How much does it cost to liquidate a company?

How much does each type of company liquidation cost?

Liquidating a limited company typically costs from around £4,000 to £7,000 plus VAT through a creditors' voluntary liquidation and from around £2,000 to £5,000 plus VAT and disbursements through a members' voluntary liquidation, while a court winding-up costs the petitioning creditor £2,952 up front.

The CVL and MVL figures are our indicative ranges for straightforward cases, and we confirm the figure for your company in writing before you commit. Which route applies depends on whether the company can pay its debts. An insolvent company the directors decide to close goes into a creditors' voluntary liquidation, a solvent company into a members' voluntary liquidation, and a company a creditor takes to court into compulsory liquidation.

Our fees are indicative and confirmed in writing before you commit. Court, Official Receiver and Companies House fees are set by statute and change from time to time, so check the current amounts on GOV.UK.

How much does a creditors' voluntary liquidation cost?

A creditors' voluntary liquidation typically costs from around £4,000 to £7,000 plus VAT for a straightforward small company, with the exact figure depending on the number of creditors, the assets to realise and how much the liquidator needs to investigate.

The fee usually pays for two stages of work. The first comes before the appointment: preparing the statement of affairs and seeking the creditors' decision on who the liquidator should be. Rule 6.7 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 allows those costs to be paid out of the company's assets either before or after the liquidation starts. The second is the liquidator's remuneration for running the case through to the final account.

Creditors decide how the liquidator is paid. Under rule 18.20 a liquidation committee, or the creditors through a decision procedure where there is no committee, fix the basis of the remuneration, and rule 18.16 allows a set amount, a percentage of what is realised or distributed, the time properly spent, or a combination. Statement of Insolvency Practice 9 requires every payment from the estate to be fair, reasonable and proportionate, and a practitioner who asks for a set fee or a percentage must explain why that basis fairly reflects the work expected.

What does a creditors' voluntary liquidation fee pay for?

A creditors' voluntary liquidation fee pays for the statutory work the Insolvency Act 1986 requires, from the statement of affairs and the creditors' decision on the liquidator to the Gazette notices, the insolvency practitioner's bond, the investigation into the directors and the final account.

Each stage below is a legal requirement, which is why a properly run liquidation costs more than a form filed at Companies House. Our guide on how to liquidate a company step by step explains the same process from the directors' side.

Who pays for a creditors' voluntary liquidation?

In a creditors' voluntary liquidation the liquidator's fees and expenses are normally paid out of the company's own assets, because under section 175 of the Insolvency Act 1986 the expenses of the winding up are paid before the preferential and unsecured creditors.

Where the company has little to sell, the fee has to be met another way, and it usually comes from one or more of the sources below. A personal guarantee is a separate matter: it is a debt you owe the lender yourself, and it survives the company.

• The company's assets. Cash at the bank, stock, equipment, vehicles and money owed to the company, including an overdrawn director's loan account, which the liquidator must try to collect.
• The directors or shareholders. Where the company cannot cover the cost, directors sometimes pay the fee, or the part due before the appointment, from their own money. Any payment the company itself makes towards those costs before the liquidation starts must be disclosed to creditors with the statement of affairs under rule 6.7.
• A director's own redundancy entitlement. A director who was also an employee can claim statutory redundancy from the Insolvency Service's Redundancy Payments Service, and that money is theirs to use. From 6 April 2026 the weekly pay used is capped at £751 and service at 20 years, so the maximum statutory redundancy payment is £22,530 (GOV.UK has the current figures). Our guide to redundancy pay for directors explains who qualifies.

How much does a members' voluntary liquidation cost?

A members' voluntary liquidation typically costs from around £2,000 to £5,000 plus VAT and disbursements for a straightforward solvent company with cash and few assets, and the fee is paid out of the company's reserves before the liquidator distributes them to the shareholders.

Because the company is solvent, nobody has to fund the liquidation from outside. The directors, or a majority of them where there are more than two, first make a statutory declaration of solvency under section 89 of the Insolvency Act 1986, stating that the company will be able to pay its debts in full within a stated period of no more than 12 months. Making that declaration without reasonable grounds is a criminal offence.

The liquidator still needs a bond and Gazette notices, and waiting for HMRC to give tax clearance usually decides how long the case stays open. As a rule of thumb, an MVL becomes worthwhile once the reserves to distribute are more than around £25,000; below that, striking the company off is often the simpler option.

How much does compulsory liquidation cost, and who pays?

