AnswersWhen a client goes under
How do I claim money from a company in liquidation?
The short answer
Write to the liquidator. Send a proof of debt before their last date: a letter or form with what the Insolvency Rules list1, chiefly the sum owed, VAT included, on the day the company went into liquidation. The Rules fix the contents, not the layout, so a letter with those contents3 usually does. Proving carries no cost beyond your own2; the VAT is a separate claim to HMRC7.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
What you can add
A £6,000 invoice, a company in liquidation
Say you invoiced a company £6,000, which is £5,000 plus £1,000 VAT, due on 31 July 2026. On 2 October 2026 it went into liquidation, 63 days after the due date, and the invoice is still unpaid. It went late on 1 August 2026, so the rate set on 30 June 2026 applies for the life of the debt.
The claim stops growing on 2 October 2026. Interest after that day is not part of it2. Say the liquidator later pays 5p in the pound: £6,191.68 would return £309.58. That is an illustration, not a forecast.
The road ahead
Six steps, and one date to watch.
Step 1: Find the liquidator
Look the company up on Companies House6 and in The Gazette's insolvency notices5. Send your proof to the liquidator named there, not to the company's old address.
When a court orders the winding up, the first liquidator is normally the official receiver4, who may hand over to an insolvency practitioner later.
Step 2: Work out the claim
Start with what they owe you, VAT included, on the day the company went into liquidation, or entered administration if one came first2. Take off anything paid since and anything you owe them2.
Add interest to that day and no further. Late Payment Act interest usually counts8, at 8% over Bank Rate9: 11.75% a year10 for invoices late from 1 July to 31 December 2026.
The fixed sum11 usually goes in too. Earlier half-years have their own rates.
Step 3: Write the proof
Use the Insolvency Service template3, the liquidator's own form if they sent one, or the letter below. It must be dated and authenticated (signed, or emailed with your name typed) and give the details the Rules list1.
Attach copies of the invoices, statement and contract or emails. The Rules only make you list them, but the liquidator can call for them1, so sending them saves a round trip.
Step 4: Send it before the last date
Email it now, not on the last day. Before a first dividend the liquidator gazettes a notice and writes to creditors who have not proved2, with a last date at least 21 days off.
After that date, a proof need not be dealt with, a paid dividend is not reopened, and a final dividend ignores debts not proved2.
Step 5: Read the reply
When a dividend is planned, the liquidator must within 14 days of the last date for proofs admit or reject your proof, in whole or in part, or make provision for it2.
A rejection comes with written reasons, and you have 21 days from receiving them to ask the court2 to reverse it. That is the point for a solicitor who does insolvency work.
A dividend can take months or years, and with few assets you may receive nothing4.
Step 6: Reclaim the VAT from HMRC
Six months7 after the later of its due date and the supply date, write the debt off in your VAT accounts and put the VAT in box 4 of the return that covers that date.
You must already have paid HMRC that VAT, and you have 4 years and 6 months7 from the same date to claim. The VAT page has the sum.
If a dividend arrives later, repay the VAT share of it in box 17.
A letter you can copy
Proof of debt letter to a liquidator
Send it as soon as you know the liquidator's name, before any last date for proofs. It carries every item the Rules list, so it works as the proof. If they send their own form, complete that too.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Email it from an address that clearly identifies you, with your name typed at the bottom, so the proof is dated and traceable. Keep the sent copy and any reply with the invoices. Owed on several invoices? Give each its own line. If anything was paid after the liquidation date, you owe the company money, you hold security or goods are under reservation of title, change the 'Nothing has been paid' sentence. If your contract sets its own interest, use that instead of the Act's. If you claim no interest, replace the interest paragraph with: The total includes no interest.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- You are owed £1,000 or less. The liquidator can treat a debt that size as proved2 from the company's records, so they may not ask you for a proof. If their figure is wrong you must send one; if you hear nothing, a proof costs ten minutes.
- It is a members' voluntary liquidation. The owners are closing the company, and you need not prove unless the liquidator asks you to2. Email the liquidator your invoice now so the debt is on their list, then wait for their letter.
- The company has already been dissolved. A voluntary liquidation ends with the company deemed dissolved three months after the final account is registered12, and no liquidator is left to write to. Check Companies House first.
- You use cash accounting for VAT. You only paid HMRC VAT on money you received7, so there is nothing to reclaim. Send the proof for the whole debt all the same.
- The company is registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland. These are the England and Wales Rules; claims there follow different law.
The Wolf's note
Proving the debt costs about an hour and puts your name on the list. What comes back depends on what is left to sell; the VAT is a separate claim with a date of its own. Send the proof now, and put the VAT date in your diary.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
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Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.