Limited Company Help
Are you thinking of setting up a limited company, or are you a seasoned business owner?
Run by an experienced team, our site contains concise guides to everything from company formation to dealing with tax and taking on your first employees. We’ve been operating business advice sites for nearly 20 years.
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What is VAT, and do I need to register my company?
Almost every consumer in Britain pays it, and it’s a staple talking point during the Chancellor’s annual budget. But what exactly is VAT and do you need to register your limited company for it?
Business structures: limited company, sole trader, partnership, LLP
If you want to start a business in the UK, you will typically work as a sole trader, as an unincorporated partnership, via your own limited company, or via a limited liability partnership (LLP).
What types of limited company are there?
A limited company is a specific type of company registration that offers investors and managers protection from liabilities incurred by the business. This is known as an incorporated structure and means the company has its own identity, responsibilities and rights in law.
A guide to the Employment Allowance for company owners
Beneficial to entrepreneurs who employ others, the Employment Allowance could be worth up to £4,000 each year (£3,000 pre-April 2020) against your limited company’s Employers’ National Insurance bill.
Does your limited company need Employers’ Liability Insurance?
If you run a business and employ staff, it’s important that you have the right type of insurance in place. Insuring your premises, goods, and vehicles against loss through theft or damage is essential but it’s just as important, and a legal requirement under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, to have employers’ liability
How do I know if an accountant is qualified?
Choosing an accountant to help you manage your business’ financial affairs is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. The person you eventually go for will not only be privy to a large pool of information about your business’ performance and future viability, but he or she will also be the one you trust
Limited companies and the Flat Rate VAT scheme (FRS)
The Flat Rate VAT scheme (FRS) is designed to make it easier for small businesses to fulfil their value-added tax (VAT) obligations.
How to choose a suitable limited company name
Choosing a name for your limited company is a big deal – it is going to be the name that underpins everything you do in your business. It will carry your reputation and guarantee how memorable you are to future customers. It is important, therefore, that it is given plenty of thought. There are also
Staff entertainment – the £150/head expenses exemption
If you provide entertainment benefits to staff, your company may need to pay Class 1A National Insurance of the value of such perks. You will also need to report the value of such benefits on each employee’s annual P11D form. However, there is one exception that you may not know about.
What is a Dormant Limited Company?
Unlike active companies, dormant limited companies do not trade at all. Although most enterprises registered with Companies House are processing income and expenditure, dormant companies are just standard limited companies which are inactive.
What is the function of Companies House?
Companies House is the government body responsible for administrating company information in the UK. As a company owner, you will interact with the agency when you first form a company, submit accounts or your Confirmation Statement, or make changes to the data stored about your business.
What are the Articles and Memorandum of Association?
When you first register a new limited company, you need to provide (or adopt) Articles of Association, which act as the company’s ‘rule book’, together with an initial list of subscriber via a Memorandum of Association.
What is a Community Interest Company (CIC)?
A Community Interest Company (CIC) is an enterprise set up to make a profit for the benefit of the community. CICs first appeared in 2005 and were designed to address the lack of non-charitable businesses or community-based companies.
Business rates and your limited company
While council tax is charged on residential properties, the vast majority of non-residential properties have a non-domestic equivalent levied on them.
Confirmation Statement – what is it, and how do I file one?
The UK tax authorities introduced new regulations on 30th June 2016 which introduced a new piece of paperwork for all businesses registered at Companies House to file. The new annual confirmation statement has replaced the annual return (Companies House form AR01) but does all the same things – just in a simpler way.
Capital Allowances and your limited company
When running a company, you may be most concerned with turning a profit or developing your capital, depending on the nature of your business and your priorities. Naturally, there will be taxes to pay and these will be based on both the income and capital elements of your business. How much tax you will pay
How does a limited company’s payroll work?
When you set up your own limited company, one of the most important things to consider if you also have employees is to set up your company’s payroll – to pay salaries, and account for income tax and NIC liabilities.
Company Car Tax – how does it work?
You may have considered purchasing a car via your own limited company. However, before you go ahead, you should consider the tax implications of using a company car for your own personal use, compared to the option of simply claiming back mileage costs of using your own car whilst on business.
What do a limited company’s Annual Accounts consist of?
Every year in the UK, all registered companies must prepare annual accounts and file them with Companies House and HMRC. Businesses must accurately report on their financial activity during the tax year just gone.
What is National Insurance, and what are Class 1 NICs?
How Class 1 National Insurance is applied to the salaries of limited company directors and employees, including the current rates for employers and employees.
What does Self Assessment involve, and who pays it?
The Self Assessment system is in place to collect income tax from individuals who have earnings which can’t be taxed in this way – such as the self-employed and company directors.
How to you set up a business ‘partnership’?
You may decide to set up a business with one or more other self-employed individuals. Here, we look at how you can form a partnership, how your new joint venture will be taxed, and how to protect the partners in case things go wrong.
What is the Patent Box tax incentive?
In a nutshell, the patent box regime is a corporation tax relief which provides a reduction in the rate of tax (10%) on any income that is earned through the commercial exploitation of a patent. Unfortunately, it is closed to new entrants.
