One-person limited company without an accountant: what to do

In short: Yes, a sole director can run a one-person limited company without an accountant. Every year the company files accounts at Companies House, files a Company Tax Return (CT600) with HMRC, pays Corporation Tax and sends a confirmation statement, each on a fixed date (GOV.UK: Accounts and tax returns for private limited companies). Payroll, VAT and Self Assessment apply only in some cases.

Take the 30-second check to see whether Taxley fits your company, or find your own dates with the Corporation Tax deadline calculator.

What does a one-person limited company have to file each year?

Four jobs apply to every trading one-person company: annual accounts to Companies House, a CT600 to HMRC, paying Corporation Tax, and a confirmation statement at least every 12 months. Four more apply only in some years: payroll for a salary, P11D forms for benefits, VAT returns once registered, and the director's own Self Assessment return.

Each deadline is set out on GOV.UK. Annual accounts go to Companies House 9 months after the company's financial year ends, or 21 months after registration for the first accounts. Corporation Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends, and the CT600 12 months after it ends (GOV.UK: Accounts and tax returns for private limited companies). A confirmation statement can be filed up to 14 days after its review period ends and costs £50 online (GOV.UK: Confirmation statement: your responsibilities). Since 18 November 2025 the director must also verify their identity with Companies House, because a company can't file its confirmation statement until all its directors are verified (GOV.UK: Verifying your identity for Companies House). HMRC's own filing service for company accounts and tax returns closed on 31 March 2026, so a director filing alone now uses commercial software (GOV.UK: Closure of HMRC's file-your-accounts-and-tax-return service).

A worked calendar for the next 12 months takes a company whose financial year ended on 31 March 2026, which isn't filing its first accounts, has VAT quarters ending in March, June, September and December, and gives its director a benefit. Its accounts are due by 31 December 2026, its Corporation Tax by 1 January 2027 and its CT600 by 31 March 2027. The director's 2025–26 return and tax are due online by 31 January 2027, and anyone new to Self Assessment, or who didn't need a return for 2024–25, must tell HMRC by 5 October 2026 (GOV.UK: Self Assessment tax returns: Deadlines). Each VAT return and payment is due one calendar month and 7 days after the quarter ends (GOV.UK: Sending a VAT Return: When to do a VAT Return), and P11D forms by 6 July, with Class 1A National Insurance paid by 22 July (GOV.UK: Expenses and benefits for employers: Deadlines).

Several of these dates fall on a weekend or bank holiday: 7 November 2026, 31 July 2027 and 7 August 2027 are Saturdays, 31 January and 7 February 2027 are Sundays, and 1 January 2027 is New Year's Day. VAT must still reach HMRC by the deadline itself (GOV.UK: Sending a VAT Return: When to do a VAT Return), so pay early or by Faster Payments. Corporation Tax and Self Assessment payments made other than by Faster Payments must arrive by the last working day before (GOV.UK: Pay your Corporation Tax bill: Overview, GOV.UK: Pay your Self Assessment tax bill: Overview). Payments on account, each half of the previous year's tax, are due unless that bill was under £1,000 or more than 80% of it was collected outside Self Assessment (GOV.UK: Self Assessment payments on account). The confirmation statement date depends on when the company was formed or last filed one.

Does a sole director need a Self Assessment return in 2026?

Not just for being a director. GOV.UK's list of who must send a tax return doesn't mention company directors (GOV.UK: Self Assessment tax returns: Who must send a tax return). A sole director needs one when HMRC asks for it, when dividends go over £10,000 in a tax year, or when they owe the company over £10,000, and may need one for other untaxed income.

For a director who owns the company, dividends are the main trigger to check. GOV.UK says dividend income over £10,000 needs a Self Assessment return, and anyone who doesn't normally send one must tell HMRC by 5 October after the tax year ends (GOV.UK: Tax on dividends: How to report tax on dividends). Below £10,000, a director with tax to pay who doesn't send a return must still tell HMRC after 5 April and before 5 October, by asking HMRC to update their tax code or by contacting the helpline. No report is needed if the dividends are within the £500 dividend allowance. For the 2025–26 tax year, an online return and the tax owed are due by 31 January 2027, and a paper return by 31 October 2026 (GOV.UK: Self Assessment tax returns: Deadlines).

A director's loan can also bring in a return. If a director who is also a shareholder owes the company more than £10,000 at any time in the year, the company must treat the loan as a benefit in kind, and GOV.UK says the director must report it on a personal Self Assessment return (GOV.UK: Director's loans: If you owe your company money). Rental income, savings interest and foreign income may need a return too, and GOV.UK says you must send one if HMRC asks you to (GOV.UK: Self Assessment tax returns: Overview). The personal return is separate from the company's CT600.

What changes when a sole director takes a salary?

