Company Formation · East of England
Company formation in Stoke by Clare
Founders in Stoke by Clare 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 East of England.
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 Stoke by Clare
Anyone in Stoke by Clare 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 Stoke by Clare, 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 Stoke by Clare businesses file with IGI
The price for company formation is published on this page and is what a client in Stoke by Clare 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 Stoke by Clare client and chased before they arrive.
Online only, UK based. There is no office in Stoke by Clare 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.
Continuity matters in company formation: the person who prepared last year's work for your Stoke by Clare business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.
The output for Stoke by Clare clients is never just a form. It is the form, a one-page summary of what it says, and a note of the decisions it points to for company formation.
Approval before filing is a rule, not a courtesy. For company formation in Stoke by Clare, every submission to HMRC or Companies House follows your written go-ahead.
Local facts
About Stoke by Clare
Stoke by Clare is in East of England, in the CO10 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ashen | 0.9 mi | SE |
| Baythorne End | 1 mi | W |
| Baythorn End | 1 mi | W |
| Wixoe | 1 mi | W |
| Boyton End, West Suffolk | 1 mi | W |
| Ridgewell | 2 mi | S |
| Tilbury Green | 2 mi | S |
| Ovington, East of England | 2 mi | SE |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Switching accountants
The main reasons people switch accountant are surprise invoices, missed deadlines and not understanding what they are being told. Switching involves a clearance letter between the firms, a transfer of records and agent authorisations, and a short handover of the current position. It takes about two weeks and should cost nothing extra.
Closing a company
A solvent company that has finished its purpose can be dissolved by voluntary strike-off: form DS01 with a £13 Companies House fee, after three months without trading and with all debts paid, final accounts and tax return filed, and assets distributed. HMRC objects to any application where returns or tax are outstanding, so the sequence matters more than the form.
Employer National Insurance
Employers pay National Insurance at 15% on each employee's earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold, following the April 2025 changes. The Employment Allowance offsets up to £10,500 of this for eligible employers, which for a small team often removes the liability entirely, but companies where the director is the only employee do not qualify.
Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment
Auto-enrolment duties begin the day you take on your first employee, not when the Pensions Regulator writes to you. Eligible staff must be enrolled, contributions paid every pay period and re-enrolment carried out every three years. Director-only companies without employment contracts are usually exempt. Fines for non-compliance are fixed and escalating.
Dormant companies
Dormancy is a status that is easy to lose. The strict rule is no accounting transactions other than share capital and Companies House fees, which means no bank account activity at all in practice. Fees should be paid personally by the director. A company that traded and has stopped becomes dormant only after its final trading accounts and tax return are filed and HMRC is told.
The trading and property allowances
Small side incomes are covered by two £1,000 allowances, one for trading and one for property, which remove the need to register or report income below that level. Once income exceeds £1,000, the allowance can be used in place of expenses, a choice worth making deliberately: a freelancer with £900 of costs is better off with the allowance, one with £3,000 is not.
Crypto records and reporting
HMRC treats cryptoassets as property. Swapping one token for another, spending crypto or gifting it are all disposals for Capital Gains Tax, and staking and lending rewards are income. Gains are computed under pooling rules with same-day and 30-day matching. From 2026 HMRC receives data from exchanges worldwide under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, so unreported activity is increasingly visible.
Questions
Company Formation questions from Stoke by Clare
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.
What happens after the company is formed?
You receive the certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles, share certificates and the company's authentication code. Then the deadlines start: first confirmation statement within 12 months and 14 days, first accounts within 21 months, Corporation Tax payment nine months after the first year end. We diarise all of them and remind you.
Can I form a company if I live outside the UK?
Yes. A UK company can have non-resident directors and shareholders, but it must have a UK registered office and directors must complete identity verification. Our non-resident formation service at £149 includes the registered office; HMRC registrations and a bank account introduction are handled in the £219 and £349 packages.
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.
Do you have an office in Stoke by Clare?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Stoke by Clare 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 Stoke by Clare as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Is company formation in Stoke by Clare really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Stoke by Clare 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 Stoke by Clare
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.