If you’re an incorporated business or partnership, you’ll likely have heard the news about Companies House implementing a fee change, with effect from 1st May 2024. The changes relate to a wide array of fees payable, including those associated with your annual filing – and some of the increases are fairly sizeable. If you’re one of the business entities listed below, you will be affected:
- Incorporated companies
- Limited Liability Partnerships
- Overseas companies
- Limited Partnerships
- Scottish Qualifying Partnerships
- UK Economic Interest Groupings and UK Societas
- Overseas Entities, and
- Community Interest Companies
In the spirit of keeping our clients informed, here’s a little more detail, followed up with a little expert guidance from the team.
Which fees are changing and why?
Whilst the full range of fees affected can be found on the Government website, those with the widest reach include:
- The fee for filing your annual confirmation statement will rise from £13 to £34.
- The fee for incorporation of a company or LLP will rise from £10 to £50.
- The fee for changing a company name online will increase from £8 to £20.
- The fee for voluntary strike off (completed digitally) will increase from £8 to £33.
In some cases, the increases equate to as much as 300%. So, given that Companies House is an organisation that doesn’t make profit, why such a substantial rise?
The Economic Transparency Act 2023 gave a range of new powers to Companies House, with which they can now investigate and enforce the requirements that must be met by incorporated companies. These fee increases will fund the resources and teams enacting these new powers.
With these new powers, the credibility of the information held for businesses should improve – meaning improved due diligence on potential suppliers and clients of your business. So, there is a silver lining.
What does this mean for my business?
Donna French, Group Operations Manager at Foxley Kingham and GKP said:
“These fee changes shouldn’t cause too much disruption to your business but it is worth making yourself aware of which ones will affect you. At the very least, if you’re already registered with Companies House, your fees will be higher for the annual filing of your confirmation statement. If you also want to make changes, such as reduction of share capital, changing the business name, voluntary strike off, or registration of a charge – you also need to be aware of the higher costs.
As with most things, being organised and prepared will save you money – as same day services now incur a heftier fee.”
If you’re considering making any changes to your business through Companies House, get in touch with your Advisor to fully understand associated fees.
Other considerations
Whilst for many businesses this is a small change, it is one of many changes announced since the Spring Budget that may make you want to think about incorporation.
If you’re close to the threshold of a Sole Trader, these changes, accompanied by the additional bureaucratic requirements, the reduction of the dividend allowance, and the removal of class two NI contributions may make you assess whether you want to remain a limited company. For a fuller explanation of these changes, read our latest article on 2024’s Spring Budget.
If you wish to discuss the changes to Companies House Fees or have any questions about how it affects you, please do get in touch.