LTD and bank account

I would need help with the following. Perhaps not all of these questions are relevant to the HMRC, though. If so, please accept my apologise and advise on whom I should ask. Thanks. 1) Does opening a bank account for my LTD (which currently is dormant) cause it to become active and/or trading for: - the HMRC - the Companies House? 2) I have read that to open a bank account for an LTD, among other paperworks, one has to show the following: - My ID and proof of address - Proof of the registered business address - An original copy of your Certificate of Incorporation (printed on the correct paper) for limited companies - Certificate of Incorporation, plus tax and VAT registration details - Details of signatories on the account. I would need to know what counts as proof of the registered business address for a dormant company. Which of the following would work? - a letter from the HMRC - a letter from the Companies House - advertising from banks about business bank accounts or from filing service providers I would not prefer to use the first two, however, since they contain sensitive data. And must it be the original or a digital scan is fine? Also, regarding tax and VAT registration, what is it? When I opened my LTD company (and kept it dormant) no tax and VAT registration was made as far as I know. Then, speaking of "an original copy of your Certificate of Incorporation (printed on the correct paper) for limited companies", I only have been provided with a digital certificate. BTW, what does it mean "printed on the correct paper"? Finally, what details of signatories on the account are needed? 3) Is "trading account" the same as "annual account"? Thanks for any help.

Hi,
 

Question 1 - Opening a bank account will not mean you are neccesarily active for tax purposes. However, if it brings in any taxable income, such as interest you may need to advise us you are active and file a return. Question 2 - Companies House will have provided you documentation when you registered, we would have also provided a CT41G which would have also shown you are registered, as for the actual documentations & the forms they will accept, you will have to go to the individual that has asked for the evidence to determine what is valid & what isn't. Question 3 - Trading accounts are usually kept throughout the year and then it's the finalisation along with other information that makes up your annual accounts. We cannot go into much detail here as this is an accounting matter . Thank you.

Thanks for your reply. I have further questions related to this matter. I hope you don't mind if I ask. Are there any further procedures HMRC requires apart from the Annual dormant Account if I open a bank account for the LTD but no transaction passes through it? Two accountants I have consulted say "We can only consider a company as dormant if no bank account has been formed. Opening a bank account for the LTD would make it lose its dormant status for the HMRC." However, HMRC says that opening a bank account for a company does not in itself make it be considered as "trading" (provided there is no transaction at all and no interest). Provided the accountants would run any risk if my LTD lose its dormant status, I guess the accountants said so to be on the safe side (in the event I opened a bank account and any money runs into or out of it). I am confused, however. So, I hope you can shade some light about why accountants give a different answer from that of the HMRC. So, if I open a bank account and no outbound or inbound transactions are made in it, will my LTD become "non-trading" for the HMRC just because I have opened the bank account? What's the difference between "dormant" and "non-trading" in terms of filing and taxes? Is there anything to file and to pay to the HMRC every year once an LTD becomes non-trading? And is the accountancy more complex than that of a dormant status? Finally, re your answer 3, sorry but it is still not clear to me whether annual account and trading account mean the same thing or not. (I use to file annual account for my dormant LTD).

The following questions are about the necessity of a bank account for an LTD and possible alternatives. (If one or more of the below questions do not fall within the HMRC's competence, I would understand; if so, I apologise and please, let me know whom I should ask each to, thanks in advance.) First of all, I have read that there is no legal requirement for a UK company to have a business bank account in the UK, even if trading. Is that correct? Is there any chance of being paid on my personal bank account without going against the law? Although having a separate business bank account is recommended for obvious reasons, can you confirm this is not a legal requirement in the UK, and is there a safe way to track and mark any money earned by my LTD when they reach my bank account? E.g. asking the client to write something specific as reference when they pay. And I would link the LTD to my bank account only when sure it can start trading (as any payment will make it lose its dormant status). Otherwise, the only alternative would be cash payment, which is not smooth for sales of thousands of £, though (which would be my case). Would that be still possible? Alternatively, is it possible to open an e-money or an overseas bank account for an LTD? However, what if the LTD wins a grant? Would the government or the government-funded institution ever agree to deposit grant funds in one of these kind of business accounts? Currently, I am the only PSC of my LTD and I want to move overseas (maybe permanently or perhaps for some years, I still don't know for sure). If I find another person who would like to join the company and this person is resident in the UK, would they be allowed to open a bank account for my LTD on my behalf? And would they have special control on the bank account because they are the one who opened it? If the following is of any help: I will preserve my EU Settled Status (it lasts 5 years from when I leave the UK but it might be possible to extend it further by travelling to the UK every now and then). Otherwise would any of these work as a UK address towards opening a UK bank account for the LTD from abroad, provided physical residence is not a requirement for that purpose? a. a poste restante, or b. a 7-days-long tenancy.

Hi Guido,

Opening a bank account for a company does not itself result in it being considered being 'active' for CT purposes, unless the company is in receipt of any income, including interest. Regarding the other points raised in this post, please refer to the answer to your earlier post.

Thank you.

Hi Guido,

These questions are not appropriate for HMRC to answer.
In the first instance, I would refer you to - Get help and support for your business, this link provides details for many different bodies throughout the UK who aid companies.
Alternatively, you may need to seek advice from an accountant.

Thank you.

Thanks for your help and sorry if some of the questions were not appropriate