- Original Poster
- #1
First time poster
Hi,
My wife and I are Directors of a limited company that started in 2020. The company traded for 2 years and the last invoice was generated late 2022. We both decided to take full time employment, and the company hasn't traded since although it was never closed in case we wanted to use it again (professional Locum services).
This year our bank account was closed by the bank as we haven't used it and have no cash reserves. We have continued to file accounts each year, and were planning to close the business this year as we are unlikely to use it now.
In January 2026 HRMC advised us we had an outstanding corperation tax bill of £9.5k from 2021. We have always paid on time, and have submitted all the information to HMRC showing the payment for this, reference number etc. We had an accountant at the time who filed out accounts.
After a lot of back and forth they confirmed payment but it seems that the payment was misallocated by HMRC and subsequently refunded. Honestly we were not aware. The company was doing well at the time, and this was before my wife took over submitted tax returns etc.
Additional info:
-The company has no personal gaurenttes or directors loans
-HMRC is the sole creditor
-The company has no cash reserves and organically stopped trading in 2022
-The company hold a few small assets ( 2 >5 year old Macs of which one is broken,a >5yr old iPad (again broken and replaced personally, some textbooks, and stationary).
-We have written and spoken to HMRC multiple times with account information, financial status and company status etc
-We have also written to ask for interest to cease, they never responded.
I last spoke to HMRC 2 weeks ago, at which point they advised me that I was PERSONALLY FINANCIALLY responsible for the debt. I challenged this, and eventually told them I was now recording the cal and for them to confirm I was personally financially responsible and not the company and to justify why. At this point they put me on hold, came back and said they can't continue the conversation and hung up.
We no need for the business to continue. The debt has now been passed on to Advents Credit. After seeking to the Directors helpline we have written to Advents and HMRC both of them to explain the above and invited them to petition to wind up the company or write off the debt as we have no cash, meaningful assets or plan to trade. We have no interest in funding CVL as we don't want to pay personally. At a push if it's the advised option, we could start doing work for the company again on weekends to fund CVL, but then will have to reopen bank accounts, pay tax on earning etc.
What should I do here, we've genuinely done nothing intentionally nefarious but I'm concerned as to how this will progress. My wife is very worried about debt collectors turning up at the door.
I can supply any further information needed.
Many thanks for your help!
Hi,
My wife and I are Directors of a limited company that started in 2020. The company traded for 2 years and the last invoice was generated late 2022. We both decided to take full time employment, and the company hasn't traded since although it was never closed in case we wanted to use it again (professional Locum services).
This year our bank account was closed by the bank as we haven't used it and have no cash reserves. We have continued to file accounts each year, and were planning to close the business this year as we are unlikely to use it now.
In January 2026 HRMC advised us we had an outstanding corperation tax bill of £9.5k from 2021. We have always paid on time, and have submitted all the information to HMRC showing the payment for this, reference number etc. We had an accountant at the time who filed out accounts.
After a lot of back and forth they confirmed payment but it seems that the payment was misallocated by HMRC and subsequently refunded. Honestly we were not aware. The company was doing well at the time, and this was before my wife took over submitted tax returns etc.
Additional info:
-The company has no personal gaurenttes or directors loans
-HMRC is the sole creditor
-The company has no cash reserves and organically stopped trading in 2022
-The company hold a few small assets ( 2 >5 year old Macs of which one is broken,a >5yr old iPad (again broken and replaced personally, some textbooks, and stationary).
-We have written and spoken to HMRC multiple times with account information, financial status and company status etc
-We have also written to ask for interest to cease, they never responded.
I last spoke to HMRC 2 weeks ago, at which point they advised me that I was PERSONALLY FINANCIALLY responsible for the debt. I challenged this, and eventually told them I was now recording the cal and for them to confirm I was personally financially responsible and not the company and to justify why. At this point they put me on hold, came back and said they can't continue the conversation and hung up.
We no need for the business to continue. The debt has now been passed on to Advents Credit. After seeking to the Directors helpline we have written to Advents and HMRC both of them to explain the above and invited them to petition to wind up the company or write off the debt as we have no cash, meaningful assets or plan to trade. We have no interest in funding CVL as we don't want to pay personally. At a push if it's the advised option, we could start doing work for the company again on weekends to fund CVL, but then will have to reopen bank accounts, pay tax on earning etc.
What should I do here, we've genuinely done nothing intentionally nefarious but I'm concerned as to how this will progress. My wife is very worried about debt collectors turning up at the door.
I can supply any further information needed.
Many thanks for your help!
