Once you have decided that a company is no longer needed, it can easily be dissolved. You must first ensure that the accounts and corporation tax return for the final period of trading have been submitted and that any tax liability has been paid. If there are other creditors, like bank loans, then they need to be settled before the final accounts are done.
If there is a tax repayment for the final year, you will want to have received that before you finally close the bank account and dissolve the company. If a company still has money in a bank account on the date of dissolution, you will forfeit that money and it is sent to the government’s Solicitor General. It is a nightmare to get a company reinstated and then recover money from the Solicitor General. So we recommend that you complete your finances first and only then, dissolve your company.
Do not close the company bank account until your tax affairs are settled!
Do not submit the dissolution form before closing the bank account!
As of 1 Jan 2025 we, as accountants, can no longer dissolve client companies.
You can instruct a solicitor to dissolve a company for you, or you can do it yourself. You will need a Goverment Gateway account, and then you can start the process here:
https://guidedfiling.companieshouse.gov.uk/start?t=DS01
The procedure has to allow for legal notices to be published in the London Gazette over a 2 or 3 month period. It normally takes around 3 to 4 months to have a company dissolved. Once the process has been started, no more forms should be sent to Companies House for this particular company, none whatsoever. If that happens, the dissolution process will be cancelled. You will need to start the whole thing again!
The Companies House help line number is 0303 1234 500.