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Looking for something specific? This is every public page, service, client type, guide and legal document on the SmartFiling site. Search engines can crawl the XML sitemap instead.

Main pages

The core pages on the site.

Services

Every filing service we offer — fixed-fee, filed by a UK ICAEW Chartered Accountant.

All services Browse every fixed-fee service we file.
Bookkeeping Monthly or quarterly bookkeeping that keeps your records HMRC-ready year-round and makes accounts filing simpler every time.
Corporation Tax (CT600) Accurate, compliant, and on-time CT600 preparation and submission to HMRC — so you can focus on running your business.
Micro-Entity Accounts Filing FRS 105 accounts prepared and filed with Companies House and HMRC. Accounts, CT600, and all filings included in one price.
MTD for Income Tax MTD compliance for landlords, sole traders, and self-employed individuals.
MTD VAT Filing Making Tax Digital-compliant VAT returns prepared and submitted. We stay current with HMRC changes — you don't have to.
Payroll Services Payroll processing, PAYE submissions and RTI filings handled for you. Straightforward and compliant for small teams.

Who we help

Client types we file for.

Who we help Overview of the client types we work with.
Contractors & Freelancers Simple, fixed-fee accounting for contractors, consultants and freelancers. Stay compliant, minimise tax and manage everything online.
Dormant Companies Not trading — but still have filing obligations.
Micro Entity Companies Small UK limited company with turnover under £1M.
MTD & Self Assessment Directors, landlords, side-hustlers — MTD ready.
Small Businesses UK Ltd companies up to £1M turnover — full compliance.

Guides & blog

Plain-English guides written by our chartered team.

