My UK company hasn't filed in years — what to do now

Arab directors who fall behind on UK filings rarely do it deliberately. A company set up for a project that never launched, a formation agent who stopped responding, a business plan that changed — and then two or three years passed. When the director finally checks, the picture can look overwhelming. It almost never is. Most situations are recoverable, and doing things in the right sequence matters more than doing them fast.

First: check the company's actual current status at Companies House (find-and-update-company-information.service.gov.uk). The status will be one of: Active (company exists, filings overdue but intact), Active — Proposal to Strike Off (Companies House has started dissolution proceedings — urgent but still fixable), or Dissolved (the company no longer legally exists). Each status requires a different response. Do not guess — check first.

If the company is still Active, here is what has accrued. For each year of overdue annual accounts: £150 (up to 1 month late), £375 (1–3 months), £750 (3–6 months), £1,500 (over 6 months) — doubling in the second consecutive late year. A company three years behind with each set filed over 6 months late could owe £7,500 in Companies House penalties alone. For HMRC's CT600: £100 immediately, £200 at 3 months, then 10% of unpaid tax at 6 months and another 10% at 12 months. HMRC penalties can sometimes be reduced if you engage proactively — Companies House penalties cannot.

The correct sequence. Step one: prepare the overdue accounts for each year, starting from the earliest, ensuring they're consistent. Step two: file the accounts with Companies House. Step three: prepare and file CT600 returns with HMRC for each year and settle any tax owed. Step four: file a current confirmation statement. Step five: contact HMRC proactively if there are significant penalties — HMRC responds far better to directors who engage early than those who wait to be chased.

If the company is already Dissolved: administrative restoration is possible if it was struck off within the last 6 years and you were a director at dissolution. You apply to Companies House, pay a £341 government fee, and file all overdue documents simultaneously. Any assets that passed to the Crown at dissolution — including bank balances — must be claimed through a separate bona vacantia process, which does not guarantee recovery. Fileminder's rescue service handles the full sequence: assessment, overdue accounts, CT returns, HMRC correspondence, and restoration applications where needed.