UK company formation: Ltd and LLP

Yes. Directors, shareholders and LLP members can live anywhere. The company needs a registered office in the UK, which we provide, and each director verifies their identity with Companies House. You don't need to travel or use a notary.

1–2 business days from when we receive the documents. Every director, or for an LLP every member, has to verify their identity with Companies House first, because the application includes their personal code.

No. A Ltd needs at least 1 director who is a person rather than a company, and none of its directors has to live in the UK. The same person can be the only director and the only shareholder.

There is no minimum. A Ltd can be registered with a single share of £1, and nothing has to be paid into a bank before registration. An LLP has no shares at all.

19% on profit up to £50,000 and 25% on profit over £250,000. In between, marginal relief takes the rate gradually from 19% up to 25%. The 2 limits are reduced for an accounting period shorter than 12 months, and divided among companies under the same control, including companies outside the UK. These rates have applied since April 2023.

Not corporation tax. For UK tax the LLP is transparent: each member is taxed on their share of the profit as it is made, whether or not they take it out. A member who lives outside the UK pays UK tax only on profit from business carried on in the UK, and what counts is where the business is actually carried on, not where the LLP is registered. The country where they live decides the rest.

The UK does not withhold tax on dividends, so the company pays them out in full. What you pay on them depends on the country where you live.

It can. The company is UK tax resident because it is incorporated in the UK, but many countries treat a company as resident where it is managed. If you run it from home, your country may tax its profit too. Where both countries claim it, the tax treaty between them, if there is one, has rules for deciding.

A business established in the UK has to register once its taxable sales over the last 12 months pass £90,000, and can register earlier by choice. HMRC does not treat a registered office alone as an establishment, so a company run from abroad may have to register from its first taxable sale in the UK. The standard rate is 20%.

A Ltd files a confirmation statement and annual accounts at Companies House, and a corporation tax return with HMRC. Most companies pay corporation tax 9 months and 1 day after the end of their accounting period, and file the return within 12 months. An LLP files the same 2 documents at Companies House and a partnership return with HMRC; its members may have to file their own returns too.

A Ltd pays corporation tax, and you decide when to take profit out as dividends. An LLP pays no tax itself, and its members are taxed on the profit as it is made. An LLP also needs 2 members. Which is better for you depends mostly on the country you live in and how it taxes each.

Yes. Anyone can search Companies House and see the directors, shareholders or LLP members, the people with significant control, and the accounts. Home addresses stay off the public record: the register shows a service address, which can be the registered office.