- No separate legal person; the parent is liable
- Registration as a UK establishment at Companies House, £124
- Profits of the permanent establishment taxable in the UK
- The parent's accounts, adapted to UK duties
COMPANY FORMATION · SINCE 2006
Setting up in the UK 2026
Your business, ready for the British market. From the identity check at Companies House to your first report to HMRC: everything you need to start in the UK, under one lead.
AT A GLANCE · NOVEMBER 2026
| Identity verification | compulsory for directors and PSCs since 18 November 2025 |
| Incorporation | £100 online, usually within 24 hours |
| Corporation tax | 19 to 25 percent |
| VAT without a UK establishment | registration from the first taxable supply |
| Withholding tax on dividends | none |
Four building blocks for doing business in the UK
Any business coming to the UK from abroad meets four questions sooner or later. What shape does the business take there, its own company or a branch? Do I need to register for UK VAT? How do I pay staff in the UK? And how do I bring profits home cleanly? Each has its own product with us, and for everything in between there is the UK Tax Consult.
Since November 2025 every formation starts with an identity check at Companies House. That does not make the UK limited company worse, just more honest: whoever sets one up stands behind it by name. Incorporation itself costs £100 and usually takes less than a day. The real work lies before and after: in the question of where the company is managed, and in the deadlines of the first year.
Our products for your UK start
Each product stands on its own. Most businesses need two or three of them, in this order.
UK Company SetupIdentity verification, incorporation of the limited company, UK registered office, set-up with HMRC and a deadline calendar for year one.Start your company →UK VAT RegistrationObligation check, VAT number, EORI for goods and Making Tax Digital set-up, including for businesses without a UK establishment.Register for VAT →UK PayrollEmployer registration, monthly payroll, reports to HMRC and workplace pension.Set up payroll →UK Holding CompanyA UK holding above your shareholdings: dividends paid out without UK tax deducted, and a structure your home country recognises.Set up a holding →UK Tax ConsultFor everything that comes before the decision: legal form, place of management, tax at home and in the UK.Talk through your UK plan →
Company or branch?
The first fork in the road. Both are possible, both have consequences.
Your own UK limited company
- A separate legal person; liability limited to the company's assets
- UK tax resident when it is managed there
- Dividends to the parent without UK tax deducted
- Its own accounts and tax return in the UK
A branch of your company at home
INSIGHTS FOR BUSINESSES
Legal form and structure
Which form suits your business and what it means legally.
Entering the UK marketExport, branch or limited company: the four stages and what each one triggers for tax.Read on →Branch or subsidiaryPermanent establishment, branch or limited company: liability, tax and formalities compared.Read on →Sole trader or limited companySelf-employed in the UK: when a company pays off.Read on →Directors' liabilityWhat directors and shareholders of a UK limited company answer for.Read on →Identity verification at Companies HouseWho must be verified, which deadlines run and how it works from abroad.Read on →Buying a UK companyShare deal or asset deal: stamp duty, VAT, exemptions and due diligence.Read on →Buying property through a companyStamp duty for companies, ATED, corporation tax on rents and the register of overseas entities.Read on →
Profits, dividends, withholding tax
What the company pays and how the money reaches you.
UK corporation tax19 to 25 percent, marginal relief, deadlines and what Budget 2026 changes.Read on →Salary, dividend or loanHow to take profits out of your company, with the 2026/27 rates and the questions for your home country.Read on →UK dividend withholding taxWhy UK dividends flow out untouched, and what happens at home.Read on →Transfer pricingArm's length dealing between your company at home and the UK subsidiary, documentation and exemptions.Read on →
VAT and trade
VAT on goods and services, and the e-invoice on its way.
The UK VAT numberWho needs a UK VAT number, how to get one and what has applied since Brexit.Read on →VAT on goods sold into the UKThe £135 rule, marketplaces, UK warehouses and import VAT.Read on →VAT on servicesPlace of supply B2B and B2C, the exceptions and the planned change to the reverse charge.Read on →E-invoicing in the UKWhat is planned from April 2029 and how to prepare.Read on →Construction Industry SchemeDeductions, registration and the reverse charge for construction firms from abroad.Read on →
Staff and pay
Payroll, postings, company cars and equity.
Payroll in the UKEmployer registration, RTI reporting, minimum wage and pension: the checklist for employers from abroad.Read on →Posting staff to the UKIncome tax, social security certificates and shadow payroll.Read on →Company cars in the UKBenefit in kind by CO2 and electric range, with the percentages for 2026/27 and 2027/28.Read on →Employee share schemesEMI, CSOP, SIP and SAYE: limits, reporting and what Budget 2026 changes.Read on →Directors living abroadPay, social security and place of management: the three tax traps.Read on →IR35 and false self-employmentWhen contractors with their own company are taxed like employees.Read on →
Accounts, audit, incentives
Duties after the first year, and the incentive schemes.
Annual accounts and auditDeadlines, size thresholds since April 2025, audit exemption.Read on →FRS 102: what changes in 2026Leases on the balance sheet and new revenue recognition for periods from 2026.Read on →HMRC enquiriesEnquiry windows, information notices, penalties and how to prepare.Read on →R&D tax reliefThe merged R&D scheme, ERIS and the limits on work done abroad.Read on →EIS and SEISTax reliefs for investors in young UK companies, and who they suit.Read on →
Not sure which form fits yet?
Then start with a conversation. We settle legal form, place of management and tax on both sides, and you get the answer in writing.