Essential Taxes You Need to Know for Your New Limited Company

Running a new limited company means dealing with several taxes at once: Corporation Tax on profits, PAYE if you employ anyone, VAT if you're registered, and your own Self Assessment as a director. Miss a deadline on any of these and you're looking at penalties, surcharges, or interest. Here's what applies, what it costs, and when it's due.

This applies to limited companies specifically, not sole traders, who have a different set of tax obligations.

Key Takeaways

• Corporation Tax is currently 19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% above £250,000, with marginal relief in between, not a flat rate.
• Corporation Tax must be paid 9 months and 1 day after your financial year end, even though you have 12 months to file the actual return.
• If you employ staff, you need to run payroll and pay PAYE to HMRC by the 22nd of the following month.
• VAT registration is mandatory once your taxable turnover passes £90,000, and returns are due one month and seven days after each quarter ends.
• As a director, you also need to file a personal Self Assessment return by 31 January each year, separate from your company's taxes.

Corporation Tax: What Your Company Actually Pays

Corporation Tax is charged on your company's profit, and the rate depends on how much you make, not a single flat percentage. Small profits up to £50,000 are taxed at 19%, profits above £250,000 at 25%, and anything in between gets marginal relief that tapers the effective rate.

To work out what you owe, you do a tax calculation: your profit minus deductible expenses, then adjusted for any reliefs and allowances. That figure goes on your Company Tax Return, filed using the CT600 form.

You have 12 months after your financial year end to file the return, but the actual payment is due earlier, 9 months and 1 day after your year end. This gap catches people out. Filing and paying together, as soon as your accounts are ready, avoids getting your dates muddled as you move into the next financial year.

Since 31 March 2026, HMRC's joint online service, which let companies file accounts and Company Tax Returns together in one place, has closed. You'll now need commercial filing software, or an accountant, to handle both separately. It's worth sorting this out well before your next filing deadline if you were relying on that joint service before.

PAYE and Payroll: What You Owe if You Employ Staff

If you have employees, you need to run payroll every tax month and pay PAYE plus other deductions to HMRC. A tax month runs from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next.

On or before each payday, you need to record employee pay, calculate deductions like tax, National Insurance, and any student loan or pension contributions, and report all of it to HMRC. Payment to HMRC is then due by the 22nd of the following month if you're paying electronically. Software like Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, or FreeAgent can handle the calculations, but none of them files your return for you. That part still needs a person, whether that's you or an accountant.

VAT Returns: When You Need to Register and File

You must register for VAT once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, or you can register voluntarily below that threshold if it suits your business. Once registered, VAT returns and payment are due one month and seven days after each quarter ends.

For example, if your VAT quarter ends 31 March, your return and payment are due by 7 May. Registering below the threshold has trade-offs worth weighing:

Reasons to register voluntarily:

• You can reclaim VAT on your business expenses
• It can add a degree of credibility in B2B dealings

Reasons to hold off:

• Your prices end up 20% higher than non-VAT-registered competitors, which matters more if your clients are private individuals or unregistered businesses
• You take on extra filing every quarter
• Missing filing or payment deadlines brings penalties

Self Assessment: Your Personal Tax Return as a Director

As a company director, you also have to file your own Self Assessment return, separate from anything the company itself owes. This covers your personal earnings for the tax year running 6 April to 5 April, and it's due by 31 January the following year.

For example, if your tax year ends 5 April 2026, your Self Assessment return and payment are due by 31 January 2027.

Other Annual Filing You Can't Skip

Beyond taxes, your company has separate paperwork to file every year with Companies House and HMRC. Missing any of these carries its own penalties, on top of anything owed on the taxes above.

Each year, you typically need to file:

• Your company's statutory accounts, in full, with HMRC as part of your Company Tax Return
• A version of your accounts with Companies House, with the level of detail depending on your company's size
• A Confirmation Statement with Companies House, confirming your company's core details are accurate

As of February 2026, the Confirmation Statement filing fee is £50 for digital filing. Our guide to PSCs and the Confirmation Statement covers this filing in full, including recent rule changes worth knowing about.

Companies House is also phasing in changes to how accounts are filed and disclosed over the next couple of years, including a move toward mandatory filing software. The exact timeline has shifted more than once, so it's worth checking current Companies House guidance before assuming today's filing options will stay the same indefinitely.

Why a Good Accountant Earns Their Fee

With this many deadlines running in parallel, on different clocks, a good accountant genuinely pays for themselves. They track the filing calendar for you, apply the reliefs and allowances you're entitled to, and catch mistakes before HMRC does.

That said, it's worth understanding these obligations yourself too, since the responsibility for filing on time ultimately sits with you and your company, not your accountant.

FAQs

What's the current Corporation Tax rate for a small company?

19% on profits up to £50,000. Profits above £250,000 are taxed at 25%, with marginal relief tapering the rate for everything in between.

When is Corporation Tax actually due? 

Payment is due 9 months and 1 day after your financial year end, even though you have a full 12 months to file the return itself.

Do I need to register for VAT?

It's mandatory once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12-month period. You can register voluntarily below that if it benefits your business.

When do I need to pay PAYE to HMRC?

By the 22nd of the following month if you're paying electronically, based on a tax month running from the 6th to the 5th.

Is Self Assessment the same as my company's Corporation Tax return?

No. Self Assessment is your personal tax return as a director. Corporation Tax is a completely separate return covering the company's own profits.

Can I still file my accounts and Company Tax Return together in one place?

No, not since HMRC's joint filing service closed on 31 March 2026. You'll need commercial software or an accountant to file both separately now.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Tax rates, thresholds, and filing rules change, so it's worth checking current guidance on GOV.UK or speaking to a qualified accountant before making decisions about your company's tax obligations.