Guides
The questions every overseas founder asks us — answered
Eighteen guides, five calculators, a forms index, a glossary and 34 short answers — honest, sourced, and updated when HMRC or Companies House change the rules.
Every Companies House and HMRC form, explained
What each form is for, when it is due, the fee, and the penalty for missing it.
A glossary of UK company and tax terms
PSC, UTR, ARD, CT600, RTI, EORI and 26 more, in plain English.
UK accounts and audit for a subsidiary
Whether you need an audit depends on the size of the whole group worldwide — the thing that catches almost everybody.
Getting profits home, and closing the company
Dividends with no withholding, interest and royalties at 20%, management charges — then strike-off or MVL.
Employing people in the UK
No at-will employment. Written terms on day one, 5.6 weeks’ holiday, compulsory pension, £5m employers’ liability insurance.
What a UK subsidiary actually costs
Government fees, our fixed fees and the taxes — itemised for year one, with what is in the £1,950 Launch fee.
UK, Ireland or the Netherlands for your European hub?
Tax, withholding, EU access, speed, resident directors and cost — and which entity comes first.
What will a UK subsidiary cost to set up and run?
Set-up, running costs and tax for year one from our published fees and 2025/26 rates.
Every filing date for your UK company, from two dates
Accounts, CT600, VAT, PAYE and confirmation statement for two years — downloadable as a calendar file.
Short answers to the questions overseas founders ask most
Directors, tax, VAT, banking, payroll, deadlines and costs — two to four sentences each.
How to set up a UK subsidiary from abroad, step by step
The eleven steps of setting up and running a UK subsidiary from overseas, in the order the work happens .
The UK taxes a subsidiary pays
Every UK tax an overseas-owned company meets, on one page.
What will the UK subsidiary pay in corporation tax?
19% or 25% — decided by how many companies your group controls worldwide.
Do you already have a UK tax presence?
A UK permanent establishment is created by what your people do here, not by what you have registered.
Employer of record or your own UK company?
An employer of record puts one person on a UK payroll in days without a UK entity.
Subsidiary or branch? Eight questions
Liability, disclosure, speed, hiring, regulation and early losses — a recommendation in two minutes.
Subsidiary or branch (UK establishment): how to choose
A UK subsidiary is a new limited company; a branch — registered at Companies House as a “UK establishment” — extends your existing overseas company into the UK.
What does it cost to employ someone in the UK?
Salary, employer National Insurance at 15%, and the compulsory pension — the full annual figure from one number.
Do I need a UK resident director to form a UK company?
No — a UK limited company can be owned and run entirely from abroad. What Companies House, HMRC and the banks actually require of non-resident directors.
UK VAT for overseas sellers: when the £90,000 threshold doesn’t apply
UK-established businesses register for VAT at £90,000 of taxable turnover. Non-established businesses often have to register from their first UK sale. How to tell which you are.
Opening a UK business bank account from abroad
Which kinds of provider accept non-resident directors, what evidence they ask for, and how long a UK business bank account really takes to open from overseas.
Hiring your first UK employee: PAYE, pensions and contracts
The registrations you need before the first payslip, what workplace pension auto-enrolment means for a two-person company, and what a UK employment contract must contain.
The UK company calendar: every deadline on one page
Confirmation statement, annual accounts, Corporation Tax return and payment, VAT quarters and PAYE — every recurring deadline for a UK limited company and the penalty for missing each.
Registered office vs trading address: what’s the difference?
Every UK company needs a registered office, but it doesn’t have to be where you work. What each address is for, who can see it, and what happens to the post.
Primary sources
Every rate, threshold and deadline on this site is checked against these. They are the originals, not summaries. Last checked .
- Corporation tax rates and the associated companies rule
- VAT registration threshold and non-established businesses
- Audit exemption and the small-company limits
- Companies House fees
- Identity verification for Companies House
- Employers’ liability insurance: the legal requirement
- Automatic enrolment: employer duties
- Employment contracts and the written statement
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2025 to 2026
- Double taxation treaties and withholding tax
- Transfer pricing: SME exemption
- Filing company accounts and confirmation statements
- Strike off, dissolution and restoration
- Register an overseas company (UK establishment)
- Get an EORI number
- Expenses and benefits: P11D
- Research and development tax relief
- Permanent establishment: HMRC International Manual
- Dormant companies and associations
- DBT inward investment results 2025 to 2026
- Statutory residence test (RDR3)
- PAYE and payroll for employers