Accounting

Company Formation · Scotland

Company formation in Cowstrandburn

Founders in Cowstrandburn 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 Cowstrandburn

Anyone in Cowstrandburn 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 Cowstrandburn, step by step

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

The IGI way of working, in Cowstrandburn

The price for company formation is published on this page and is what a client in Cowstrandburn 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 Cowstrandburn client and chased before they arrive.

Online only, UK based. There is no office in Cowstrandburn 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 Cowstrandburn business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.

Plain English, with the numbers. Every draft for Cowstrandburn 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 Cowstrandburn clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.

Local facts

About Cowstrandburn

Cowstrandburn is in Scotland, 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.

Nearby places we also serve for company formation
PlaceDistanceDirection
Steelend0.7 miN
Saline1 miNW
Oakley, Scotland1 miS
Carnock1 miSE
Comrie, Fife2 miSW
Gowkhall2 miSE
Blairhall2 miSW
Milesmark2 miSE

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

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

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

Corporation Tax is not a flat rate. Profits to £50,000 pay 19%, profits above £250,000 pay 25%, and the band between is taxed at an effective marginal rate of 26.5% through the marginal relief mechanism. Associated companies share the thresholds, which catches directors who own more than one company and is the most common cause of underpaid tax in owner-managed groups.

Late filing penalties

Lateness is expensive in a way that compounds. For individuals, £100 immediately, then daily penalties, then percentage-based ones at six and twelve months, with interest running on unpaid tax throughout. For companies, Companies House penalties scale with delay and double on repeat, and HMRC adds its own for a late CT600. Filing on time is the cheapest tax planning there is.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, extends to those over £30,000 in April 2027 and is planned for £20,000 in April 2028. It requires digital records in compatible software and four quarterly updates to HMRC each year, with a final declaration replacing the traditional return. Payment dates are unchanged.

The Self Assessment calendar

Four dates govern Self Assessment: 5 October to register, 31 October for paper returns, 31 January to file online and pay, and 31 July for the second payment on account. Missing the January date triggers an automatic £100 penalty before any tax is even considered, so we treat it as the fixed point around which the rest of the year is planned.

Questions

Company Formation questions from Cowstrandburn

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Do you have an office in Cowstrandburn?

No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Cowstrandburn 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 Cowstrandburn as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.

Is company formation in Cowstrandburn really the same price as elsewhere?

Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Cowstrandburn 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.

Ready to fix your fee in Cowstrandburn?

Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.

WhatsApp for a fixed quote