Payroll · South West
Payroll services in Countess
Directors in Countess paying themselves a salary need payroll just as much as a business with a team, because the salary only counts for tax and National Insurance purposes if it is reported to HMRC through RTI. Our director-only service does exactly that for £25 a month, and scales to small teams across South West at the same fixed, published rates.
from £25/mo · fixed, per month
Next deadlines
- PAYE and National Insurance for last month paid to HMRC (electronic)
- Workplace pension contributions paid over to the scheme
- PAYE and National Insurance for last month paid to HMRC (electronic)
- Workplace pension contributions paid over to the scheme
Who this is for
Payroll for Countess
Employers in Countess with one to around ten people on the payroll: single-director companies paying a salary alongside dividends, trades with a few employees, cafes, salons and shops with hourly staff, professional practices, and anyone taking on their first employee who needs PAYE registration and auto-enrolment set up correctly from day one.
What is included
Everything inside the fixed fee
- Payroll processed every pay period with electronic payslips to each employee
- Full Payment Submission to HMRC on or before every pay day, and the Employer Payment Summary when needed
- PAYE, National Insurance and student loan deductions calculated, with a monthly payment note for HMRC
- Workplace pension assessment, enrolment and contribution files each pay period
- Starters, leavers, P45s, statutory sick, maternity and paternity pay handled as they arise
- Year-end: P60s to employees, final submissions, and P11Ds where benefits are provided
How it works
Payroll from Countess, 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
What you get in Countess
No hourly rate and no surprise invoice. Countess clients know the fee for payroll before they send a single document, and it stays fixed.
We work to the HMRC and Companies House calendar, not an appointment diary. Clients in Countess get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each date that applies to payroll.
We serve Countess remotely by design: records by WhatsApp or email, drafts back for approval, filing electronic. The saving on premises is passed to you in the fee for payroll.
A named person handles your payroll from Countess and knows the file, so you are not re-explaining your business to a different helpdesk each time.
Plain English, with the numbers. Every draft for Countess comes with a short explanation of what the figures mean and what, if anything, you should do about them.
You stay in control of payroll: drafts go to Countess clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.
Local facts
About Countess
Countess is in South West, England. Income tax in England follows the UK rates: 20% basic to £50,270, 40% higher to £125,140 and 45% additional, with the personal allowance of £12,570 tapered away above £100,000. National Insurance, VAT and Corporation Tax are UK-wide, and Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property purchases.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Ratfyn | 0.6 mi | E |
| Totterdown, Wiltshire | 0.6 mi | N |
| Amesbury, South West | 0.8 mi | SE |
| Amesbury, West | 0.9 mi | SW |
| West Amesbury | 0.9 mi | SW |
| Bulford, South West | 1 mi | NE |
| Durrington, South West | 1 mi | N |
| Hackthorn, Wiltshire | 2 mi | N |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this 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.
Director's loan accounts
A director's loan account records money moving between a director and the company that is not salary or dividend. If the director owes the company money nine months and one day after the year end, the company pays section 455 tax at 35.75% of the balance, refundable only when the loan is repaid. Loans over £10,000 are also a benefit in kind unless interest is charged at HMRC's official rate.
The VAT registration threshold
VAT registration is compulsory once taxable turnover in any rolling twelve-month period exceeds £90,000, or when you expect to exceed that in the next thirty days alone. The test is rolling, not by tax year, and includes zero-rated sales. Businesses regularly cross it without noticing, and late registration means accounting for VAT on sales where it was never charged to customers.
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.
Switching accountants
Changing accountant is simpler than most people fear. You authorise the new firm, which writes to the old one for professional clearance and your records; the outgoing accountant must hand over your own documents and usually does within two weeks. The new firm registers as your agent with HMRC and picks up the next filing. There is no need to wait for a year end.
Closing a company
Striking off a company is cheap but must be done in order: stop trading, file the final accounts and CT600, pay the tax, close VAT and PAYE, distribute the remaining assets, close the bank account, then apply. Anything left in the company at dissolution passes to the Crown. Distributions up to £25,000 are taxed as capital gains; above that a formal liquidation is usually needed to keep capital treatment.
Confirmation statements and identity verification
Every company must file a confirmation statement at least once a year, within fourteen days of its review date, with a £50 Companies House fee. Since November 2025 directors and people with significant control must also verify their identity with Companies House, and the confirmation statement is where existing officers confirm they have done so during the transition year.
Questions
Payroll questions from Countess
Can you take over mid-year from another provider or software?
Yes. We need the year-to-date figures for each employee, the last submissions to HMRC and the pension scheme details. The transfer is included in the fee and the first pay run under us reconciles to the previous provider's figures so HMRC sees no gap.
I am taking on my first employee. What do I need?
A PAYE employer registration with HMRC (our £49 service, or £99 with the first payroll run set up), a workplace pension scheme, employer's liability insurance, a written statement of employment terms and right-to-work checks. We handle the first two and tell you plainly what to do about the rest.
What is the Employment Allowance?
Eligible employers can reduce their employer National Insurance bill by up to £10,500 a year (2026/27). Single-director companies with no other employees do not qualify. We claim it on your behalf where you are eligible, which for a small team often wipes out the employer NI entirely.
Do you provide payslips and P60s?
Yes. Electronic payslips go to each employee every pay period through a secure portal or by email as you prefer. P60s for everyone employed at 5 April are issued by 31 May. If you provide benefits such as a company car or private medical cover, P11Ds are prepared and filed by 6 July.
How are starters and leavers handled?
For a starter we need the P45 or a starter checklist, bank details and contract terms; we set them up and report them to HMRC on the first pay run. For a leaver we process final pay, issue the P45 and report the leaving date. Both are included in the monthly fee.
What about sick pay, maternity and paternity pay?
Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Pay are calculated and paid through the payroll when the qualifying conditions are met, and the recoverable portion of parental pay is reclaimed from HMRC through the Employer Payment Summary. All included.
Do you have an office in Countess?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Countess 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 payroll is the same in Countess as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Is payroll in Countess really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Countess pays and what a client in any other part of England 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.
Let us take the deadlines off your plate in Countess
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.