Frequently Asked Questions
Corporate
- What company documentation do I receive when I form a company through Anglodan?
You will immediately receive the Certificate of Incorporation and the Constitution (The Articles & Memorandum of Association) by e-mail. Hard copies of these documents will then be sent to you by post together with any additional company documentation such as share certificates and the Minutes of the first meeting of the Board of Directors.
Hard copies of these documents along with any additional company documentation such as share certificates and the Minutes of the first meeting of the Board of Directors can be sent to you via courier upon request. - Must a UK company have a Director resident in the UK?
No. - Must a UK company have a Company Secretary?
No, although we strongly recommend that it does. - Is a company seal mandatory?
No. It used to be but nowadays it is optional and mainly used for visual effect on share certificates and other company documents. - How and when can my company pay me dividends?
Whenever the company has accumulated profits, the owners may decide to declare interim dividends. For instance, if the company has made £100,000 in clear profit after 3 months, interim dividends of £81,000 may be declared and paid to the shareholders. The difference of £19,000 is the provision for UK corporation tax of 19% that must be paid on the net profits.
In which country will salary from my company be taxed?
Normally only in the country in which you reside.
Accountancy
- Must Annual Accounts be filed in the UK even if the company has not traded?
Yes. However, if the company has been completely dormant a set of dormant annual accounts may be produced at a reduced cost. - Must a UK Tax Return be filed in the UK even if the company has not traded?
No. - Is the preparation of Annual Accounts included in the package fees?
No. The reason for this is that the first Annual Accounts will not be due at Companies House (the company registry) until 21 months after the formation of a new company. Moreover, the cost of preparing the Annual Accounts depends on the level of activity in the company for the period concerned. - Is the preparation of UK tax returns included in the package fees?
No. The reason for this is that the first Corporate Tax Return will not be due for submission until 24 months after the formation of a new company. - Is my UK company automatically registered for VAT?
No. - When must my company register for UK VAT?
When the company expects to sell for more than £83,000 annually to customers in the UK. At lower turn-over levels, the company may decide to apply for voluntary VAT registration. If your company is active in other countries, it may be required to register for VAT in those countries, depending on the local rules in those countries. - How often must VAT returns be submitted, if my company is registered for UK VAT?
Normally once every three months. - What is the cost of submitting VAT returns, if my company is registered for UK VAT?
This depends on the level of activity in the company. For a company with very limited activities the cost should be no more than £200 + VAT per quarter on average. - Is payroll required if the company has no directors or employees in the UK?
No. - What other accountancy fees do I need to pay?
Only the cost of preparing the Annual Accounts is mandatory (unless you produce and submit these to Companies House yourself, in which case there is no charge). All other accountancy fees are optional or dependent on the level of activity in your company. - When must I pay for accountancy services?
All fixed fee services are invoiced in advance and must be paid before work is commenced. Services charged by the hour or any supplementary services will be invoiced after the work has been carried out.
Bank
- What are the requirements for opening a UK bank account for my company?
That you reside in the EU. - Do I need to visit the UK to get a bank account for my company?
No. - Can my company open a bank account outside the UK?
Yes. Anglodan works closely with a couple of non-UK banks that can open accounts for UK companies. These banks do not need to meet face-to-face with the Director(s) or Shareholder(s) of your company but do require a sginificant amount of information and documentation from both Directors and Shareholders. - Where will my company be taxed if it has a bank account outside the UK?
Unless the company has registered a branch in a country with which the UK has a double-taxation agreement, the company will be taxed in the UK on its world-wide net income.
Other services
- Is your mail forwarding service required in order for me to receive post from the UK authorities to my company?
No. All our package solutions include receiving and processing post from the UK authorities. Only if you expect to receive post at Anglodan’s address from customers, suppliers, banks, and other such commercial correspondence, and you need such post to be forwarded to you, will you require our mail forwarding service. - How often will mail be forwarded in case mail forwarding is purchased?
Normally every Friday, although special arrangements can be made for more frequent mail forwarding, if necessary.
Vocabulary
- Annual Accounts
The UK company registry – Companies House – must receive a set of Annual Accounts from the Company every year. The UK tax authority – HM Revenue & Customs (formerly the Inland Revenue) – must also receive a Corporate Tax Return for every 12 months that the company has traded. However, if the company is dormant (i.e. inactive), it will usually not be required to submit a Tax Return if it informs HM Revenue & Customs of this inactivity before the Tax Return is due. Companies House will only require a simple set of Annual Accounts for dormant companies. - Company
By this is meant a ‘private company limited by shares’ (Ltd). These companies are not allowed to offer shares to the public. The minimum share capital is £0.01 although the standard share capital is usually £100, which does not need to be paid up initially. The company must have at least one Director. It also ought to have a Company Secretary (see separate explanation) although this is no longer mandatory. A Director may also be the Company Secretary if there is more than one Director of the Company. - Company Register
It is a statutory requirement in England that a Register is kept by the Company of the company’s shareholders, Directors, Company Secretary, Persons with Significant Control, debentures, charges on assets, mortgages, etc. This Company RegistER is not to be confused with the company registRY, which is Companies House. The Register must be kept and updated in such a way that it always reflects the current situation of the company. Furthermore, the Company Register must be kept at an address in the United Kingdom. - Company Secretary
In England and other jurisdictions historically based on English Common Law, companies often have a Company Secretary. A Company Secretary is not a typist, personal assistant, or secretary in the usual sense of the word but, rather, a physical or legal person who may certify certain legal information on behalf of a company and sign other formal documents for the company upon the instruction of the Director(s). However, the Company Secretary is not responsible for the activities of the company as this responsibility rests exclusively with the Director(s). The Company Secretary will often be a person or a company associated with a Company Administrator such as Anglodan. - Confirmation Statement
The annual Confirmation Statement – previously called the Annual Return – is a list of company information that must be updated and submitted to Companies House each year. The Statement must contain details of the Company Directors, the Company Secretary, and the Company’s Shareholders. The Statement also contains information about the Company’s business sector, financial year, and other matters. A filing fee must be paid when submitting the Statement. Submission of the Confirmation Statement and payment of the filing fee for it are included in all of Anglodan’s service packages. - Directors / Board of Directors
The Director – or the Board of Directors, if there is more than one Director – is officially responsible for the legality of a company’s activities and must ensure that the company is operated in the best interests of its shareholders. With this responsibility comes the right to direct the activities of the company, and the signatures of the Directors therefore bind the company. The Shareholders can always replace the Director(s) by way of an Extraordinary General Meeting. - England & Wales vs. United Kingdom
As Scotland and Northern Ireland have legislation separate from that of England & Wales, UK companies have the option to be registered under English & Welsh law, Scottish law, or Northern Ireland law. The companies formed by Anglodan are all registered in England & Wales under English Law. - HM Revenue & Customs
This authority was created from the merger of the Inland Revenue, which was responsible for income taxation, and HM Customs & Excise, which was responsible for VAT (Value Added Tax), import duties, and excise. This is now the authority dealing with company tax returns and also where companies may register for VAT. It is normally voluntary to register for VAT if the annual turnover of the company in question does not exceed £83,000. However, if the company registers for VAT, it must provide VAT accounts once every three months, unless it qualifies for an annual VAT scheme. - Registered Office
It is a statutory requirement that all English companies must have a Registered Office address in England (or Wales) where the official Register of the company may be inspected by the public. This is also the address to which Companies House (i.e. the company registry) and HM Revenue & Customs (i.e. the tax office) will send official communications, tax statements, etc.