The company becomes an employer, even with only one person on the payroll. GOV.UK says you must register as an employer even if you only employ yourself as the only director, and before the first payday (GOV.UK: Register as an employer). Each salary payment is then reported to HMRC in a Full Payment Submission on or before payday.

A sole director can't use the Employment Allowance to cancel out employer National Insurance. In 2026–27 employer National Insurance is 15% of earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000 a year (GOV.UK: Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027). The allowance, worth up to £10,500 a year, would normally absorb that, but GOV.UK says a company cannot claim if it has just one director and that director is the only employee liable for secondary Class 1 National Insurance (GOV.UK: Employment Allowance: Check if you're eligible). Payroll also runs all year: the Full Payment Submission goes in on or before each payday, even when HMRC is paid quarterly (GOV.UK: Running payroll: Overview).

How to split pay between salary and dividends is a separate decision, trading Corporation Tax relief and National Insurance against dividend tax, which in 2026–27 is 10.75%, 35.75% or 39.35% above the allowance (GOV.UK: Tax on dividends: Check if you have to pay tax on dividends). The salary or dividends guide works through it with 2026–27 figures. For filing, the point is simpler: any salary means running payroll, while dividends need minutes, vouchers and, above the limits, a personal tax return.

A one-person company has no automatic enrolment pension duties. The Pensions Regulator says there are no duties when an organisation has only one director with a contract of employment and no other staff, or only directors without employment contracts (The Pensions Regulator). Its "not an employer" form is needed only if the regulator writes. Duties start once the company takes on a member of staff who isn't a director.

How does IR35 affect a contractor's limited company?

It depends on the client. For a small client outside the public sector, the contractor's own company decides whether the off-payroll working (IR35) rules apply. For public sector clients and medium or large private-sector clients, the client decides and should give a status determination statement with its reasons (GOV.UK: Understanding off-payroll working (IR35)).

The rules apply contract by contract. When a public sector, medium or large client's contract is inside them, the deemed employer deducts Income Tax and employee National Insurance from the fees paid to the contractor's company (GOV.UK: Understanding off-payroll working (IR35)). For a small client, the contractor's own company works out a "deemed employment payment" and pays the tax and National Insurance on it itself, reporting it to HMRC by 5 April (GOV.UK: Off-payroll working rules for small private-sector clients).

A private-sector client is medium or large if it meets at least 2 of these conditions: turnover over £10.2 million, a balance sheet total over £5.1 million and more than 50 employees (GOV.UK: Off-payroll working for clients). Higher limits of £15 million and £7.5 million apply to financial years starting on or after 6 April 2025, but for a normal 12-month year they first affect a client's size in the 2027–28 tax year (HMRC manual ESM10006A). A small client must confirm its size if the contractor asks.

A contractor who disagrees with a client's determination gives the client the details and reasons, and the client has 45 days from receiving the disagreement to respond, with the rules applied in line with its decision meanwhile (GOV.UK: Off-payroll working: public sector and medium/large clients). An IR35 status dispute is a good reason to pay for professional help, because the outcome decides how every payment under the contract is taxed.

Is it hard to run a limited company without an accountant?

For a one-person company with a single income stream, mostly not: the work is clean records and fixed dates rather than technical tax. The harder parts are judgement calls, such as expenses with personal use, the director's loan account and IR35. GOV.UK keeps the director legally responsible either way, even when an accountant does the work (GOV.UK: Directors' responsibilities running a limited company).

Records decide how hard the year end feels. The company must keep accounting records and the calculations behind its accounts and CT600 for 6 years from the end of the last financial year they relate to, and a director can be fined £3,000 by HMRC or disqualified for not keeping them (GOV.UK: Company and accounting records: your responsibilities). Invoices, receipts and bank records kept up to date each month make micro-entity accounts straightforward; leaving them to the year end is where doing it yourself gets hard. The Do I need an accountant? page compares the two routes in general.

Personal spending through the company is a common trap. Money taken out that isn't a salary, dividend or expense repayment, and isn't money the director paid in, is a director's loan, and the company must keep a record of it (GOV.UK: Director's loans: Overview). A loan still owed 9 months after the accounting period ends brings extra Corporation Tax on form CT600A, which can be reclaimed after repayment. The director's loan account guide shows which way the balance runs, and the working from home guide covers what the company can pay towards household costs.

Dividends need paperwork even when the director is the only shareholder. GOV.UK says the company must hold a directors' meeting to declare each dividend and keep minutes, even with only one director, and write up a voucher showing the date, company name, shareholders' names and amount (GOV.UK: Taking money out of a limited company). A company must not pay out more in dividends than its available profits from current and previous years, as the retained earnings guide shows in the accounts.

When is paying an accountant still worth it?

When the question needs judgement rather than form-filling, or when a wrong answer costs more than the fee. For a one-person company that means books that are far behind, or a handful of specific events, most of them one-offs: an IR35 challenge, an R&D claim, a sale or closure, cross-border issues, associated companies, an audit or a serious HMRC enquiry.

