Contractor Accountants · North West
Contractor accountants in Padiham
IT, engineering, finance and healthcare contractors in Padiham use us because the service is built for how they work: a company with one or two directors, income from a few clients a year, and an IR35 question on every new engagement. Fixed monthly packages across North West, with an IR35 contract review at £99 whenever you need one.
from £75/mo · fixed, per month
Next deadlines
- PAYE and National Insurance for last month paid to HMRC (electronic)
- PAYE and National Insurance for last month paid to HMRC (electronic)
- PAYE and National Insurance for last month paid to HMRC (electronic)
- Online Self Assessment filing deadline and balancing payment due
Who this is for
Contractor Accountants for Padiham
Contractors and interim professionals in Padiham working through their own limited company: IT and software contractors, engineers, project managers, interim finance staff, consultants, medical and allied health locums who have incorporated, and permanent employees about to go contracting who need the company set up and the first engagement reviewed.
What is included
Everything inside the fixed fee
- Statutory accounts and Corporation Tax return prepared and filed each year
- Director payroll run monthly with RTI submissions and the salary set at the efficient level
- Dividend vouchers and board minutes for every distribution, with the available reserves checked first
- Quarterly VAT returns and bookkeeping in the Plus and Complete packages
- Director's Self Assessment and an annual planning call in the Complete package
- IR35 status reviews of your contracts and working practices, with a written opinion
How it works
Contractor Accountants from Padiham, 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 Padiham businesses file with IGI
No hourly rate and no surprise invoice. Padiham clients know the fee for contractor accountants 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 Padiham get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each date that applies to contractor accountants.
We serve Padiham 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 contractor accountants.
A named person handles your contractor accountants from Padiham 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 Padiham comes with a short explanation of what the figures mean and what, if anything, you should do about them.
You stay in control of contractor accountants: drafts go to Padiham clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.
Local facts
About Padiham
Padiham is in North West, in the BB12 postcode district, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Clay Bank | 0.2 mi | NE |
| Huntroyde Demesne | 0.4 mi | NW |
| Simonstone, Ribble Valley | 1 mi | W |
| Habergham | 1 mi | E |
| Hapton, North West | 1 mi | S |
| Lowerhouse, North West | 1 mi | SE |
| Altham | 1 mi | SW |
| Read | 1 mi | W |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
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.
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
Self Assessment runs on a fixed annual cycle. Registration by 5 October following the tax year, online filing and payment by 31 January, and a second instalment on 31 July for those making payments on account. The penalties for lateness are automatic and escalate monthly, which is why we file early and chase approvals well before the window closes.
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
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
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.
Questions
Contractor Accountants questions from Padiham
I am about to leave permanent employment to contract. Where do I start?
With the company formation and the first contract review. Our £99 formation-plus-registrations package sets up the company with Corporation Tax and PAYE registered; the IR35 review of your first engagement decides how the income will be taxed. Join the Essential package from the month you start invoicing.
Do I need business insurance?
Most client contracts require professional indemnity and public liability cover, and employer's liability is a legal requirement if the company employs anyone other than the director. Insurance is not something we sell, but we tell you what your contracts require and the premiums are deductible for Corporation Tax.
Can the company pay into my pension?
Yes, and it is one of the most efficient ways to extract value. Employer pension contributions are deductible for Corporation Tax, free of National Insurance and not taxed on you, up to the £60,000 annual allowance (tapered for very high earners). We include pension planning in the Complete package's annual call.
What happens between contracts?
The company continues and so do the filings, but we can reduce the salary and pause dividends. If you expect a long gap we discuss whether to keep the company trading, make it dormant or close it. The monthly fee continues while the company is active because the compliance does, but we review it with you if circumstances change.
How are dividends documented?
Each dividend needs a board minute approving it and a dividend voucher recording the date, amount and shareholder. The company must have sufficient distributable profits after tax at the time. We check the reserves before each dividend, produce the paperwork and keep it on file, because undocumented dividends are reclassified by HMRC as salary or loans.
What is the flat rate VAT scheme and should I use it?
For most contractors with low costs the limited-cost-trader rate of 16.5% removes any advantage of the flat rate scheme, and the standard scheme reclaiming input VAT on equipment and software is better. Contractors with significant qualifying costs may differ. We calculate both at registration and review annually.
Do you have an office in Padiham?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Padiham 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 contractor accountants is the same in Padiham as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Is contractor accountants in Padiham really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Padiham 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 Padiham, one fixed price
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.