Nervous! Limited Company!

[Lauraadele18]

Hey ladies,

Ive been busy planning to start my own company over the past couple of monthsA very exicting! Im pretty much ready to go apart drom i havent regiatered my company yet, i want to set it up as a limited company (to keep my personal finances seperate) but it is very daunting and i feel overwhelemed by the business lingo! In my mind i will open my business i will be the only shareholder i will keep a track of all incoming and outgoings; submit my finances at the end of the year and hopefully take a profit (if i make anything!!) Is it that simple?! Theres a mention of imcorpoation tax?

Ooh congrats. My exh has just started a new company and I feel (weirdly) so stressed for him, as I’m firmly PAYE.

No advice but hearing you and wishing you the best of everything.

Thanks hun! Muxh appreciated x

I have had a limited company for 9 years. It is quite easy to set up a limited company and you are on the right track with keeping records of income and expenditure. However I am an experienced book keeper but I wouldn’t attempt to do my limited company tax return myself, so I keep monthly spreadsheets breaking expenses down into professional fees, travel, phone etc and then at the end of the year submit to my accountant for them to analyse and file our return. Corporation tax is due on profits. Will you be paying yourself a wage? Taking dividends? The tax rules have changed on dividends in the last 18 months. Unless you are very experienced I would recommend engaging the services of an accountant or at least making an appointment to get some advice. Good Luck though and enjoy your new business!

I have to second the advice to talk to an accountant. I see so many people set up companies and then end up paying more tax than they needed to, or fines for late submissions, etc., simply by not setting things up properly. As mentioned above, do you understand payroll and if/how much to pay yourself? Do you understand how to prepare company accounts in the Company Law format and in accordance with accounting standards? You don't just send off a spreadsheet and receive a tax bill - you have to prepare accounts/tax returns and submit them yourself. At least talk to a couple of accountants and then make an informed decision.