Limited company directors

Accountants for UK limited company directors.

How you pay yourself. What happens with your director's loan account. Where your company falls in the Corporation Tax bands. The new identity checks at Companies House.

We handle all of this through the year, not as a rush before year-end.

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Tax efficiency Filed on time Numbers kept current

Is this for me?: We work with directors of owner-managed UK limited companies who want their accountant in the conversation year-round.
What's covered: Statutory accounts and Corporation Tax (CT600) filings, regular management accounts, salary-and-dividend modelling, VAT and payroll, personal tax returns, and director extraction planning, all under one fixed fee.
What it costs: Band 01 covers companies with up to two directors. Custom bands cover groups, additional directors and multi-entity reporting. The fees page sets out the detail.

What you get

What the fee covers for a limited company

As a director, you have personal duties under the Companies Act. You're at the crossroads of Corporation Tax and personal Income Tax, and you sign off the accounts that confirm whether the dividends you've taken were backed by enough profit.

Pay and dividends How money leaves the company

Reserves What was available to extract

Liability What you are personally liable for

These three have to be looked at together. Dividends and pension contributions need checking before year-end, while you can still change something, not three months later when it is already done.

We cover the statutory work (annual accounts, CT600, Companies House) alongside IR35 (Off-Payroll Working) checks and spouse-shareholding paperwork that holds up if HMRC checks it.

For directors who want regular reporting through the year, we run management accounts alongside the statutory work. How often depends on the business, but you have the numbers well before you need to act on them.

Your numbers, kept current

Profit, how you're paying yourself, and your Corporation Tax position tracked through the year. When a question comes up, the numbers are already there.

Deadlines handled on our side

Companies House and HMRC deadlines tracked from our end and filed in advance.

Common mistakes

Where directors lose money

These are issues that compound when they are only discovered at year-end, long after the cheaper options have closed off. We keep an eye on all of these through the year, so you can do something about them before year-end.

1. Voting dividends from unconfirmed profit

If you declare dividends based on estimated profits that turn out to be too high, those dividends may not be lawful. The company can claim them back, the directors are personally liable for the shortfall, and HMRC will treat the unrecovered balance as an overdrawn Director's Loan Account. We track current-year profit and distributable reserves through the year, so dividend declarations are made against numbers we will sign off, not estimates that could collapse by the time the accounts are finalised.

2. Letting the DLA drift past the £10,000 BIK threshold

If your director's loan account goes overdrawn beyond the threshold, it becomes taxable on you personally and the company gets hit with employer's National Insurance on top. Worse, a balance still outstanding nine months after year-end attracts a Section 455 charge of 33.75% on the company. The charge is reclaimable when the loan is repaid, but the cash stays with HMRC until then. We monitor the Director's Loan Account regularly through the year so the position is decided on rather than stumbled into nine months after year-end when the cheaper options have already closed.

3. Spousal salary or share allocation without commercial substance

Paying a spouse a salary materially above the work performed, or allocating shares without clear beneficial ownership, exposes the arrangement to Section 660A (settlements) legislation. HMRC can disregard the structure and reattribute the income to the higher-earning director, usually with interest and penalties. We document the commercial substance of any spousal arrangement at the point it is set up, not when the enquiry letter lands three years later.

4. Crossing the £50k CT band without modelling Marginal Relief

Companies with profit between £50,000 and £250,000 sit in a 26.5% effective Corporation Tax band, higher than the headline 25% rate that applies above £250k. A capital purchase, a pension contribution, or the timing of a single invoice can push the company across a threshold that turns a marginal pound into a 26.5p tax bill. We check the band position before the decision is taken. Read the Marginal Relief guide.

5. Missing Companies House identity verification under the ACSP regime

From 2025, every UK company director must complete Companies House identity verification under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. Confirmation Statements that include an unverified director will be rejected; persistent non-compliance now carries director-level penalty exposure rather than just a company filing fee. We file as your Authorised Corporate Service Provider, so verification, PSC updates and the Confirmation Statement run on one chain instead of three separate logins.

