.  Sorry for not being more clear, but when I said debt, I meant my own personal debt and not company debt.  The company was setup, such as website, business banking, but never actually got off to any trading at all.  Does this help?

macman

Then the advice given by Jeremy535897 will apply.

halifaxmortgage

Thanks macman.

Just so that I'm not making any mistakes, am I right that I just need to:-

• Since I never really traded, is there any waiting period to start the strike-off process?
• Do I apply to strike-off by sending a form DS01?
• Since there is only 1 director (that's myself) and no other directors or employees, there's no PAYE or NI, right?
• There is a mention of Final Accounts and Company Tax Return - Can I do these myself and if so, how?

tightauldgit

Yes you can just apply to get the company struck off and you can produce your own accounts and tax return. Assuming you are a micro-entity the accounts will be really simple and you can do them in Excel yourself and upload them. Corporation tax you file online and presumably put 0 for everything if you had no income.  

Pennywise

Or you could ignore the company and eventually Companies House will strike it off due to not filing the annual return nor accounts.

halifaxmortgage

Thanks @tightauldgit and @Pennywise.

- Yes I would say I am a micro-entity, but not sure what you mean by uploading Excel.  PS: I have done a spreadsheet, but it's something only I can understand.
- Also is the Corporation Tax filing done via Companies House or is this separate?
- I'm not sure if ignoring the company is the right way to go about it.
- Would I still need to file Annual Return, even though it doesn't need filing until 2024?

worriednoob

Hi. Sorry for jumping on this thread.  I hope halifaxmortgage won't mind as I didn't want to create a new thread for similar question.

I am in a similar situation i.e. only 1 director, gave company £600 in director's loan, no assets or liabilities or profits and bank account has £200 left after expenses. which I've now withdrawn as a loan repayment.  The only transactions showing on my business bank account are dir loan, outgoing expenses and the loan repayment.  It has not traded and I've decided to close the company down due to other/caring responsibilities.  I know how to do a DS01 form and there's plenty of info about it, but what I'm not sure about is:--

• How do I notify HMRC of my intention to close the company?
  
• Do I need to create/register a business account
• Do I need to file for corporation tax?
• How to complete any tax paperwork (if any is required) with HMRC, such as file accounts, tax returns?
• If I do need to complete any tax paperwork with HMRC, can it be all be done online?

Cheers for any help in advance.