Personal tax accountant in Oswestry for company directors.

Reviewed October 2026; figures apply to the 2025 to 2026 tax year (the return due on 31/01/2027) unless marked 2026 to 2027. Checked at GOV.UK on 10/10/2026. General information, not advice.

Does a company director have to file a Self Assessment return?

Not because you are a director. GOV.UK’s list of who must send a return does not name directors; it turns on your income. You must file if HMRC asks you to, and you may need to if you have untaxed income. These are the cases that come up for directors:

• Dividends. Tax is due on dividends above the £500 dividend allowance. If you file a return you report all dividend income on it. If you do not file one and have tax to pay on dividend income of £10,000 or less, you tell HMRC after 5 April and before 5 October. Over £10,000 you need a return.
• Rent. Gross property income over £1,000 is above the property allowance. From £1,000 to £2,500 you contact HMRC; over £2,500 you register for Self Assessment.
• Other untaxed income. GOV.UK also lists savings interest and foreign income.
• High Income Child Benefit Charge. It applies if you or your partner get Child Benefit and one of you has adjusted net income over £60,000, which counts dividends. If you pay the charge through Self Assessment you must send a return.

HMRC’s check if you need to send a return tool covers 2025 to 2026. Finstem also checks on the free call.

The dates for the 2025 to 2026 return

• 06/04/2026. The return can be filed from this date.
• 05/10/2026. The date to tell HMRC you need a return, if it is your first or you did not need one for 2024 to 2025. It has passed. After it, HMRC sets a filing deadline three months from its letter or email, the tax is still due on 31/01/2027, and a failure to notify penalty may follow if you do not pay it all by then.
• 31/10/2026. HMRC must receive a paper return by 11:59pm.
• 30/12/2026. Submit online by 11:59pm to have the bill collected through your tax code.
• 31/01/2027. The online return and the tax owed are due by 11:59pm, with the first payment on account.
• 31/07/2027. The second payment on account.

Rates and allowances

These are the rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland has different Income Tax bands. Dividends you take now fall in 2026 to 2027, when the basic and higher dividend rates are two percentage points above those on the return due in January.

To find your band, add dividends to your other income. The dividend tax calculator and salary and dividend calculator give estimates.

What goes on a director’s return

Salary

Salary and tax deducted come from the company’s PAYE records, entered on the employment page for each directorship.

Dividends

GOV.UK says a company can pay dividends only from available profits, a directors’ meeting must declare each one, and minutes are kept even for a sole director. Each needs a voucher showing the date, company, shareholders and amount. Finstem matches every dividend to its voucher and the profits available.

Benefits in kind and the P11D

A company car, medical insurance and loans can be taxable benefits. The company reports them on a P11D after the tax year, or through payroll; the P11D and your copy are due by 06/07, with Class 1A National Insurance paid by 22/07. Finstem prepares the P11D and uses the same figures on your return.

The director’s loan account

GOV.UK says that if you are a shareholder and director and owe the company more than £10,000 at any time in the year, it is a benefit in kind and you report the loan on your return. A loan written off or released is taxed on you through Self Assessment. The company’s own tax on an overdrawn account is covered under tax planning in Oswestry.

Rental income

Rent from property in your own name goes on the UK property pages. You can use the £1,000 property allowance instead of claiming expenses, but not if you claim the finance cost tax reduction. Since 06/04/2020, relief on residential mortgage interest is limited to the basic rate. Keep records for at least five years after the 31 January deadline. Company costs are separate: see allowable business expenses.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

It applies to landlords and sole traders whose qualifying income, gross property and self-employment income, is over the threshold. Salary and dividends, including from your own company, do not count. The threshold is £50,000 from 06/04/2026, £30,000 from 06/04/2027 (judged on 2025 to 2026) and £20,000 from 06/04/2028 (judged on 2026 to 2027).

Payments on account

Payments on account are two advance payments towards your next bill, each half of last year’s tax, due on 31 January and 31 July. You make them unless last year’s bill was under £1,000 or you paid more than 80% of it outside Self Assessment.

What Finstem needs from you, and when

Finstem prepares the return alongside the company accounts from the same payroll and dividend records, so most of it is already there. For the rest, bring:

• your UTR if you have one, and any HMRC letter about a return
• details of benefits the company provides, or loans to you
• rental statements, or your own record of rent and expenses for each property
• savings interest and any other income outside the company
• whether you or a partner receive Child Benefit

HMRC accepts a return from 06/04, and filing early tells you what you owe in good time. You authorise Finstem as your agent with HMRC and approve it when asked. Salary, dividend and pension decisions come earlier in the year: see tax planning in Oswestry and payroll.

HMRC’s personal tax account is not a tax return

If you searched for a personal tax account, you may want HMRC’s online account rather than an accountant. Three different things:

• Personal tax account. HMRC’s online account, where you can check your tax estimate and code, submit, view or manage a Self Assessment return, and find your UTR.
• Self Assessment return. The annual report of your income. Registering for it and getting a UTR is a separate service.
• Agent authorisation. Your permission for an accountant to deal with HMRC for you, which HMRC says must be in place before the agent can act.

What drives the fee

Finstem has no price list and no plans. The return sits inside a fixed monthly fee, quoted in writing after a free 20-minute call, with no hourly billing. What moves it:

• how many income sources you have outside the company
• how many rental properties, each with its own income and expenses
• how many directors need a return
• whether the company provides taxable benefits needing a P11D
• how current the company’s records are
• any returns missed that need catching up

Penalties and interest charged by HMRC are yours, not part of the fee.

Late or missed returns

For a late return HMRC charges an initial £100, then £10 a day after 3 months up to £900, then 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater, at 6 months and again at 12 months. Paying late adds 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months, plus interest. With a reasonable excuse you can appeal.

If returns have been missed, Finstem finds out what is outstanding and what penalties are running, then files the oldest first. If you are moving from another accountant, switching to Finstem takes one email.

Where Finstem works

Huw Davies prepares and files the return. Finstem Accountants is an AAT licensed practice, licence number 1009866, not a chartered one, and acts for limited companies and their directors only. Huw meets directors in person across Shropshire, including Shrewsbury, Whitchurch and Ellesmere, and in Chirk across the border, at your premises or at 21 Hampton Road, Oswestry; directors further away meet him by video. See accountants in Oswestry, management accounts and business advisory.

Sources checked on 10/10/2026 at GOV.UK: who must send a return, deadlines, penalties, Income Tax rates, tax on dividends, payments on account, director’s loans, expenses and benefits, Child Benefit charge, Making Tax Digital and personal tax account.