Company accounts & tax
The yearly accounts, Company Tax Return and confirmation statement for your limited company.
- Year-end accounts and CT600
- Corporation Tax payment dates
- Confirmation statement
For contractors and consultants
Contractor AccountantsYour contracts. Your company. Clear tax.
Find an accountant for contractors who understands IR35, expenses and running a one-person limited company. The Business Review Co. introduces you to an independent accountant, so you can check their experience with contractors and their fees before you choose.
Free initial review · No obligation · Find better-value contractor accountants
Contracting, made manageable
Contracting, made manageable
Every contract. Checked and recorded.
- IR35 status
- Contract reviews & client decisions
- Company tax
- Accounts, CT600 & VAT
- Paying yourself
- Salary, dividends & expenses
The Business Review Co. helps you find a provider. Your provider agrees and carries out the work.
Support, at the right level
Accountants for contractors. Support built around your contracts.
A contractor’s company often has one director, a handful of clients and income that changes with each contract. An independent accountant can handle the routine filings and help you think through each new engagement.
IR35 & contracts
Support when a new contract arrives or a client sends a status determination.
- Contract and working-practice reviews
- Status determination statements
- Records of how you work
Pay, expenses & VAT
Help to pay yourself, record business costs and keep VAT under control.
- Director payroll and dividends
- Business expense records
- VAT returns and scheme choice
Detailed IR35 reviews, insurance and legal advice on contracts are often outside a standard package. Ask what is included and what the accountant refers elsewhere.
Review the cost. Understand the value.
Contractor accountants: what are you paying for?
Contractor packages often look alike. The differences tend to be IR35 support, personal tax returns and the help you get between contracts.
Review my support & costsFree initial review. Any saving depends on your current fees and the service you choose.
- IR35 support
- Is a contract review included, and will the firm help you respond if you disagree with a client’s status decision?
- Your personal tax return
- Is your Self Assessment return in the fee, including dividends and any other income?
- Gaps & changes
- What happens to the fee between contracts, if you take a permanent role or if you close the company?
IR35
IR35 status. Who decides and what it means for you.
The off-payroll working rules, often called IR35, make sure a worker who provides services through their own company pays broadly the same Income Tax and National Insurance as an employee would. They apply when the worker would have been an employee if they had worked for the client directly.
Medium and large clients, and the public sector.
In most cases the client decides the worker’s employment status for tax. If the rules apply, the client should give a status determination statement that sets out its decision and the reasons for it. Keep a copy of every one you receive.
Small clients outside the public sector.
When your client is a small business outside the public sector, your own company decides whether the rules apply. HMRC’s check employment status for tax (CEST) tool can help you reach that decision.
Where an accountant helps.
An accountant can review a contract and how you actually work, help you keep evidence for each engagement and explain the tax effect if a contract falls inside the rules. Some firms refer detailed status reviews to a specialist, so ask how this works and what it costs.
Status turns on the facts of each engagement, so a new contract with the same client can reach a different answer. Treat each one separately and keep your records together.
Limited company or umbrella?
Limited company or umbrella company. How the two compare.
Contractors usually work through their own limited company or through an umbrella company. The better route depends on your contracts, your IR35 position and how much administration you want to take on.
Working through your own limited company.
You are a director of your own company, which invoices the client or agency. The company keeps records, files accounts and a Company Tax Return, pays Corporation Tax on its profits and pays you through salary, dividends or both. You have more control and more paperwork, and the directors stay responsible for every filing.
Working through an umbrella company.
An umbrella company is usually your employer. It pays your wages through PAYE and deducts Income Tax, employee National Insurance and any other agreed deductions, so there are no company accounts for you to file. HMRC warns that some umbrella companies promote tax avoidance, for example by paying you more than your payslip shows or asking you to sign a second agreement.
Points to weigh up:
- how long your contracts usually last, and whether they are likely to fall inside IR35;
- how much time you want to spend on bookkeeping, payroll and filings;
- whether you plan to work for several clients or take on staff later;
- the total cost of each route once accountancy fees, insurance and any umbrella margin are added.
An accountant can run through both routes using your own figures. The Business Review Co. can introduce you to an independent accountant who works with contractors.
Expenses and VAT
Expenses and VAT. The details contractors ask about most.
Small differences in how expenses and VAT are handled add up over a year. These are the areas worth agreeing with your accountant at the start.
Business expenses.
