As a director of your own company you should be aware of certain procedures. Here we introduce some of the key Company start-up, Annual, Pay As You Earn and other forms you will encounter while running your business. Many of them are legal requirements from HMRC and Companies House.
This HMRC authority form allows an accountant to exchange and disclose information about your limited company with HMRC. Once this is in place, your accountant automatically receives copies of any correspondence from HMRC that enables them to keep you up to date. However, this is not always reliable so you should still send copies of anything you feel is out of the ordinary.
This is the New Company Details form issued by HMRC usually within a month of your company being set up at Companies House.
This form should be completed when first registering your limited company for VAT.
Using standard VAT accounting, the VAT you pay to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) or claim back from them is the difference between the VAT you charge your customers and the VAT you pay on your purchases.
Using the Flat Rate Scheme, you pay VAT as a fixed percentage of your VAT inclusive turnover. The actual percentage you use depends on your type of business.
This form contains important dates relating to the company.
The Company’s Tax Return form is issued by HMRC once the company’s accounting period has ended. The information declared on these returns contains the limited company accounts for the financial year-end together with any tax adjustments for the year.
A declaration of expenses and benefits for anyone who has been provided with a benefit from their company, such as a car or the company has paid expenses on which the employee receives personal enjoyment- such as gym membership, for example.
A declaration of the Class 1A National Insurance contributions due on Benefits in Kind received in the year. The form should be submitted by 6 July following the tax year and the National Insurance contributions should be paid to HMRC by 19 July.
This is your Personal Tax return that must be completed and submitted to HMRC by 31st January following the end of the tax year.
Where you do not have a P45, which shows the pay and tax details of your previous employment, the form P46 will require completing and submitting to your new employer.
If you have been employed prior to setting up your own limited company, you should receive the P45 form, which shows the cumulative pay and tax details of your previous employment.
This form or a substitute is sent out to you after the end of the tax year. The information on the form is your total pay and tax received from your limited company together with details of any other employments in the year if the income was received on a cumulative basis.
If you send a paper tax return, HMRC will usually send you a tax calculation. If you send an online Self-Assessment tax return, you can view your calculation online or print it. Your tax calculation is based on the figures you provide in your tax return. It shows what tax you owe - or are owed - and is based on your tax return for a particular year. The tax calculation will tell you when you need to pay any tax due, or how much you're due back.
If you are required to make payments on account, you may elect to have these reduced if you know that your tax liability will be less than previously assessed.
If you have ceased trading or if you have sold your business, you should advise HMRC VAT of cessation of trade. They will issue the VAT 7 Form for completion, together with other VAT forms depending on your circumstances.
Use form P46 (Car) if you're an employer and you start to provide or withdraw a car that's available for private use to a director or to an employee - you can also submit this information online.
