Company Formation · Scotland
Company formation in The Lake
Setting up a limited company from The Lake takes less than an hour of your time when it is done properly. We check the name, prepare the incorporation, guide you through the identity verification Companies House now requires, and register the company for Corporation Tax. Packages from £49 to £199, each with the Companies House fee shown separately.
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 The Lake
Anyone in The Lake 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 The Lake, step by step
Scope the job
We find out what you need filed, when it is due and what state the records are in, and tell you which fixed-fee package applies.
Agree the price
The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.
Hand over the records
Photographs, PDFs, software access or a spreadsheet, sent however suits you. We confirm what we have and what is missing within two working days.
Approve, then we submit
You review the draft with our explanation, sign off, and we file. Receipts, copies and the next deadlines come back to you immediately.
Why IGI
What you get in The Lake
No hourly rate and no surprise invoice. The Lake clients know the fee for company formation before they send a single document, and it stays fixed.
Deadline-first: the dates that matter for company formation are shown at the top of this page, diarised for every The Lake client and chased before they arrive.
Online only, UK based. There is no office in The Lake 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.
You get one contact for company formation, not a queue. The Lake clients message the same person throughout and get an answer in working hours, usually within a few hours.
We explain company formation in the words The Lake business owners use, not in accountant's shorthand, and we show our working so you can check it.
You stay in control of company formation: drafts go to The Lake clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.
Local facts
About The Lake
The Lake is in Scotland, Scotland. Tax in Scotland differs from the rest of the UK on earned income: six bands with a 21% intermediate rate and a 48% top rate, identified by an S prefix on the tax code. The interaction between Scottish rates on salary and UK rates on dividends makes the salary-and-dividend split for Scottish directors a distinct calculation, and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax replaces Stamp Duty.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Mutehill | 0.9 mi | NE |
| Balmae | 1 mi | S |
| St Mary's Isle | 1 mi | N |
| Kirkcudbright | 2 mi | N |
| Borgue, Scotland | 3 mi | W |
| Tongland | 4 mi | N |
| Dundrennan | 4 mi | E |
| Twynholm | 4 mi | N |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Closing a company
Voluntary strike-off is available only to solvent companies. One that owes money it cannot pay needs a creditors' voluntary liquidation through a licensed insolvency practitioner, and directors who dissolve an insolvent company face personal consequences. For a solvent company the process takes three to four months from filing the DS01, with notice to creditors and shareholders within seven days.
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.
The 60-day property CGT return
Selling UK residential property that was not your main home for the whole period of ownership triggers a separate Capital Gains Tax return, due within 60 days of completion along with payment of the tax. This is in addition to the annual Self Assessment. The gain is taxed at 18% or 24% depending on your income band, after the £3,000 annual exempt amount.
Crypto records and reporting
Crypto tax splits into capital gains on disposals and income on rewards, with different rates and different reporting. The £3,000 annual exempt amount and the 18% and 24% rates apply to gains; staking, mining and airdrop income is taxed at marginal income tax rates. HMRC's nudge letters to holders have increased sharply, and a voluntary disclosure before one arrives is treated far more leniently.
Allowable expenses
An expense is allowable against trading profit if it is incurred wholly and exclusively for the business. Materials, business travel other than ordinary commuting, a proportion of home running costs, software, insurance, professional fees, bank charges and protective clothing qualify. Client entertainment, ordinary clothing, fines and the private share of mixed-use costs do not.
Record keeping
Good records are the difference between a quick enquiry and a long one. For the self-employed, five years after the filing deadline; for companies, six years from the year end; for VAT, six years. Photographs of receipts, PDF statements and software exports all count. The requirement is to keep records, not paper, and a well-organised cloud folder satisfies it.
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.
Questions
Company Formation questions from The Lake
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.
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.
When should I register for VAT and PAYE?
VAT when taxable turnover will exceed £90,000 in a rolling 12 months, or voluntarily before if it helps. PAYE before the first salary payment, including to yourself as director. Both are included in the £99 package or available separately at £49 each.
Does the company need to register for Corporation Tax?
Yes, within three months of starting to trade. HMRC usually issues the company's Unique Taxpayer Reference by post shortly after incorporation. Registration for Corporation Tax is included in our £99 package and above; the formation-only package leaves it to you, and we tell you how.
What is a SIC code and which one do I need?
The Standard Industrial Classification code describes what the company does and appears on the public register. You can have up to four. We pick the right ones from the official list for your trade. Changing them later is done through the confirmation statement, which is our £39 SIC change service.
What share structure should I have?
For a single founder, one ordinary share of £1 is usual. For two or more, the split should reflect the agreed ownership and may use different share classes to allow different dividend payments. We discuss this before filing, because changing it later needs resolutions and filings. We also advise on whether a shareholders' agreement is worth having.
How do I get started from The Lake?
Message us on WhatsApp or email with a sentence about your business and what you need. We reply in working hours with any questions and a fixed fee for company formation. Once you confirm, we tell you exactly which records to send and the work begins. Most The Lake clients are set up within a day.
Which deadlines matter most for company formation?
The next four dates that apply to company formation are shown at the top of this page, calculated from today. For The Lake clients we diarise every one of them from the day you join and send reminders before each, so the work is done in good time rather than in the last week before a penalty.
Fixed fees, filed on time, for The Lake
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.