SimpleReturns

Closing or striking off your company: what about Corporation Tax?

Updated 27 June 2026
The short answer

Closing your company does not wipe out the tax. Before it can be struck off you have to settle up: file one final Company Tax Return for the time up to the day it stopped trading, pay any Corporation Tax you owe on that last bit, and tell HMRC the company has stopped. Then you apply to remove it. If you skip the tax part, HMRC can step in and stop the company being closed.

Does closing my company cancel the Corporation Tax I owe?

No. Closing a company and clearing its tax are two separate jobs, and you have to do the tax one first. Your company owes Corporation Tax on every penny of profit it made right up to the day it stopped trading. Shutting the doors does not make that go away. You settle the tax, then you close the company.

Think of it like moving out of a rented flat. You can hand back the keys, but you still pay any rent you owe up to the day you leave. The tax works the same way.

What do I actually have to do before the company can close?

There are three tax jobs to finish. Do all three and the closing part is then straightforward.

  • Send one final return. You file a last set of accounts and a final Company Tax Return to HMRC, covering the period up to the day the company stopped trading. You mark them as the company's final trading figures.
  • Pay the last tax bill. You pay any Corporation Tax due on that final period, plus anything else the company still owes HMRC.
  • Tell HMRC the company has stopped. You let HMRC know the company has stopped trading. If it had staff, you also tell HMRC it has stopped employing people, which closes the payroll side down.

If HMRC has already sent you a return to fill in, you still have to file it, even once you have told them the company is stopping. Telling them does not cancel a return they have already asked for.

How do I strike the company off the register?

Once the tax is settled, you apply to Companies House to have the company removed. This is the cheap, simple route most small companies use, and it is called a voluntary strike-off (the form is called a DS01).

Your company can only use this route if, in the last 3 months, it has:

  • not traded or sold off any stock,
  • not changed its name,
  • and it is not being threatened with closure by anyone it owes money to, and has no payment deals running with people it owes.

When you apply, you also have to tell the people the company owes money to, and HMRC counts as one of them. You send HMRC a copy of the application within a week of putting it in.

What if I still owe tax when I apply to strike off?

HMRC can object, and the strike-off stops. Because HMRC is one of the people you must tell, they get a chance to say "hang on, this company still owes us." If there is unpaid Corporation Tax, or a return that was never filed, HMRC can block the company from being removed until it is sorted. So the tax really does come first.

A real example, in pounds

Say your company traded for part of its final year, then stopped on 30 September. Here is the tax part of closing it down:

  • From the start of the year up to 30 September, the company made a £20,000 profit.
  • That final stretch is its last accounting period. You file one final return covering it.
  • The Corporation Tax on £20,000 of profit, at the small-company rate, comes to £3,800.
  • You pay the £3,800, file the final return marked as the company's last figures, and tell HMRC it has stopped.
  • Now the company is clear with HMRC, so you can apply to Companies House to strike it off.

Skip the £3,800 or the final return, and HMRC can object when you try to close the company. Pay it and file, and the closing part is clean.

My company has money left in it. Is it still this simple?

Maybe not. If your company is healthy and has only a small amount of money left over, the strike-off route above usually works fine. But if there is a larger pot of cash or reserves sitting in the company, there is often a more formal closing route that can be better for you, run by a specialist. That route has its own rules and costs, and it is not a do-it-yourself job. If your company has real money in it when you close, talk to an accountant before you do anything, so the money comes out in the right way. We will tell you honestly if you are in that group.

How SimpleReturns handles the tax part

We do the final-return side for you. Tell us the day your company stopped trading and connect your bank or upload a statement, and we work out the profit for that last period, calculate the final Corporation Tax, and file the final Company Tax Return marked as the company's last figures, so you can then apply to close it with nothing left owing.

Common questions

Do I still have to file a return if my company stopped trading halfway through the year?

Yes. You file one final return covering the time from the start of the period up to the day it stopped, and pay any Corporation Tax due on that.

Can I just stop using the company and let it disappear?

No. If you ignore it, HMRC and Companies House keep chasing the company, and any unpaid tax stays owed. You have to settle the tax and formally apply to close it.

What happens if I apply to strike off while I still owe Corporation Tax?

HMRC is one of the people who gets told about your application, and HMRC can object and stop the strike-off until the tax is paid and any missing return is filed.

My company never traded at all. Is this different?

Often, yes. A company that never traded may be treated as dormant, which has its own lighter set of steps. If HMRC has asked you for a return, you still file it to show there was nothing to tax.

My company still has a chunk of money in it. Can I still just strike it off?

Sometimes there is a better, more formal route for that, and it needs a specialist. If your company has real money left in it, speak to an accountant first.

Ready to close it down the easy way?

You do not need to understand any of the tax to do this. Tell us the day your company stopped, let us read its money in and out, and we work out the final bill and file the final return marked as its last figures, for £99, once, no subscription. Then you apply to close it with nothing owing.

Start your final return →

If your company still has real money or reserves in it, an accountant is the better fit for that, and that is an honest call to make.

General guidance, not advice. This guide explains how the rules generally work for small UK limited companies. It isn't tax advice for your specific situation, if you're unsure, check with us or an accountant.