Your company can pay costs it incurs in running the business, and they reduce its taxable profit. If you or the company make personal use of something the business owns, it is reported as a benefit. Travel is the area contractors ask about most, so agree with your accountant which journeys and costs the company can pay for before you claim them.
Registering for VAT.
A business must register for VAT if its taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or if it expects to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days. You can also choose to register below that. Whether voluntary registration helps depends on your clients and your costs, so ask your accountant to run the figures.
The Flat Rate Scheme.
Under the Flat Rate Scheme you pay HMRC a fixed rate of VAT and keep the difference between that and what you charge. You cannot reclaim VAT on purchases, except certain capital assets over £2,000. You may be able to join if your VAT turnover is £150,000 or less, excluding VAT. If your goods cost less than 2% of turnover, or less than £1,000 a year, you count as a limited cost business and pay a higher rate of 16.5%. Many contractors buy few goods, so check this before joining.
Digital VAT records.
Most VAT-registered businesses keep digital VAT records and send their returns through software that connects to HMRC. Ask which software your accountant uses and who submits each return.
The Business Review Co. can introduce you to an independent accountant who can review your expenses and VAT position as part of their quote.
How it works
A simple start. A clear agreement.
Start with a free initial review. You choose whether to go ahead after discussing the service and fees with an independent provider.
- 01
Tell us how you contract
Let us know whether you work through your own company or an umbrella, and what you would like help with.
- 02
Explore an introduction
We review your enquiry and agree any introduction with you. An independent accountant can then discuss your contracts and current set-up.
- 03
Agree the scope & fees
Confirm in writing what is included, from IR35 support to your personal tax return, before you move.
The Business Review Co. is an introduction service. Work is carried out by an independent provider and paid for separately. We may receive an introduction fee. How we are paid.
Guides
Guides to business accounting
- keeping accounting records
What bookkeeping involves for a UK limited company, the records the law expects, how long to keep them and who can do it.
- preparing company accounts
What a UK limited company's annual accounts contain, who signs them, the filing deadlines and what happens if they are late.
- filing a Company Tax Return
Who files a Company Tax Return with HMRC, filing it with software or on paper, how to read the CT600, deadlines, late penalties, appeals and amendments.
- Companies House accounts deadline
How a UK company files accounts at Companies House: filing routes, normal deadlines, first accounts, extra time and what late filing may mean.
- VAT return deadline
When VAT returns and payments are due, how annual accounting changes the date, ways to pay HMRC, refunds and what happens if a deadline is missed.
- whether you need a bookkeeper or an accountant
The practical difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant for a UK limited company, where the roles overlap and what to check.
Your questions
Contractor accountants: common questions.
The scope, fees and responsibilities to discuss when choosing your provider.
Do I need an accountant as a contractor?
No law says you must use one. A limited company contractor still has to keep company records, file accounts and a Company Tax Return, run payroll for any salary and send a personal tax return where needed. Many contractors use an accountant because of that workload and the IR35 questions that come with each new contract. You stay responsible for the filings either way.
What should I look for in a contractor accountant?
Look for experience with one-director companies and IR35, a clear list of what the monthly fee covers and a named contact. Ask who supervises them for anti-money laundering, whether your Self Assessment return is included, how they help if you disagree with a client’s status decision and what happens to the fee between contracts.
Can an accountant help with IR35?
Yes, within limits. An accountant can review your contract and working practices, help you keep evidence and explain the tax if the rules apply. With a medium or large client, or a public sector body, the client makes the status decision. With a small private-sector client, your own company decides. Some accountants refer detailed reviews to IR35 specialists.
How much does a contractor accountant cost?
Most charge a fixed monthly fee for an agreed package, with extras such as IR35 reviews, additional tax returns or closing a company quoted separately. The price usually depends on whether VAT and payroll are included, how many returns are covered, the level of IR35 support, your software and how much advice you want. Ask each firm for a written scope so you can compare like for like.
Should I use a limited company or an umbrella company?
It depends on your contracts and how you like to work. An umbrella company employs you and runs PAYE, so there is little paperwork for you. Your own limited company gives you more control and more responsibility. Contract length, whether contracts fall inside IR35 and the total cost of each route all matter, so ask an accountant to compare them.
For official guidance, see GOV.UK: understanding off-payroll working (IR35).
Let’s make a start
Let’s find support that understands contracting.
Tell us how you work now and what you’d like help with. We’ll reply about the next step.
For UK limited companies and LLPs.
Free initial review · No obligation · No documents needed
Looking at the bigger picture?