What the fee covers

Accounts, tax, and planning how you pay yourself, all under one fee

Annual accounts and filings

Annual accounts prepared and filed before the deadline when the records and approvals are with us in time.

Corporation Tax returns

CT600 calculated accurately, with marginal relief and capital allowances applied where they apply.

Payroll & Pension RTI

Director-only payrolls, auto-enrolment records, and the pension duties that apply to the company.

VAT & MTD Readiness

Keeping your digital records connected for MTD, picking the right VAT scheme, and filing your returns each quarter.

Add management accounts

Management accounts and tax forecasts for directors who need more than an annual summary to run the business.

Already with another firm?

We contact your outgoing firm, register with HMRC as your agent, and transfer your software access. You don't have to do any of it. See the handover steps.

What has changed for directors in 2026

With the tax-free dividend allowance drastically reduced in recent budgets, the old accounting advice of "pay a low salary and take the rest in dividends" no longer works as a default. You need to check the numbers before you draw profit, so you do not accidentally push yourself into the higher-rate band.

Most overdrawn Director's Loan Accounts are not deliberate. They are the residue of dividends voted in advance of confirmed profit, or personal drawdowns taken to smooth cashflow between client receipts. By the time the year-end accounts are reconciled, the loan account is in the red and the Section 455 charge is already crystallising. We check interim profit against money taken out of the company, so the call to declare a dividend, repay a loan, or hold off can be made with current numbers.

How you pay yourself

Keeping more of what the company earns

Working out the best mix of salary, dividends and pension contributions against your personal allowances and NIC thresholds, so you keep as much as possible after tax.

Director's loan account

Keeping the Director's Loan Account in check through the year

We keep an eye on your loan account and time your dividends so you do not trip up on the rules.

Companies House

Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)

Blue Jay Accountants is approved to verify director identities under the new Companies House reforms. We handle identity verification, Confirmation Statements, and Companies House filings alongside your accounts and tax.

Read the ACSP service detail

Identity Verification

We handle the identity checks so you do not have to.

Everything in one place

Tax, payroll, and identity checks in one place, not across three separate logins.

One fixed fee, agreed in writing.

Statutory accounts, Corporation Tax, payroll, VAT, regular management accounts, ACSP filings and director extraction planning are handled under a single fixed fee, agreed in writing rather than billed by the hour. Band 01 covers companies with up to two directors. Custom bands cover the situations where the standard package does not fit (additional directors, group structures, multi-entity reporting).

Cloud bookkeeping means we can work with you whether you are closest to Sheffield, Mansfield, or somewhere else in the UK. The work is named in writing before we start, the fee is fixed against it, and any material change is agreed in writing before it goes on the bill.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is a limited-company accountant different from a general practice firm?

A limited-company accountant focuses on the overlap between corporate and personal tax. Statutory annual accounts, corporation tax, and Companies House compliance are the baseline. The real difference is things like working out the best way to pay yourself, handling your Companies House filings, making sure income-splitting arrangements hold up, and keeping your IR35 status in order.

Do I legally need an accountant?

While not a legal requirement, appointing a limited-company accountant helps you meet HMRC and Companies House deadlines. Having an accountant means your payroll, VAT and filings are handled, and someone is looking at your tax position through the year so you do not end up paying more than you need to.

Can I switch accountants mid-year?

Yes. We manage the Professional Clearance with your current firm and handle HMRC agent authorisation on your behalf. We get your records across and pick up the tax planning where the last firm left off. The timeline depends partly on your outgoing accountant's response and HMRC processing, both outside our direct control. We keep you updated throughout. See the switching steps.

How are limited company dividends taxed in 2026?

With recent reductions to the tax-free dividend allowance, the numbers need checking before you take profit from a limited company. Dividends are taxed according to your personal Income Tax band (Basic, Higher, or Additional rate) after your allowance is exhausted. We model the numbers so you do not accidentally push yourself into the higher rate.

Keep reading

Service

Management Accounts

Regular financial reporting through the year so directors know where the company stands before each decision.