Payroll · North East
Payroll services in Fir Tree
Directors in Fir Tree 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 North East 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 Fir Tree
Employers in Fir Tree 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 Fir Tree, 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 Fir Tree
One fixed fee for payroll in Fir Tree, agreed in writing before any work starts and never changed part-way through the job, however long it takes us.
Nothing for Fir Tree is left to the last week. Each deadline relevant to payroll is tracked from the day you join, with the next four shown on every page we send you.
No appointments, no travel across North East, no parking. Everything for payroll in Fir Tree happens online, with a real person on the other end during UK working hours.
You get one contact for payroll, not a queue. Fir Tree clients message the same person throughout and get an answer in working hours, usually within a few hours.
We explain payroll in the words Fir Tree business owners use, not in accountant's shorthand, and we show our working so you can check it.
Nothing is filed for Fir Tree until you have reviewed and approved it. You see the draft, you ask questions, you sign off, then we submit and send you the receipt.
Local facts
About Fir Tree
Fir Tree is in North East, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Green Head, County Durham | 0.5 mi | E |
| Harperley Dean | 0.6 mi | W |
| Roddymoor, West | 1 mi | NE |
| West Roddymoor | 1 mi | NE |
| High Beechburn | 1 mi | E |
| Crook, County Durham | 2 mi | E |
| Low Beechburn | 2 mi | E |
| Howden le Wear | 2 mi | SE |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
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
The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. Anyone new to Self Assessment must register by 5 October after the end of the tax year in which their untaxed income began. The online return and the balancing payment are due by 31 January, with a second payment on account on 31 July where they apply. Paper returns have an earlier deadline of 31 October and are rarely sensible.
Payments on account
Payments on account catch out most people in their second year of self-employment. HMRC assumes next year's tax will match this year's and collects half in January and half in July, in advance, on top of the balancing payment. If profits are dropping you can apply to reduce them, but reducing them too far attracts interest. We calculate the right figure rather than guessing.
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
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.
Questions
Payroll questions from Fir Tree
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.
What salary should a director take?
For 2026/27 many directors take a salary at or just above the National Insurance thresholds so that the year counts towards the State Pension while minimising deductions, and take further income as dividends. The right figure depends on the company's profit and your other income, and our tax planning review covers it in detail.
Do I have to offer a workplace pension?
Yes, if you employ anyone aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £10,000 a year. They must be enrolled automatically with minimum contributions of 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from you. Director-only companies with no employment contract are usually exempt. The £99 setup package handles the scheme, the declaration of compliance and the letters.
Do you have an office in Fir Tree?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Fir Tree 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 Fir Tree as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Is payroll in Fir Tree really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Fir Tree 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.
One message from Fir Tree, one fixed price
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.