Do I need a UK accountant if I live abroad and own a UK company?

This is one of the most common questions from non-resident directors who registered a UK company while living outside the UK: do I legally need a UK accountant? Can I handle filings myself? The clear answer under UK law is no: there is no legal requirement forcing a private limited company to hire an accountant. Company directors remain legally responsible for their company's filings and may submit them themselves: the confirmation statement online, eligible accounts through Companies House's own online service until software-only filing starts on 1 April 2028, and a CT600 through commercial software that HMRC recognises. However, the obligations themselves are mandatory, strictly scheduled, and penalised when late or inaccurate, which is why most overseas directors choose professional representation.

What Companies House requires annually: your company must file an annual confirmation statement confirming that registered company details, officers, and PSC registers are accurate. The Companies House filing fee is £50 (current since 1 February 2026) and can be completed online via WebFiling. Many directors file this directly. If you prefer professional management to ensure filing deadlines are never overlooked and statutory register changes are handled properly, Fileminder provides one-off confirmation statement filings from £158 or includes them in our annual compliance packages.

What HMRC requires annually: active trading companies must file a Corporation Tax return (Form CT600) within 12 months of the end of the accounting period, and pay any Corporation Tax due within 9 months and 1 day. If HMRC has formally agreed that your company is dormant for Corporation Tax purposes, a CT600 return is not required unless HMRC issues a statutory notice to file. Preparing a CT600 for an active company requires statutory annual accounts prepared under UK standards (FRS 102 Section 1A or FRS 105 micro-entity provisions), formatted in Inline XBRL (iXBRL), and submitted alongside computational tax adjustments. Annual accounts must also be filed with Companies House.

The software reality: can you do it yourself from abroad? While directors are legally permitted to self-file, the technical landscape has changed. The free joint service HMRC and Companies House ran for accounts and Company Tax Returns closed on 31 March 2026, so a CT600 now has to be filed through commercial software that HMRC recognises. Companies House accounts are separate: eligible accounts, such as dormant and micro-entity accounts, can still be filed through Companies House's own online service until software-only filing for accounts starts on 1 April 2028. Beyond software subscriptions, the main hurdle for non-resident directors is physical correspondence: HMRC and Companies House send vital tax notices, penalty warnings, and authentication letters by post to your registered office. If your address is unmanaged, deadlines and demands go unseen until severe enforcement begins.

How Fileminder structures compliance: Fileminder is based in London, supervised by AAT, staffed by ACCA-qualified professionals, and communicates fluently in Arabic and English across Gulf business hours (Sunday to Thursday). We tailor compliance to your company's trading status. For trading companies with turnover under £50,000, our Accounts & Tax plan starts from £498 per year (statutory accounts and the CT600 Corporation Tax return). For active companies, our Company Compliance plan starts from £890 per year and adds the confirmation statement and registered office mail forwarding. Dormant or holding companies can ask us for a price. Standalone monthly bookkeeping is available from £75 per month or bundled within our Managed Finance plan.