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Tax and accounting once your company exists
Everything HMRC and Companies House expect in the first year, and the order it happens in.
After incorporation you must register for corporation tax within three months of starting to trade, file a confirmation statement each year, file annual accounts, and register for VAT and PAYE if they apply. A dormant company still files accounts and a confirmation statement.
Corporation tax and your UTR
Register within three months of starting to trade. HMRC posts the company UTR to the registered office, which is one practical reason that address needs to be somewhere post is actually read.
Accounts
Filed at Companies House and, in fuller form, with HMRC. Small companies can usually file less publicly. Late accounts carry an automatic penalty that doubles if it happens two years running.
The confirmation statement
Annual, due whether or not anything changed, with its own £50 Companies House fee. Missing it is the usual first step towards being struck off.
VAT and PAYE
VAT once turnover passes the threshold HMRC sets, or voluntarily. PAYE before the first salary is paid, including to yourself. Both are quick to set up and expensive to be late with.
Salary, dividends and loans
Money leaving the company is one of the three, and each has different tax and different paperwork. This is a question for an accountant looking at your actual numbers, not a rule of thumb.
Where to go next
Check a name first
Statutory rules, then the Companies House register. Free, and no email required.
Check a company name What it costs