Compulsory liquidation costs the petitioning creditor £2,952 up front, made up of a £352 court fee and a £2,600 deposit, and the winding-up order then charges the company's assets with Official Receiver's fees of £13,200 plus 15% of realisations.

The directors pay nothing to start it, because the process is imposed on the company, but the Official Receiver's fees come out of assets that would otherwise reach creditors. Under the Insolvency Proceedings (Fees) Order 2016, as amended from 9 January 2025, a £6,000 administration fee covers the Official Receiver's duties, including investigating and reporting on the company, and a £7,200 general fee is charged whenever a winding-up order is made. Directors can also petition to wind up their own company, and the same court fee and deposit then apply.

A petitioner can often recover its outlay. Its costs are an expense of the winding up, paid from the assets after the Official Receiver's fees under rule 7.108, and the deposit is returned so far as the assets cover the administration fee. If your company has been served with a petition, read our guide on what to do about a winding-up petition.

Court fee from the HMCTS fee list (EX50) and deposit from GOV.UK; Official Receiver's fees from the Insolvency Proceedings (Fees) Order 2016 as amended. Statutory fees change, so check GOV.UK before relying on them.

What affects the cost of liquidating a company?

The cost of liquidating a company depends mainly on the value and type of its assets, the number of creditors and employees, the state of its books and records, and how much the liquidator has to investigate before the case can close.

These are the factors that most often change the amount of work in a case.

• Assets to realise. Property, vehicles, plant, stock and unpaid invoices each take work to value and sell, often through an agent, and the value of the assets also sets the size of the liquidator's bond.
• Creditors and employees. More creditors means more claims to agree and more reports to send, and staff need help with their claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.
• Books and records. Statement of Insolvency Practice 2 expects the liquidator to locate and secure the company's records, so missing or incomplete records add time.
• Investigations. The same statement requires investigations proportionate to the case. Payments to connected people, an overdrawn loan account, a possible preference under section 239 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or a Bounce Back Loan the company cannot repay all need looking into.
• Disputes and claims. Disputed debts, retention of title claims and legal action against third parties all add cost, and legal fees are paid from the assets as an expense.

How does the cost of liquidation compare with striking a company off?

Striking a company off the register costs £13 online or £18 on paper using Companies House form DS01, far less than any liquidation, but it only suits a company that has paid its debts and has little left to distribute.

Before applying, the directors must close the company down properly, paying the final tax and wages, dealing with the assets and closing the bank account, because anything still in the company when it is struck off passes to the Crown. The tax treatment differs as well. Under section 1030A of the Corporation Tax Act 2010, money paid to shareholders in anticipation of a strike-off is treated as capital only if the company has paid, or intends to pay, its debts and the total is no more than £25,000. Above that limit the whole amount is taxed as an income distribution, which is why a solvent company with larger reserves usually chooses an MVL.

Our overview of the ways of closing a company compares the routes side by side.

Can a company that cannot pay its debts be struck off instead of liquidated?

A company that cannot pay its debts cannot safely be struck off instead of liquidated, because every creditor must be sent the DS01 within seven days, any of them can object, and a creditor can have the company restored for up to six years.

GOV.UK says a company can only be struck off if it is not threatened with liquidation and has no agreement with its creditors, such as a CVA. The rules below are why a creditors' voluntary liquidation remains the proper way to close a company that owes money it cannot pay.

• Creditors must be told. Section 1006 of the Companies Act 2006 requires a copy of the application to reach every creditor within seven days. Failing to send it is an offence, and doing so to conceal the application is an aggravated offence carrying up to seven years in prison.
• Creditors can object. An accepted objection stops the strike-off for six months, and Companies House can extend that where the creditor shows progress, for example by starting legal action.
• Some applications are barred outright. Under section 1005 it is an offence to apply while a winding-up petition is pending, while a voluntary arrangement has been proposed and not concluded, or while the company is in administration or liquidation.
• The company can come back. A creditor can apply to court to restore a dissolved company for up to six years under section 1030, and then pursue it for the debt.
• Directors can still be investigated. Since the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021, the Insolvency Service can seek the disqualification of directors of dissolved companies for 2 to 15 years.

Why speak to NTF about the cost of liquidating your company?

NTF Corporate Solutions is a specialist insolvency practice whose liquidation quotes come from named practitioners, James Kaye and Nick Morgan, who are licensed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and act under the Insolvency Act 1986.

You speak to a practitioner directly, we explain plainly which route fits and what it will cost, and we confirm the figure in writing before you commit. As part of the NTF group, we have helped company directors since 2009, and the first conversation is free, confidential and without obligation. Ask us for a fixed quote for your company.