Skip to main content
I'm a …
Call UsGet Started
Directors & shareholders

Your return and the company’s are one decision, not two.

How you are paid, what you take as dividends and what stays in the company all land on your personal return. Decided together, before the year ends, rather than reconciled afterwards.

5 AprilTax year ends — the last date anything can change the year just gone
5 OctoberDeadline to notify HMRC if you need to file and are not already registered
31 JanuaryReturn filed, balancing payment and first payment on account due
31 JulySecond payment on account, where one is due
01 · Is this you

You own the company, so your tax position is really two positions

Most director-shareholders are advised on the company and the person separately, by people who do not talk to each other. The decisions do not divide that neatly.

You are a director and a shareholder of your own companyAlone, with a co-founder, or alongside family members
You take a mix of salary and dividendsSet at some point in the past and rarely revisited since
The company and the personal return sit with different peopleOr with the same firm, but never looked at together
You have a director’s loan accountAnd are not certain where it stands right now
Other income sits alongside the companyInvestments, property, a second business, or income from abroad
Nobody speaks to you before the year endWhich is the only point at which the number can still be changed

Company as well as personal?

We act for the company and the people who own it, so the two positions are decided together rather than discovered separately.

See the company side →
02 · The year, in order

Everything useful happens before 5 April

By the time a return is being prepared, the year is closed and the number is fixed. The work that changes it happens months earlier.

Through the yearRemuneration reviewed against actual results

Salary, dividends and pension checked against how the company is really performing, not last year’s plan.

Before 5 AprilThe decisions that still change the outcome

Timing of dividends, pension contributions, and clearing or formalising any director’s loan balance.

5 AprilThe year closes

From here the figures are what they are. Everything after this point is reporting, not planning.

Spring to autumnRecords gathered and the return prepared

Company accounts, dividend vouchers, P60s and any other income pulled together in one place.

By 31 JanuaryFiled, with the number explained

You get a written summary: what you owe, why, and what to look at before the next year end.

04 · Questions we get asked

The ones that come up every year

Should I take more salary or more dividends?

It depends on the company’s profits, your other income, what you want the company to keep, and your pension position. There is no universal split, and the answer changes as rates and your circumstances change. We model it on your own numbers each year rather than applying a rule of thumb.

Do I have to file a return just because I am a director?

Being a director does not by itself require a return, despite what is often assumed. What matters is the income you actually receive and whether it falls within the circumstances HMRC requires to be reported. We check the position rather than register you by default.

My company accountant already does my personal return. Why change?

You may not need to. The question is whether anyone is looking at both positions together, and whether anyone speaks to you before the year end rather than after it. If that is happening, you are well served.

What if I have income from outside the UK?

It usually still has to be reported here, and there may be relief for tax already paid abroad. International affairs are normal for us, not an exception, so this is scoped in rather than treated as an add-on.

When is the best time to start?

Before the tax year ends, because that is when decisions can still change the outcome. Starting mid-year is fine; starting in January means we can file accurately, but the year is already fixed.

05 · Fees

You will know the number before we start

£450from

Engagements start at £450, priced by the engagement and fixed before we begin. All figures exclude VAT.

How our pricing works →
RegulatedACCA / CIOT
Clients (group)4,000+
Reach (group)60+ countries
FeesFixed, up front
BillingNever hourly
Client evidence slot — intentionally empty Reserved for named testimonials and case studies with written consent. Nothing goes here until a real client has signed off on the wording.
Next step

Tell us what has changed.

A short set of questions about your income, the company and anything held outside the UK. We come back with a scope and a fixed price. If we are not the right firm for you, we will say so rather than quote for it.

Start scoping →