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What the government charges and requires

These apply to every UK limited company. Figures from GOV.UK and Companies House.

• Companies House incorporation fee (online). Registering a limited company online costs GBP 100, paid by debit or credit card, and a company is usually registered within 24 hours. Same-day incorporation costs GBP 156, listed under the software route only. Registering by post on form IN01 costs GBP 124 and takes 8 to 10 days. An agent adds its own fee on top unless its price says the Companies House fee is included. Fee: 100 GBP gov.uk/government/publications/companie…
• No residency rule for directors. gov.uk says directors do not have to live in the UK, but the company must have a UK registered office address. A director must be 16 or over. A company needs at least one director. The shareholder rule is only that there must be at least one shareholder, who can be a director. gov.uk/limited-company-formation/appoin…
• Registered office and registered email address. A company must keep a registered office at an 'appropriate address' at all times, in the part of the UK where it is registered. An address is appropriate if post delivered there would reach someone acting for the company and delivery can be recorded. If it is not appropriate, Companies House can replace it with a default address and the company has 28 days to fix it. This is why a founder abroad needs a UK address service. The company must also give a registered email address when it incorporates, where Companies House emails would reach someone acting for the company. It is not shown on the public register. gov.uk/government/publications/incorpor…
• Identity verification: who and when. From 18 November 2025 identity verification is a legal requirement. New directors and PSCs must verify to incorporate or be appointed. Existing directors must confirm they have verified when they file their next confirmation statement during a 12-month transition period. Each existing PSC has a 14-day window whose dates depend on the person's record. gov.uk says 18 November 2025 starts a 12-month transition and is not a deadline. Companies House estimated 6 to 7 million people need to verify by mid-November 2026. gov.uk/guidance/verify-your-identity-fo…
• Identity verification: two routes. A person can verify online with GOV.UK One Login and receive a Companies House personal code. Or they can ask an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), such as an accountant, solicitor or formation agent, to verify them. You only need to verify once. You give the personal code for each company role you hold. gov.uk/guidance/verify-your-identity-fo…
• Confirmation statement: fee and deadline. A confirmation statement costs GBP 50 online or through software, for the first statement in each 12-month payment period; by post it costs GBP 110. A company must file at least one every 12 months, up to 14 days after the review period ends. It can file early, which starts a new review period. Fee: 50 GBP gov.uk/government/publications/companie…
• Annual accounts and tax return deadlines. First accounts are due 21 months after the date the company registered. After that, accounts are due 9 months after the financial year ends. Corporation Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends. The Company Tax Return is due 12 months after that period ends. gov.uk/prepare-file-annual-accounts-for…
• Late filing penalties for accounts. For a private company the automatic penalty is GBP 150 up to 1 month late, GBP 375 for 1 to 3 months, GBP 750 for 3 to 6 months and GBP 1,500 for more than 6 months. The penalty applies to accounts only. A company that files late two years running can pay double. Public company amounts are higher. gov.uk/government/publications/late-fil…
• Corporation Tax registration. A company must tell HMRC within 3 months of starting its tax accounting period if it is now active. gov.uk says you should add Corporation Tax services when you start to do business, such as buying, selling, advertising, renting property or employing someone. You need the company's 10-digit UTR. If you live abroad, the activation code can take 21 days instead of 10. gov.uk/guidance/corporation-tax-trading…
• Corporation Tax rates. The main rate is 25% for profits over GBP 250,000. The small profits rate is 19% for profits of GBP 50,000 or less. Marginal Relief applies between those two levels. The thresholds are reduced for short accounting periods and for associated companies. gov.uk/corporation-tax-rates
• VAT registration threshold. A business must register for VAT if taxable turnover over the last 12 months goes above GBP 90,000, or is expected to in the next 30 days. gov.uk adds a separate rule: a business based outside the UK that supplies goods or services to the UK must register whatever its turnover. Voluntary registration is allowed below the threshold. gov.uk/register-for-vat
• People with significant control (PSC) register. A company must identify its PSCs and tell Companies House who they are. A PSC is usually someone with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or who can appoint or remove most directors, or who has significant influence or control. The register cannot be left blank; if there is no PSC the company must say so. PSC identity verification is separate from the director rule. gov.uk/guidance/people-with-significant…
• A company gives no visa or right to work. We found no gov.uk page saying that owning a UK company gives a right to live or work in the UK. Immigration status is a separate application. For a person who wants to set up and run an innovative business in the UK, gov.uk lists the Innovator Founder visa, which needs an endorsement from an approved body. The endorsement costs GBP 1,000 and is paid to the endorsing body. gov.uk/innovator-founder-visa
• Changes still to come under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. gov.uk announced on 9 June 2026 that accounts reforms start in April 2028, not April 2027. From April 2028 all companies must file accounts through commercial software, small companies and micro-entities must file a profit and loss account (with an option not to publish it), and abridged accounts end. A third-party summary of the 5 August 2026 transition plan says identity checks for people who file on a company's behalf come no earlier than November 2027. We have not read that plan on gov.uk. gov.uk/government/news/companies-house-…
• Self-filing: what a non-resident still needs. A UK resident or a non-resident can register directly with Companies House for the GBP 100 fee alone. The founder verifies identity with GOV.UK One Login to get a personal code, or uses an ACSP. A non-resident still needs a UK registered office at an appropriate address, which is the main thing an agent sells. gov.uk does not say whether One Login works for every nationality, so we have not confirmed that a founder abroad can verify this way. gov.uk/limited-company-formation/regist…