Limited company tax rates
Corporation Tax on profits, dividend tax on distributions, Income Tax on salary — and VAT if registered.
Corporation Tax
Corporation Tax is charged on your company's profits. The rate depends on profit level — the small profits rate, main rate, and a tapered marginal rate apply in between.
Dividend Tax
Dividends are paid from post-Corporation-Tax profits. Each person has a £500 dividend allowance — dividends above this are taxed at the following rates.
VAT
Compulsory registration once taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period.
Salary vs dividends calculator
Compare a salary-only vs optimal salary+dividend strategy for a director.
Most directors pay themselves the NI secondary threshold (£9,100) or personal allowance (£12,570) to save company NI while maximising personal allowance.
What you need to file & when
Overview of the key filing obligations for limited companies.
The CT600 is your company's Corporation Tax return. You must file it within 12 months of your accounting period end, even if you have no tax to pay. Pay Corporation Tax due within 9 months and 1 day of your period end.
Every limited company must file a Confirmation Statement with Companies House once per year. It confirms or updates your registered address, SIC code, shareholders, and directors. Filing fee is £34 online.
Annual accounts must be filed at Companies House within 9 months of your accounting period end. They're publicly visible. Small companies can file abridged accounts. Micro-entities have a simplified option.
Accounts must include a balance sheet and, for larger companies, a profit and loss account and directors' report.
🔗 Company accounts →As a company director you must also file a personal Self Assessment return annually, reporting your salary, dividends, and any other income. Deadline is 31 January for online filing.
If VAT registered, you must file quarterly returns and maintain digital records under Making Tax Digital. Returns are due 1 month and 7 days after each VAT period ends.
If you pay yourself or employees a salary, you must operate PAYE and submit Real Time Information (RTI) returns to HMRC on or before each payday. Even paying just the director requires PAYE registration.
Employer NI contributions are due monthly — 19th of the following month by bank transfer, or 22nd electronically.
🔗 PAYE for employers →Limited company filing deadlines
Key dates for HMRC and Companies House. Note: your CT and accounts deadlines depend on your accounting period end date.
Corporation Tax payment is due 9 months + 1 day after your accounting period end. Your CT600 return and Companies House accounts are due 12 months and 9 months after period end respectively. These vary by company — check your specific dates with your accountant or at gov.uk →
Director pension contributions
Company pension contributions are one of the most tax-efficient ways to extract money from a limited company.
When your company makes a pension contribution on your behalf, it is deducted from company profits before Corporation Tax — saving 19–25% CT. The contribution also has no Income Tax or NI implication for you personally.
The Annual Allowance is £60,000 (2024/25). This covers all contributions — employer and employee combined. If you're a sole director with a small salary, note that employee contributions are capped at 100% of your earnings — but employer contributions are not limited this way.
Use the government's free Pension Tracing Service to find contact details for any previous workplace or personal pension. Search at gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details.
🔗 Pension Tracing Service →As a director taking a salary above the Lower Earnings Limit (£6,396/year in 2024/25), you qualify for NI credits toward your State Pension. Check your NI record and forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension.
🔗 Check your State Pension →Tax news for limited companies
AI-summarised from HMRC gov.uk, the OBR and GOV.UK — updated live each time you visit.