Accounts Prepared, Independent Audit Arranged, Annual Return Filed. One Fixed Fee.
A late annual return can cost a dormant company its audit exemption, even though nothing has happened in the company. We prepare the dormant financial statements, arrange the audit with an independent firm of registered statutory auditors, and file your annual return with the CRO, so you're compliant again and back on track for exemption.
See its status, its next annual return date and the date of its last accounts before you answer the audit questions.
Seven quick questions. You'll see whether an audit is likely, which exemption the company would use, and what to do next. We confirm it from the CRO record before you pay.
Your answer appears here as you go.
An indication only, not legal advice or a final decision. We confirm which years need an audit from the company's CRO filing history and balance sheet before you pay anything.
Fixed fees, all + VAT. Each includes the dormant financial statements, the independent audit and filing your annual return with the CRO.
Prices exclude VAT at 23%. CRO filing fees and any late filing penalties are paid to the CRO on top. Dormant means no significant accounting transactions in the year. If the company traded, the audit is quoted, typically from €1,999.99 + VAT.
Most firms price a dormant audit like a trading company audit. A dormant company has no transactions to test, so we've built a fixed-fee process around that.
Accounts, audit and annual return filing in one price, instead of an accountant and an auditor billing separately.
The audit is carried out by an independent firm of registered statutory auditors, who alone decide the audit opinion. We prepare everything they need, so it moves quickly.
We check the CRO filing history first, so you only pay for the years that actually need an audit.
We file both audited years on time, so the company can claim its exemption again afterwards.
People use these words loosely. For the audit rules, the difference matters.
| Dormant (company law) | Inactive or non-trading | |
|---|---|---|
| Transactions in the year | None that must be recorded in the books. CRO filing fees are ignored | No trading, but there may be bank charges, interest or small costs |
| Balance sheet | Only shares in, or balances with, other group companies | May hold cash, loans to or from directors, property or investments |
| Audit exemption it can use | The dormant company exemption (section 365), with the directors' decision minuted | The small company exemption, if it meets the size conditions |
| Lost by late filing? | Yes, both. Two late annual returns within five years mean audits for the following two years | |
| Revenue | Still files a corporation tax return (CT1) each year, even if it's nil | |
| Our fixed fees | Apply to companies with no transactions in the year. Simple balances like share capital or a director's loan are fine. Property, investments or trading: quoted | |
Most "dormant" companies we see are really inactive. That changes which exemption applies, but not the late filing rule or our price. See dormant or inactive?
You don't always need an audit. Here's where each situation leads.
The exemption is lost for two years. We prepare the accounts, arrange the independent audit and file.
From €899.99 + VATNo audit needed. We prepare the accounts and file the annual return on time each year.
From €299.99 + VATA voluntary strike-off can cost less than two audits, once the annual returns are up to date.
CloseACompany.ieSubject to the company's filing history, balance sheet and any outstanding obligations. We check before you pay.
Tell us the company. We review its CRO filing history and confirm which years need an audit, within one working day.
You get a fixed price for exactly what's needed. Each director completes a quick online ID check.
Dormant financial statements, directors' report and board minutes, from the company's records and bank statements.
The auditors review the accounts and issue their report. We answer their questions and gather any confirmations they need.
Directors sign, and we file the annual return with the audited accounts before the deadline.
Takes a minute. No payment now: we check the company's filing history and balance sheet first, then confirm your quote.
Normally it doesn't: dormant companies can claim the dormant company audit exemption. But the same late-filing rule that applies to small companies applies to dormant ones. If the company files its annual return late more than once within five years, it loses the exemption for the following two years, and those accounts must be audited.
Before then, one late annual return cost the exemption for the following two years. Since 16 July 2025, small, micro and dormant companies lose it only if they file late more than once within five years. Late returns filed up to midnight on 15 July 2025 still require audits for the following two annual returns. See the 2025 rule change.
€899.99 + VAT for one year, or €1,599.99 + VAT for the usual two years, including the accounts, the independent audit and filing the annual return. Extra overdue years are €799.99 + VAT each. CRO filing fees and any late filing penalties are paid to the CRO on top.
An independent firm of registered statutory auditors. We don't carry out audits ourselves. We prepare the financial statements and supporting documents, coordinate with the auditors, and file the annual return. The auditors alone decide whether they have enough evidence and what opinion to give, so a fixed fee isn't a guarantee of a clean (unmodified) audit report.
Under section 365 of the Companies Act 2014, a company is dormant in a year if it has no transactions that must be entered in its accounting records, and its only assets and liabilities are shares in, or balances with, other group companies. CRO filing fees don't count. The directors must also decide to claim the exemption and minute it. Many companies people call dormant are really inactive or non-trading. See dormant or inactive?
Yes. Being dormant for company law doesn't remove Revenue obligations: a company within the charge to corporation tax files a CT1 every year, even if it's nil.
The company may qualify again after the two audited years, provided it files on time and meets the conditions. Keep filing on time, because another late return within five years starts the cycle again. AnnualReturnWatch.ie sends deadline reminders.
Yes. If you use LateAnnualReturns.ie for your District Court application to extend the time to file, your dormant audit is €699.99 + VAT for each audited year, instead of €899.99, with the accounts and annual return filing included. This price is for straightforward companies with no transactions in the year, confirmed at our free review.
Yes. We bring overdue years up to date, oldest first, at €799.99 + VAT for each extra year, and confirm the exact price before we start. If annual returns are overdue, file as soon as possible, because late filing penalties grow every day up to €1,200 per return.
Often, if you don't need it. If there's no plan to use the company again, a voluntary strike-off may cost less than two audits, provided its annual returns are brought up to date first. See audit or strike off? and CloseACompany.ie.
The company's bank statements for the year, if it has an account, any correspondence about its shares or loans, and signatures from the directors. See what the auditor will ask for.
Then it isn't dormant for that year, and the audit is a trading company audit. We quote for these, typically from €1,999.99 + VAT, including the accounts and the annual return.
Clients with a dormant company that's lost its exemption? We prepare the accounts, arrange the independent audit and file the annual return, while you stay the client's adviser.
Tell us the company name and we'll check its filing history and confirm which years need an audit, free of charge.
The late-filing rule, and how it applies to dormant companies.
Read the guideLate more than once in five years, and what happened to older late filings.
Read the guideWhen closing a dormant company costs less than auditing it.
Read the guide