CPA vs chartered accountant: which do I need for a UK limited company?

A UK chartered or certified accountant is trained and regulated to prepare Companies Act-compliant statutory accounts, file corporation tax returns with HMRC, run PAYE payroll, handle VAT registration and returns, and act as your registered agent for correspondence with HMRC and Companies House.

They are also bound by a professional body's ethical and complaints framework, carry professional indemnity insurance, and are subject to anti-money laundering supervision, all of which are conditions of practising in the UK regardless of qualification letters.

Directors relocating from the US, or US citizens setting up a UK subsidiary, often default to searching for a CPA because that is the familiar term, then discover the UK equivalent bodies and qualifications only once they start comparing quotes.

The practical answer is to engage a UK firm for the UK company's compliance and keep your CPA, if you have one, for your personal or group US tax position, rather than trying to make one qualification cover both jurisdictions.

Our fixed monthly packages for a UK limited company start at £89 plus VAT and run to £169 and £289 plus VAT as bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and reporting are added. One-off filings are sold at fixed prices, and the Companies House fees we pay for you are charged at cost with no VAT added. Overseas owners are quoted on exactly the same published prices as UK-resident clients.

Rates, thresholds and deadlines here reflect the 2026/27 UK position and current Companies House and HMRC guidance. Check GOV.UK, or ask us, before relying on them for your own company.