Company Formation · Scotland
Company formation in Aberlady
Founders in Aberlady often incorporate themselves in ten minutes and spend months fixing the result: wrong share classes, a home address on the public register, no Corporation Tax registration, a missed first confirmation statement. We set the company up to avoid all of that, for a fixed fee, and track the first-year deadlines for every company we form across Scotland.
from £49 · fixed, one-off
Next deadlines
- Companies House identity verification for directors and PSCs, phased in from 18 November 2025
- Confirmation statement due within 14 days of your review date, at least once every 12 months
- Companies House accounts due 9 months after your year end (a 31 December year end files by 30 September)
- Corporation Tax payment, 9 months and 1 day after your year end (a 31 December year end pays by 1 October)
Who this is for
Company Formation for Aberlady
Anyone in Aberlady starting a business as a limited company: contractors and consultants leaving employment, sole traders incorporating as profits grow, two or more founders who need the shareholding agreed properly, property investors setting up a company to hold rentals, and overseas founders who need a UK company with a UK registered office.
What is included
Everything inside the fixed fee
- Company name check against the register and the sensitive-words rules before filing
- Incorporation at Companies House with articles, share structure and PSC register completed correctly
- Directors' identity verification guidance under the rules in force since November 2025
- Certificate of incorporation, memorandum, articles and share certificates delivered electronically
- Corporation Tax registration with HMRC and your Unique Taxpayer Reference, plus PAYE where included
- A first-year calendar: confirmation statement, accounts and tax deadlines diarised with reminders
How it works
Company Formation from Aberlady, step by step
Tell us your situation
A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.
Fixed fee in writing
You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.
Send records, review the draft
Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.
We file, you get the receipts
Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.
Why IGI
Why Aberlady businesses file with IGI
The price for company formation is published on this page and is what a client in Aberlady pays. We confirm it in writing first, and the invoice matches the quote.
Deadline-first: the dates that matter for company formation are shown at the top of this page, diarised for every Aberlady client and chased before they arrive.
Online only, UK based. There is no office in Aberlady to pay for, which is why the fee is the same here as anywhere in Scotland; the work is done by people in the UK who answer the same day.
Continuity matters in company formation: the person who prepared last year's work for your Aberlady business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.
Plain English, with the numbers. Every draft for Aberlady comes with a short explanation of what the figures mean and what, if anything, you should do about them.
You stay in control of company formation: drafts go to Aberlady clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.
Local facts
About Aberlady
Aberlady is in Scotland, in the EH32 postcode district, Scotland. Scottish taxpayers pay income tax under six Scottish bands set by the Scottish Parliament, from the 19% starter rate through 20%, 21%, 42% and 45% to the 48% top rate, applied to non-savings income. Dividends and savings are taxed at UK rates, National Insurance and Corporation Tax are UK-wide, and property purchases pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Spittal, East Lothian | 2 mi | S |
| Gullane | 2 mi | NE |
| New Mains | 3 mi | E |
| Longniddry | 3 mi | SW |
| Drem | 3 mi | E |
| Elvingston | 3 mi | S |
| Seton Mains | 4 mi | SW |
| Dirleton | 4 mi | NE |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Confirmation statements and identity verification
The confirmation statement is the annual check that the public register is right: officers, registered office, SIC codes, shareholders and the PSC register. It carries a £50 fee and no financial penalty for lateness, but failure to file leads to compulsory strike-off. The identity verification regime introduced in November 2025 has added a further check to every statement.
CIS deductions
Under the Construction Industry Scheme, contractors deduct 20% from a registered subcontractor's labour invoices, or 30% if unregistered, and pay it to HMRC. The subcontractor reclaims the deductions against their actual tax through Self Assessment, usually producing a refund because deductions are on turnover while tax is on profit. Contractors file a monthly return by the 19th.
Salary versus dividends
The salary-and-dividend split is the central planning decision for an owner-managed company. Salary costs employer National Insurance above £5,000 but is deductible; dividends are not deductible but attract lower personal rates and no National Insurance. The optimum changes each April with the thresholds and depends on the director's other income, so it should be set deliberately every year.
Director's loan accounts
The most common tax problem in owner-managed companies is an overdrawn director's loan account: drawings taken during the year that were never declared as dividends or salary. The company faces a 35.75% charge on the balance outstanding nine months after the year end, and the director may have a benefit in kind. We review the account before every year end to clear it properly.
The VAT registration threshold
Watching the rolling twelve-month turnover figure is one of the quiet jobs of monthly bookkeeping, because the £90,000 VAT threshold arrives silently. Crossing it brings quarterly returns, Making Tax Digital software and a decision about schemes. Crossing it late brings a bill for VAT you could not recover from customers and a penalty for failing to notify.
Corporation Tax rates and marginal relief
Since April 2023 there have been two Corporation Tax rates, 19% small profits and 25% main, with marginal relief smoothing the transition between £50,000 and £250,000 of profit. The band is where planning matters: each pound of profit in it is taxed at an effective 26.5%, so pension contributions and capital expenditure timed to keep profit below £50,000 are worth more than they look.
Late filing penalties
HMRC's penalties for a late Self Assessment return are automatic: £100 the day after 31 January, £10 a day from three months late up to £900, then the greater of £300 or 5% of the tax at six and twelve months. Interest and separate late-payment penalties apply to the tax itself. Companies House charges £150 to £1,500 for late accounts, doubling for a second consecutive year.
Questions
Company Formation questions from Aberlady
When should I register for VAT and PAYE?
VAT when taxable turnover will exceed £90,000 in a rolling 12 months, or voluntarily before if it helps. PAYE before the first salary payment, including to yourself as director. Both are included in the £99 package or available separately at £49 each.
What share structure should I have?
For a single founder, one ordinary share of £1 is usual. For two or more, the split should reflect the agreed ownership and may use different share classes to allow different dividend payments. We discuss this before filing, because changing it later needs resolutions and filings. We also advise on whether a shareholders' agreement is worth having.
What is a SIC code and which one do I need?
The Standard Industrial Classification code describes what the company does and appears on the public register. You can have up to four. We pick the right ones from the official list for your trade. Changing them later is done through the confirmation statement, which is our £39 SIC change service.
Can you form a company limited by guarantee or a dormant company?
Yes. Companies limited by guarantee, used by clubs, charities and community groups, are £49 with bespoke objects at £99. Dormant company formation, for protecting a name or holding a future business, is £29. Both carry the £100 Companies House fee and both have their own service pages.
What is the difference between a limited company and a sole trader?
A company is a separate legal person: it owns the business, owes the debts and pays Corporation Tax, and you take income as salary and dividends. A sole trader is personally liable and pays income tax on all profits. Companies cost more to run but can save tax at higher profits and protect personal assets. Our free comparison tool shows the numbers.
What happens after the company is formed?
You receive the certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles, share certificates and the company's authentication code. Then the deadlines start: first confirmation statement within 12 months and 14 days, first accounts within 21 months, Corporation Tax payment nine months after the first year end. We diarise all of them and remind you.
Do you have an office in Aberlady?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Aberlady and every other UK postcode remotely, with records sent by WhatsApp or email and everything filed electronically. The absence of local premises is why the fee for company formation is the same in Aberlady as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Is company formation in Aberlady really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Aberlady pays and what a client in any other part of Scotland pays. It is confirmed in writing before work starts and the invoice matches the quote. Where a higher package applies because your situation is more complex, we say so at the quote stage, never afterwards.
One message from Aberlady, one fixed price
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.