Obligations and running costs for Ltd

[no.recoil]

Hello all,

I was wondering about the obligations/running costs of running a private limited company (with the director the only 'employee', no salary paid - all earnings retained).

------ background
The general idea is to have a company holding a portfolio of various websites, some profitable, some not - I am currently employed and this would simply be a way to try out a few things, but give me the opportunity to do so in the safest, most (cash/tax/legal) efficient way.
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From my understanding, the following needs to be done yearly:
. send accounts to CH (£15 if done electronically)
. submit a corporation tax return to HMRC (free)

+ what an accountant might charge for helping me with the above (some online quotes seem to go for ~120+VAT)

Am I missing anything?

Thanks!

 

[Brasso]

We tried to do all this ourselves but found that a small local accountant could take all the pain out if it for a really low fee. Once you took the cost of the forms out of it it was about £40 or £50 (which is what my local mechanic charges an hour). So I would think that the costs you have seen online are about right, available locally and a fee you'll gladly paid in the end. We still use the same accountant to make sure we are all legal and sorted.

 

[Vikas]

Limited companies also need to file annual returns with companies house which are £15 when filed online or £30 if a paper copy is filed.
If you have all the details available for an acountant, s/he should be able to do the work for you for probably £250-£300, although you say £120 which is very cheap!

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Hello all,

I was wondering about the obligations/running costs of running a private limited company (with the director the only 'employee', no salary paid - all earnings retained).

------ background
The general idea is to have a company holding a portfolio of various websites, some profitable, some not - I am currently employed and this would simply be a way to try out a few things, but give me the opportunity to do so in the safest, most (cash/tax/legal) efficient way.
------

From my understanding, the following needs to be done yearly:
. send accounts to CH (£15 if done electronically)
. submit a corporation tax return to HMRC (free)

+ what an accountant might charge for helping me with the above (some online quotes seem to go for ~120+VAT)

Am I missing anything?

Thanks!

I wouldnt dive in and get a company formed without speaking with an accountant first - it isnt always the best option, their are lots of considerations.

The accounts dont cost £15 to send - thats an annual return the accounts are very different.

If you are looking for a professionally qualified firm of accountants you'll need to budget more than £200-£300 a year to prepare the annual accounts, tax return and generally deal with all matters necessary.

This might be useful -

http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gp2.shtml