Accountants for Management Consultants

For public-sector and medium or large private-sector clients, the client decides whether the off-payroll rules apply and must issue a Status Determination Statement. For small private-sector clients, your own company decides. Keep contracts, statements of work and evidence of how the engagement operates in practice, including substitution and control.

Inside-IR35 income has tax and National Insurance deducted by the fee-payer. Your company records it so that the same income is not taxed again.

Most consultants spend little on goods, so they fall within the Flat Rate Scheme's limited cost trader rate of 16.5%, which is often less favourable than standard VAT accounting. Services to overseas business clients are usually outside the scope of UK VAT. We compare schemes using your actual figures.

Travel to a temporary workplace is generally allowable, but if you expect to work at one site for more than 24 months, or the engagement is caught by IR35, travel relief can be lost. A home office may support a reasonable use-of-home payment. Equipment can usually qualify for the Annual Investment Allowance.

Directors commonly combine a modest salary with dividends from taxed profits. The optimal salary depends on the Employment Allowance position, which is not available where the director is the only employee paid above the secondary threshold. Employer pension contributions can reduce Corporation Tax where they are wholly and exclusively for the business.

A consultancy company files statutory accounts at Companies House, normally nine months after its accounting reference date, and a CT600 within 12 months of the end of its Corporation Tax accounting period. Most smaller companies pay Corporation Tax nine months and one day after the period ends; the main rate is 25%, with the 19% small profits rate up to £50,000 and marginal relief between £50,000 and £250,000.

VAT registration is required once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months, or is expected to within 30 days. Paying any salary, including to a director, brings PAYE and Real Time Information reporting, and employing eligible staff brings automatic-enrolment pension duties. The confirmation statement is a separate annual filing.

Thresholds, rates and deadlines reflect the 2026/27 UK position at the content update date. Check current GOV.UK guidance, or ask us, before relying on them for your own company.

We start with a free consultation to understand how you invoice, buy, pay people and get paid. You then receive a written scope and fee before chargeable work begins, covering bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, year-end accounts, CT600 and director Self Assessment as agreed.

Advisory work such as management accounts, cash-flow forecasting, pre-year-end planning or specialist reliefs is quoted separately rather than assumed to be included. Where a question needs specialist legal or tax advice outside our scope, we say so.