All guides Every guide and blog post.
Allowable Expenses for the Self-Employed: The Complete List Every allowable expense category for sole traders in 2026/27, the 55p mileage rate, simplified expenses flat rates, capital allowances at 14%, and…
How to Register as a Sole Trader with HMRC Register as a sole trader on form CWF1 by 5 October. Covers the Class 2 double-registration trap, GOV.UK One Login, UTR timings…
Sole Trader vs Limited Company in 2026: The Full Comparison Real 2026/27 arithmetic at £30k–£100k profit. Dividend rises, 15% employer NIC and the single-director rule have narrowed the limited company advantage.
Digital Record Keeping for MTD: Exactly What HMRC Requires Exactly what a digital record must contain for MTD VAT and MTD Income Tax, the digital links rule, why copy-paste breaks compliance,…
Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance for the Self-Employed 2026/27 Class 2 is not collected at profits of £7,105 or more but it still credits your NI record. Class 4 runs at…
Sole Trader Tax Explained: What You Pay and When Income Tax bands, Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance, payments on account and the 31 January / 31 July rhythm —…
MTD Exemptions: Who Doesn't Have to Comply? Who is exempt from MTD for Income Tax: automatic exemptions, the digital exclusion grounds, how to apply, HMRC's 28-day response and the…
Best MTD Software for Sole Traders: Free and Paid Options Compared 141 products are HMRC-recognised for MTD for Income Tax and 31 are free. The full free list, the quarterly-updates-only trap, and what…
Making Tax Digital for Landlords: What Changes in 2026 and 2027 MTD for landlords is live over £50,000 and hits £30,000 in April 2027. Portfolio and joint-let rules, the FHL abolition, and what…
MTD for Income Tax Thresholds: The £50k, £30k and £20k Timeline MTD for Income Tax applies over £50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 from 2027 and £20,000 from 2028. What qualifying income means and…
MTD Quarterly Updates Explained: No, It's Not Five Tax Returns MTD quarterly updates are summaries, not tax returns. See what they contain, the 7 Aug / 7 Nov / 7 Feb /…
4 Ways to Take Money Out of a Limited Company Salary, dividends, director's loan and pension contributions compared on 2026/27 rates — with the tax treatment of each and why pensions beat…
Employment Allowance for Single-Director Companies: Can You Claim? Single-director companies cannot claim the £10,500 Employment Allowance. The exact exclusion, when a company does qualify, and how the claim actually works.
Director's Loan Accounts Explained (and the s455 Tax Trap) Section 455 is 35.75% for loans made from 6 April 2026, 33.75% before. The £10,000 benefit in kind threshold, CT600A, the nine-month…
Illegal Dividends: What Happens When Profits Don't Cover Them Paying a dividend without distributable profits is unlawful under Part 23 CA 2006. Who repays it, the director exposure, and the 35.75%…
Salary and Dividend Calculator Guide: Finding Your Optimal Split for 2026/27 How the salary and dividend optimisation actually works, with full arithmetic at £30k, £60k and £100k of profit — on the new…
Corporation Tax Late Filing Penalties Explained CT600 late filing penalties doubled to £200 for returns with a filing date on or after 1 April 2026. The filing-date rule,…
Your First Corporation Tax Return: A New Company Director's Guide New companies usually file two CT600s in year one. The full first-year sequence: the 3-month HMRC notification, split accounting periods, and every…
How to Reduce Corporation Tax: 12 Legitimate Strategies Twelve legitimate ways to reduce your UK corporation tax bill — pensions, capital allowances, R&D relief, losses, mileage and EMI. Updated for…
Behind on Your Bookkeeping? How to Catch Up a Year of Backlog A year behind is fixable. The catch-up sequence that works, what to gather, what missing receipts actually mean, and what the penalties…
DIY Bookkeeping vs Outsourcing: The Real Cost of Doing It Yourself Software costs £0–£70 a month. The real cost of DIY bookkeeping is your time and error correction. Where DIY genuinely works, and…
Bookkeeping Services Cost UK: 2026 Pricing Benchmarks UK bookkeeping costs £20–£224 + VAT a month. Real provider prices verified August 2026, the cost drivers that actually matter, and what…
VAT Return Accountant Cost: UK Pricing Guide UK accountants charge roughly £420 to £1,650 a year plus VAT for VAT returns. See real market prices, what drives the fee,…
VAT Schemes Compared: Flat Rate vs Standard vs Cash Accounting Compare the Flat Rate, Cash Accounting, Annual Accounting and standard VAT schemes. Includes the limited cost trader rule, the 16.5% rate and…
What Does VAT Registered Mean? (And What It Means for Your Prices) VAT registered means charging 20% on sales and reclaiming VAT on purchases. See what changes on day one, the absorb-or-pass-on decision and…
Voluntary VAT Registration: When It Pays to Register Early Registering for VAT below the £90,000 threshold pays if your customers reclaim. See worked examples both ways, the pre-registration reclaim rules and…
What Expenses Can You Reclaim VAT On? What you can and cannot reclaim VAT on: the entertainment and car blocks, fuel scale charges, mixed use, pre-registration VAT and the…
OnlyFans and Creator Income: How UK Tax Works Registering as self-employed, the £1,000 allowance, what you can claim, when VAT applies and who can see your tax affairs. Practical 2026/27…
Do You Pay Tax on Vinted, eBay and Etsy Sales? Platform Reporting Rules Selling used possessions is not normally trading, so usually no Income Tax. Platform reports explained, the badges of trade and the £6,000…
Side Hustle Tax UK: The £1,000 Trading Allowance Explained The trading allowance is £1,000 of gross income, not profit. Full relief vs partial relief, worked examples, the £3,000 myth and what…
Can I Do My Own VAT Return? DIY vs Using a Filing Service You can legally file your own VAT return. Where DIY works, where it goes wrong — partial exemption, reverse charge, import VAT…
VAT Return Deadlines and the Penalty Points System VAT returns are due one month and 7 days after period end. Penalty point thresholds by filing frequency, the £200 penalty, expiry…
How to Submit a VAT Return Under Making Tax Digital How to file a VAT return under MTD: the nine boxes explained, digital record-keeping rules, what counts as a digital link, and…
VAT Registration Threshold 2026/27: The Rolling 12-Month Test Explained The VAT threshold is £90,000 on a rolling 12-month test — not a tax year test. Worked monthly example, the forward-look rule,…
Marginal Relief Explained: The Truth About the 19%–25% Band Marginal Relief creates a 26.5% effective marginal rate between £50,000 and £250,000 of profit — higher than the 25% main rate. The…
How to Pay Corporation Tax: HMRC Reference Numbers and Methods Your 17-character corporation tax reference changes every accounting period — the most common cause of misallocated payments. Full guide to references, methods…
