Tool
What your compliance year costs
Pick how each job gets done. The total uses prices that accounting firms, a tax provider and a software vendor publish, multiplied by how often you pay them.
Last checked
Estimated cost a year
—
| Item | Basis | Year |
|---|
Prices published by accounting firms and software vendors, with sources below. A "+" means the source gives a starting price and no upper figure. This is not a quote and it leaves out the tax itself. VAT return preparation is usually priced inside a bookkeeping fee, and we found no per-return price we could verify, so it appears only inside the VAT-ready package.
How the total is built
Monthly prices are multiplied by twelve and annual fees by one. Nothing else is added. A package already includes the corporate tax return, so choosing one sets the filing fee to "included" rather than counting it twice.
Where is VAT?
A registered business files a return for each tax period, and the standard period is three calendar months§. Most firms fold that work into the monthly bookkeeping fee rather than pricing it on its own, and we could not verify a published per-return price that states what it covers. The VAT-ready package option shows what one provider charges with VAT registration and quarterly returns included. The VAT filing cost guide compares it with the same package without VAT.
What the total leaves out
- The tax itself. For that, use the corporate tax calculator.
- One-off work: a first registration, catching up on a year of unreconciled books, a voluntary disclosure.
- Penalties, which only arise when a date is missed. The amounts are in the penalties guide.
- An in-house bookkeeper's visa, end-of-service and office costs on top of salary.
Why are the ranges so wide?
Firms price on transaction volume, not on revenue. Two businesses with the same turnover can sit at opposite ends of a range if one takes card payments through one gateway and the other runs four bank accounts, petty cash and inter-company transfers. When you ask for a quote, give the number of monthly bank lines and invoices. That single detail moves a price more than any other; the bookkeeping cost guide shows one provider's prices step by step.
Prices here are published figures from businesses, not offers to you, and this is general information rather than tax advice.