A limited company is its own legal person, with its own tax, its own filings and its own rules about taking money out. Ledgers categorises and reconciles your bank transactions, prepares the VAT return and the year-end figures, and tracks your Companies House deadlines. You approve what it isn't sure about, and you or your accountant file.
Owner-managed companies with a handful of people tend to meet the same six obligations. Here is what each one asks of you, as at the 2026/27 tax year, and what Ledgers does about it.
The company pays tax on its profits: 19% on profits of £50,000 or less, 25% over £250,000, and marginal relief in between (the limits are lower for a short accounting period or with associated companies). The tax is due 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends; the CT600 return is due 12 months after.
Profit is worked out from the books as you go. Year-end close, an accounts pack and a draft Corporation Tax computation come with Starter (£29). You or your accountant file the CT600.
Money you take out that isn't salary, a dividend, a repaid expense or money you lent the company is a loan from the company. If it is still owed 9 months after the year end, the company pays extra tax on it (35.75% for loans made from 6 April 2026), reclaimable once repaid. Over £10,000 at any point in the year, it is also a benefit in kind.
Payments between you and the company come through the bank feed and are categorised like any other, so the movements are in the books when you and your accountant agree the balance.
Many owner-managers pay themselves a salary through payroll and take dividends from profits left after Corporation Tax. For 2026/27, dividends above a £500 allowance are taxed at 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35%, depending on your tax band.
The payroll engine works out PAYE and National Insurance and prepares payslips and the RTI figures. It doesn't file RTI with HMRC: you, your accountant or a payroll provider do.
You must register once taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or if you expect it to in the next 30 days. Returns are usually quarterly, due one month and 7 days after the period ends, filed through MTD-compatible software.
The VAT return is prepared from the ledger with anomaly checks and your sign-off, from Starter (£29). Ledgers doesn't submit it to HMRC yet: it is filed from MTD-compatible software that takes the records digitally, usually your accountant's.
File a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months, up to 14 days after the review period ends (£50 online). Annual accounts go to Companies House 9 months after the financial year ends; a new company's first accounts, 21 months after it registered.
The Companies House tracker, from Starter (£29), pulls your filings, officers and PSCs each day and puts every deadline in the compliance calendar, with reminders 14 days out, 7 days out and on the day.
Since 18 November 2025, directors and people with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House. An existing director gives their personal code in the company's next confirmation statement, which can't be filed until every director has verified. Verifying online is free.
Ledgers can't verify you: that is done through GOV.UK One Login or an authorised agent. The tracker shows when your next confirmation statement is due, which for an existing director is the date to have verified by.
Ledgers prices by the bank transactions it processes each month, not by the people who log in. Every plan includes the AI that categorises and reconciles, the review queue for anything it isn't sure about, and access for your accountant. All prices are a month, excluding VAT.
| What a limited company needs | From |
|---|---|
| Bank transactions categorised and reconciled; you approve the uncertain ones | Free (£0), 15 a month |
| Daily briefing, and the Plan: cash you can spend after VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax | Free (£0) |
| Your accountant invited in, with their own mode and a co-sign portal | Free (£0) |
| Receipt capture and more than one bank account | Solo (£4.99) |
| Invoicing with payment links, supplier bills and expense claims | Starter (£29) |
| VAT returns prepared for your sign-off | Starter (£29) |
| Year-end close, accounts pack and draft Corporation Tax computation | Starter (£29) |
| Companies House deadline tracking and a fixed-asset register | Starter (£29) |
| Accruals, prepayments and depreciation, proposed automatically | Starter (£29) |
| Multi-currency, with FX revaluation | Starter (£29) |
| Cap table, SEIS and EIS, funding rounds and the Investor Room | Growth (£79) |
| CIS subcontractors and the CIS300 return, prepared for sign-off | Growth (£79) |
Starter includes 100 transactions a month and Growth 400; extra transactions are charged per transaction rather than cutting you off. Full pricing →
Ledgers keeps the books and prepares the figures, but it doesn't submit anything to HMRC or Companies House yet. Most limited companies keep an accountant for the year-end and the filings, and you can invite yours on every plan, including Free. If you'd rather file VAT and payroll from your accounting software today, our honest comparisons say which tools do.
Free calculators for the decisions company directors make most often.
Compare the tax on the same profit as a sole trader and as a company.
Compare taking your pay as salary, as dividends, or a mix of the two.
Estimate the Corporation Tax on your company's profit.
See what an overdrawn director's loan account could cost the company.
Find the date you need to verify your identity with Companies House.
Every company must keep accounting records good enough to prepare its annual accounts and Company Tax Return. If the company is VAT-registered, Making Tax Digital also means keeping digital records and filing VAT returns through compatible software. Accounting software is the simplest way to do both.
No. From the Starter plan (£29 a month) Ledgers produces a year-end pack and a draft Corporation Tax computation from your books. You or your accountant file the CT600 with HMRC and the accounts with Companies House.
Not yet. Ledgers prepares the VAT return from your books, runs anomaly checks and records your sign-off, from the Starter plan. Until direct submission is live, the return is filed from MTD-compatible software that takes your records digitally, usually your accountant's; retyping the figures doesn't count.
Corporation Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after the end of the company's accounting period, and the Company Tax Return (CT600) is due 12 months after it ends. So you pay before you file. The rate is 19% on profits of £50,000 or less and 25% on profits over £250,000, with marginal relief in between; the limits are reduced for short accounting periods and for companies with associated companies.
Yes. Identity verification has been a legal requirement since 18 November 2025 for directors and people with significant control. An existing director gives their personal code in the company's next confirmation statement, and Companies House won't accept that statement until every director has verified. Verifying online through GOV.UK One Login is free.
If you owe the company money and don't repay it within 9 months of the end of the accounting period, the company pays extra Corporation Tax on the amount still owed: 35.75% for loans made from 6 April 2026, or 33.75% for loans made between 6 April 2022 and 5 April 2026. The company can claim it back once the loan is repaid. A loan of more than £10,000 at any time in the year is also treated as a benefit in kind.
Most trading, VAT-registered companies start on Starter at £29 a month, which adds VAT returns, invoicing, bills, year-end and the Corporation Tax computation, with 100 transactions a month. Growth at £79 adds the cap table, SEIS and EIS and the Investor Room. A company that isn't trading yet can begin on Free, which covers 15 transactions a month.
Migration is free on every plan, including Free. Bring your file, or let us do the whole move for you.
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