Accountants for
Limited Companies

Yes, and it is a fairly common starting point. We agree a fixed fee for bringing the records up to date, work back through the bank statements, and rebuild the ledger to a point where it is accurate.

Bring whatever you have, including the carrier bag. It is genuinely easier for us to sort out than for you to attempt first.

Accounts are due at Companies House nine months after your accounting reference date. Your corporation tax return is due twelve months after year end, but the tax itself must be paid nine months and one day after year end — so payment comes before the return is due.

A first set of accounts is different: they are due 21 months after incorporation. We put all of your dates in writing at the start so nothing creeps up.

19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% on profits over £250,000. Between those figures marginal relief applies, which produces an effective marginal rate of 26.5% on the profits falling in the band.

Both thresholds are divided by the number of associated companies. If you control two companies, the small profits limit becomes £25,000 each, which frequently surprises people who set up a second company for a side venture.

Companies House penalties are automatic and are not waived for being nearly on time: £150 up to one month late, £375 up to three months, £750 up to six months and £1,500 beyond that. They double if you also filed late in the previous year.

HMRC applies its own separate penalties for a late corporation tax return, starting at £100. Persistent late filing can also lead to the company being struck off.

Nine months and one day after the end of your accounting period. The CT600 return is not due until twelve months after year end, so payment comes first — a common cash flow trap for a company in its first profitable year.

Very large companies pay in quarterly instalments instead, but that only applies well above the profit levels most small companies reach.

For most owner-managed companies the efficient approach is a modest salary set around the National Insurance thresholds, which preserves your State Pension record and is deductible against corporation tax, with the balance drawn as dividends.

The exact split depends on your other income, whether the Employment Allowance is available to your company, and how much you actually need to draw. Dividends can only be paid out of accumulated post-tax profits, so the company has to have the reserves. We run the numbers rather than applying a rule of thumb.