How Much Is Corporation Tax in 2026/27? Rates and Marginal Relief Corporation tax is 19% up to £50,000 and 25% above £250,000, with a 26.5% effective marginal rate in between. Full rate table,…
Self Assessment for Limited Company Directors: Do You Actually Need One? Being a director is not a Self Assessment trigger. What actually forces a return: dividends above the £500 allowance, benefits in kind…
How Far Back Can HMRC Investigate Your Self Assessment? HMRC's discovery limits are 4, 6, 12 or 20 years depending on behaviour — plus the 12-month enquiry window, record-keeping rules and…
Self Assessment Late Filing Penalties — and How to Appeal Them Two penalty regimes now run in parallel. Which applies to you, the full £100/£900/5% schedule, the points system, and how to appeal…
Payments on Account Explained: Why HMRC Asks for Tax Early Why your first Self Assessment bill is 150% of what you expected, the £1,000 and 80% exemption tests, and the real risk…
How to Pay Self Assessment Tax: Every HMRC Payment Method HMRC bank details, the UTR + 'K' payment reference, clearing times for every method, late payment interest at 7.75% and how Time…
Confirmation Statement Overdue? What Happens and How to Fix It There is no automatic late filing penalty for a confirmation statement. The real risks are a £250–£2,000 penalty, daily charges, strike-off and…
Companies House Late Filing Penalties — and How to Appeal The full Companies House late filing penalty bands, the doubling rule, and the excuses the registrar explicitly rejects — including relying on…
Companies House Filing Deadlines 2026: Accounts, CS01 and Penalties Every Companies House deadline for 2026 — accounts (9 months), first accounts (21 months), confirmation statement (14 days), ARD change rules and…
Employer NI at 15% from £5,000: What It Means for Director Pay Employer NI is 15% above a £5,000 threshold. The cost at each salary level, why salary still beats dividends to £12,570, and…
How to Pay Yourself a Dividend Legally (Vouchers, Minutes, Timing) Distributable profits, board minutes, dividend vouchers and the date a dividend counts as paid. What the Companies Act actually requires, and the…
The Most Tax-Efficient Director Salary for 2026/27 £12,570 for most sole directors — with full arithmetic. Employer NIC at 15%, the £5,000 threshold, and why single-director companies cannot claim…
Dividend Allowance Explained: How Much Is Tax-Free This Year? The dividend allowance is £500 for 2026/27, down from £2,000. How it stacks with unused Personal Allowance, what it is worth, and…
Dividend Tax Rates 2026/27: The New 10.75% and 35.75% Bands Dividend tax rose on 6 April 2026 to 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35%, with a £500 allowance. Full comparison table, worked examples and…
How Much Does an Accountant Cost for a Sole Trader? What a sole trader accountant actually costs in 2026, why most published price lists are limited company prices, and the five things…
Dormant vs Non-Trading Company: The Difference That Causes Penalties Non-trading is not a filing status. A non-trading company can still owe Corporation Tax and a CT600, and still be barred from…
How to File Dormant Company Accounts (Form AA02) Dormant accounts are free to file but the 9-month deadline and £150 penalty still apply. Step-by-step AA02 guide, what goes on the…
What Is a Dormant Company? HMRC vs Companies House Definitions Companies House and HMRC use different dormancy tests. See both definitions, the permitted transactions, and how a company can be dormant for…
Self Assessment Filing Service Cost: What Should You Pay in 2026? Real 2026 market prices for Self Assessment filing — software from £59, subscriptions from £38 + VAT, and what actually drives an…
Do I Need to File a Self Assessment? 12 Scenarios Explained Twelve real situations with a straight answer on whether you need to file a Self Assessment return — plus the £1,000 threshold…
Self Assessment Deadlines 2026/27: Every HMRC Date That Matters Every Self Assessment deadline for 2025/26 and 2026/27 — registration, paper, online, payments on account and MTD quarterly updates, in full tables.
How to Register for Self Assessment Online (Step-by-Step) Register for Self Assessment by 5 October 2026. Step-by-step CWF1 and SA1 guide, UTR timings, and the GOV.UK One Login change most…
CT600 Filing Service Cost: What UK Companies Pay in 2026 CT600 filing costs £120–£600 + VAT with an accountant, or £59–£195 DIY. Real 2026 prices compared, what drives quotes up, and why…
Micro-Entity Thresholds 2026: Does Your Company Qualify? The micro-entity thresholds rose to £1m turnover and £500k balance sheet from April 2025. See the full qualifying test, the two-year rule,…
How to File a Confirmation Statement Online (CS01 Guide) Step-by-step CS01 filing guide. The authentication code takes up to 10 working days, and Companies House will not accept the statement until…
Confirmation Statements Explained: What, When and How Much A confirmation statement costs £50 online or £110 on paper from 1 February 2026. The 12-month review period, the 14-day window, and…
How to Tell HMRC Your Company Is Dormant Stopping trading doesn't automatically stop HMRC from expecting a Corporation Tax return — that only happens once you actively tell them your…
How Much Does It Cost to File Company Accounts in the UK? There's no single answer to what filing your company accounts costs, because the honest answer depends on three separate things: how you…
Micro-Entity vs Small Company Accounts: Which Should You File? Cross a certain size and Companies House stops letting you file the simplest version of your accounts — but "cross a certain…
When Is Corporation Tax Due? Deadlines by Company Year-End Ask five business owners when their Corporation Tax is due and you'll likely get five different answers — not because anyone's wrong,…
How to Register for VAT: A Step-by-Step UK Guide If your business is edging towards six figures in turnover, learning how to register for VAT is probably somewhere on your worry…
Dormant company filing: what you still have to do Your company is dormant — but you still have Companies House and HMRC obligations. Here's the minimum you must file to avoid…
Salary vs dividends: the optimal split for 2026/27 For a sole director drawing from a UK limited company, the optimal salary/dividend split has shifted again. Here's the current thinking.
CT600 Corporation Tax for small-company directors, explained The CT600 is HMRC's Corporation Tax return. Here's what goes on it, what reliefs to claim, and the filing and payment deadlines…
MTD for Income Tax: what you need to do now Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) is now in effect for UK sole traders and landlords with turnover…
How to file micro-entity accounts in 2026: a director's guide Step-by-step for UK directors — what a micro-entity is under FRS 105, what you must file with Companies House and HMRC, deadlines,…

Legal & policies

Terms, privacy, complaints and other regulated disclosures.