• Books months behind or mixed with personal spending. Rebuilding a year of records, or sorting out personal costs the company paid, takes judgement as well as time, and the director stays legally responsible for the records either way (GOV.UK: Directors' responsibilities running a limited company).
• An IR35 enquiry or status dispute. Challenging a client's status determination, or defending your own company's decision for a small client, is specialist work (GOV.UK: Understanding off-payroll working (IR35)).
• A research and development (R&D) claim. A company claiming for the first time, or the first time in 3 years, must send HMRC a claim notification within 6 months of the end of the period of account, or the claim is invalid (GOV.UK: Tell HMRC you're planning to claim R&D tax relief). Taxley doesn't file R&D claims.
• Selling or closing with Business Asset Disposal Relief. Qualifying gains are taxed at 18% for disposals from 6 April 2026, up to £1 million over a lifetime, and the conditions must apply for at least 2 years before the sale (GOV.UK: Business Asset Disposal Relief: Eligibility). The final CT600 guide covers the company's side.
• International or non-resident issues. A director moving abroad or a company run from outside the UK raises residence questions, and residence status affects whether foreign income is taxed in the UK (GOV.UK: Tax on foreign income: UK residence and tax). Taxley doesn't file for non-resident companies.
• Groups or associated companies. A second company can lower the £50,000 and £250,000 Corporation Tax limits, which GOV.UK says are proportionately reduced by the number of associated companies (GOV.UK: Corporation Tax rates, expenses and reliefs: Rates); see the associated companies guide.
• Audited accounts. For years starting on or after 6 April 2025, a company meeting 2 of turnover up to £15 million, assets up to £7.5 million and 50 or fewer employees may qualify for audit exemption, unless its articles require an audit or shareholders owning at least 10% ask (GOV.UK: Audit exemption for private limited companies). Taxley doesn't file audited accounts.
• A big HMRC enquiry. HMRC can check a company's records with a compliance check (GOV.UK: Company and accounting records: your responsibilities), and you can authorise an agent, such as an accountant or tax adviser, to deal with HMRC for you (GOV.UK: Appoint someone to deal with HMRC on your behalf: Overview).

What can Taxley file for a one-person company?

Taxley files the two yearly company returns: the annual accounts to Companies House and the CT600, with its iXBRL accounts and tax computation, to HMRC. It doesn't file the confirmation statement, run payroll, file VAT returns or file the director's personal Self Assessment return.

Taxley files with the company's own Government Gateway user ID and password, enrolled for Corporation Tax, and needs the Companies House authentication code for the accounts. It handles micro-entity (FRS 105), small-company (FRS 102 Section 1A) and dormant accounts, can fill last year's figures from the accounts at Companies House, and runs readiness checks that stop some entries HMRC would reject before you pay. You file the confirmation statement yourself at Companies House (GOV.UK: Confirmation statement: your responsibilities).

Taxley charges one fee per return, with no subscription and nothing to pay until you file. A CT600 with micro-entity accounts costs £44.50 (promotion price until 31 Dec 2026; £89.00 from 1 Jan 2027), and with small-company accounts £84.50 (promotion price until 31 Dec 2026; £169.00 from 1 Jan 2027). One fee covers the HMRC return and the Companies House accounts; Companies House's own fee for a confirmation statement filed online is £50. Take the 30-second check to see whether Taxley fits your company, or compare the plans on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Can a contractor file their own company's CT600?

Yes. GOV.UK says a company can either get an accountant to prepare and file its Company Tax Return or do it itself. Since HMRC's own filing service closed on 31 March 2026, the return goes through commercial software using the company's Government Gateway login.

Do I need a board meeting to pay myself a dividend?

GOV.UK says yes: the company must hold a directors' meeting to declare the dividend and keep minutes, even if you're the only director. In practice a sole director writes up a minute of the decision, then a dividend voucher, giving a copy to the shareholder and keeping one with the company's records.

Does a one-person company need a workplace pension scheme?

No. The Pensions Regulator says a company with one director and no other staff has no automatic enrolment duties. Its "not an employer" form is needed only if the regulator writes, and duties start once the company takes on staff who aren't directors.

Can a sole director claim the Employment Allowance?

Not when the director is the only employee the company pays employer National Insurance for. GOV.UK says a company with just one director cannot claim if that director is the only employee liable for secondary Class 1 contributions, which apply to pay above £5,000 in 2026–27.

What happens if a one-person company files its CT600 late?

HMRC charges £200 once the deadline passes and another £200 at 3 months, then 10% of the tax still unpaid if the return is 6 months late (18 months after the accounting period ends), rising to 20% if it is 12 months late (2 years after the period ends). Three late returns in a row raise each £200 to £1,000.

General information, not personalised tax advice. Dates and figures checked on GOV.UK and The Pensions Regulator's website on 26 September 2026; the director remains responsible for the company's filings.