How much does it cost to form a limited company?

It may surprise you to find out that you can form a limited company – direct via Companies House – for a mere £12. However, you may prefer to pay an intermediary to do this on your behalf – which will increase the cost.

What are your options?

There are 3 typical routes to forming a new company. In all cases, the formation itself will be registered at Companies House.

1. Direct with Companies House
2. Use a formations agent
3. Use an accountant

Before you decide which route to take, read our set up a company guide to find out what is involved when you form a company, and what information you will need during the application process.

Form a company directly via Companies House

The most direct route, unsurprisingly, is to incorporate your new company directly with the registrar – Companies House.

You can either do this online, or submit paper forms (for an additional cost).

If you have all of the details you’ll need to incorporate to hand (personal information about the shareholders and office holders, plus proof of ID), you can start the online application here.

To apply online costs £12.

If you would prefer to register by post, you will need to fill in the physical version of application form IN01.

To apply by post costs £40, and may take 8-10 days.

Use a formation agent to form your company

If you would rather use a third party to help you with the application, there are numerous formation agents who will help walk you through the process (for a fee, of course).

You may prefer this option if you haven’t dealt with Companies House before, or simply for peace of mind.

The costs vary, of course, You can pay anything from a few pounds to several hundred, depending on the formation package you purchase.

Many formation agents provide a wide variety of add-ons, such as a registered office address, virtual office space, accountancy packages, business bank accounts, and so on.

This enables intermediaries to keep the price of formation very low in many cases.

Our formations partner, 1st Formations offers a variety of company formations packages – from a mere £12.99.

Use a limited company accountant

Almost all limited company businesses will hire an accountant to take care of the everyday accounting and tax tasks associated with running a company.

If you have already chosen an accountant prior to incorporating, it may make sense for them to handle the incorporation process too.

If your formation needs are complex – then seeking professional help (from an accountant) makes sense, for example if:

Again, the costs vary a great deal. Some accountants may provide the service for free assuming you are going to become a client. Others may charge a fixed one-off fee of £100 or so.

All of the accountants in our directory will set up a company for you.

Things to bear in mind

If you apply online at Companies House, HMRC will automatically register your company for Corporation Tax at the same time. Otherwise you, or your accountant, will need to register separately. You may also want to register your company as an employer (for payroll purposes), and VAT if required.

Once your company has been successfully created, you will receive a certificate of incorporation, by post or email.

The cost of formation is fairly trivial compared to other costs you will have to bear whilst running a company.

You should choose the formation option which you feel most comfortable with – particularly when it comes to dealing with official paperwork.

Form a company today for just £12.99

If you want to form a company right away (from £12.99), visit 1st Formations, our incorporation partner.