Company Formation · South East
Company formation in Cooling
Setting up a limited company from Cooling takes less than an hour of your time when it is done properly. We check the name, prepare the incorporation, guide you through the identity verification Companies House now requires, and register the company for Corporation Tax. Packages from £49 to £199, each with the Companies House fee shown separately.
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 Cooling
Anyone in Cooling 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 Cooling, step by step
Scope the job
We find out what you need filed, when it is due and what state the records are in, and tell you which fixed-fee package applies.
Agree the price
The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.
Hand over the records
Photographs, PDFs, software access or a spreadsheet, sent however suits you. We confirm what we have and what is missing within two working days.
Approve, then we submit
You review the draft with our explanation, sign off, and we file. Receipts, copies and the next deadlines come back to you immediately.
Why IGI
The IGI way of working, in Cooling
No hourly rate and no surprise invoice. Cooling clients know the fee for company formation before they send a single document, and it stays fixed.
Deadline-first: the dates that matter for company formation are shown at the top of this page, diarised for every Cooling client and chased before they arrive.
Online only, UK based. There is no office in Cooling to pay for, which is why the fee is the same here as anywhere in England; the work is done by people in the UK who answer the same day.
You get one contact for company formation, not a queue. Cooling clients message the same person throughout and get an answer in working hours, usually within a few hours.
Plain English, with the numbers. Every draft for Cooling comes with a short explanation of what the figures mean and what, if anything, you should do about them.
Approval before filing is a rule, not a courtesy. For company formation in Cooling, every submission to HMRC or Companies House follows your written go-ahead.
Local facts
About Cooling
Cooling is in South East, England. For businesses in England the tax rules are those set by the UK Parliament: the 20/40/45% income tax bands, Class 4 National Insurance for the self-employed at 6% and 2%, Corporation Tax at 19% to 25%, and Stamp Duty Land Tax on property. Business rates are set locally by the council.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling Street | 0.9 mi | SW |
| Cliffe, South East | 1 mi | NW |
| High Halstow | 1 mi | E |
| West Street, Medway | 2 mi | W |
| Cliffe Woods | 2 mi | SW |
| Lee Green, Medway | 2 mi | SW |
| Sharnal Street | 2 mi | SE |
| Mean, The | 2 mi | NE |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
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.
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.
Corporation Tax rates and marginal relief
Companies pay Corporation Tax at 19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% on profits over £250,000. Between those figures marginal relief applies, producing an effective rate that rises gradually and a marginal rate of 26.5% on each pound in the band. The thresholds are divided by the number of associated companies, so a director with two companies has thresholds of £25,000 and £125,000 for each.
The VAT registration threshold
The £90,000 VAT threshold is measured over any twelve consecutive months, which is why a strong quarter can tip a business over unexpectedly. Registration must follow within thirty days of the end of the month the threshold was crossed. Below the threshold, voluntary registration is worth considering when customers are VAT-registered businesses and costs carry VAT.
Director's loan accounts
Money taken from a company has to be something: salary, dividend, expense reimbursement or loan. If it is a loan and remains outstanding nine months after the year end, the company pays tax at the dividend higher rate on it until it is repaid. Clearing the balance with a properly declared dividend before the deadline, where reserves allow, is routine year-end work.
Salary versus dividends
Directors of their own companies usually take a salary at or just above the National Insurance thresholds, which keeps the year qualifying for State Pension and is deductible for Corporation Tax, with further income as dividends. Dividends above the £500 allowance are taxed at 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35% by band and can only be paid from distributable profits after tax, with a minute and voucher each time.
Payments on account
If your Self Assessment bill exceeds £1,000 and less than 80% of your tax was collected at source, HMRC asks for two advance payments towards the following year, each half of the current bill, due 31 January and 31 July. The first year this happens the January payment is effectively one and a half times the bill. We model it in advance and show you how to reduce the payments if income is falling.
Questions
Company Formation questions from Cooling
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.
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.
Can I use my home address?
You can, but it becomes public on the Companies House register as the registered office and as your service address. Most founders prefer not to. Our registered office service at £69 a year provides a London address for official post, and the £149 formation package includes the first year.
Do directors need to verify their identity?
Yes. Since 18 November 2025 every new director and person with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House before or at incorporation, through GOV.UK One Login or an authorised agent. We tell you exactly how to do it and check that the verification is linked before we file.
How long does incorporation take?
Companies House usually approves online incorporations within 24 hours, often the same working day. We need your chosen name, the registered office address, details of each director and shareholder with their identity verification, the share structure and your SIC code. Most clients give us everything in one conversation.
What does it cost in total?
Our formation-only fee is £49, plus the Companies House incorporation fee of £100 which we pass on at cost and show separately. So a basic formation is £149 all in. The £99 package adds Corporation Tax and PAYE registration, £149 adds a year's registered office, and the £199 startup pack includes registrations and bookkeeping setup.
How do I get started from Cooling?
Message us on WhatsApp or email with a sentence about your business and what you need. We reply in working hours with any questions and a fixed fee for company formation. Once you confirm, we tell you exactly which records to send and the work begins. Most Cooling clients are set up within a day.
Which deadlines matter most for company formation?
The next four dates that apply to company formation are shown at the top of this page, calculated from today. For Cooling clients we diarise every one of them from the day you join and send reminders before each, so the work is done in good time rather than in the last week before a penalty.
Get a fixed quote for Cooling today
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.