Consequences for ditching paperwork and formalities?

[Craig@Clarity]

Hi guys noob here , back in 2017 I was out of work and did some services on the side as a LTD, because someone ahem ahem told me so. I never earned enoygh to justify hiring an accountant, I managed to file CH company accounts and self assessment, calculated and paid the corporation tax but now I have to do HMRC CT600 and company accounts which I to be honest cant be arsed to do. What's the worst that can happen if I don't? Company has no money left and I doubt I will be ever using it again. Can I safely disregard it? What can they do to me personally? No joke answers please ^_^

At the moment, HMRC have no clue as to how much profit the limited company has generated. All they have is a lump of money your company sent their way which they're sitting on until they receive the accounts, corporation tax return (CT600) and corporation tax return. They don't know if your company had issued loans to it's directors which could lead to potential additional taxes to pay. So, I'd suggest filing the accounts and corporation tax return to HMRC so that they can marry up the amount they have received with the calculated tax. If you've underpaid the corporation tax in the end, they'll charge you late payment interest.

If you have decided that you no longer need the company and plan to strike it off the companies house register, it could slip under the net and be completed in 3-4 months. However, it is likely HMRC will object to the striking off and you'll end up going around in circles until you file the CT600. In the unlikely event you manage to strike to company off without filing a CT600 with HMRC, they could still reinstate the company if it feels like there is a financial incentive to do so.

I think the general consensus would be to file the accounts and corporation tax return with HMRC and be done with it. You can teach yourself how to do it. The accounts have already been filed at CH so you're half way there with the accounts. Or get an accountant to reconstruct a full set of accounts along with a CT600 for a small fee.