The main taxes that businesses must consider in the UK are Corporation Tax, Income Tax, National Insurance and Value Added Tax (VAT).

Businesses may also need to pay business rates, which are not technically a tax but are calculated by local councils on the value of the property they occupy, and Capital Gains Tax if you sell a business asset like land, shares or buildings for profit.

It is important to note that the legal structure of your business will determine the taxes you will need to pay to satisfy HMRC.

These legal structures include being a sole trader, a partnership or owning a limited company.

All taxes apply to the various legal structures, apart from Corporation Tax, which only applies to limited companies.

If you run a limited company, you will be required to pay Corporation Tax on the profits you make from activities including:

• Doing business with consumers, clients and other businesses
• Investments
• Selling company assets for more than they originally cost

There are two Corporation Tax rates, a main rate of 25 per cent which applies to companies whose profits exceed £250,000.

The other is a small profits Corporation Tax rate, which is set a 19 per cent for companies whose profits are below £50,000.

For companies making a profit between £50,000 and £250,000, you are charged at the main rate, but this can be reduced by a marginal relief.

You will need to work out how much marginal relief is available on your profits.

If you are worried about your Corporation Tax bill, you can contact our team for advice and support.

To file a Corporation Tax return with HMRC, you will need to complete a CT600 Form.

All limited companies are required to file this form to declare their taxable profits and the calculated tax owed.

The CT600 form will ask for important information, including:

• General company information like your name and registration number
• Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
• A summary of your taxable profits and losses
• The Corporation Tax calculations
• Any relief claims made, such as Research & Development (R&D) relief and Capital Allowances
• A director’s declaration of truth which emphasises the accuracy of the information given in the form.

The form includes details on income, expenses and reliefs and must be submitted within 12 months of your company’s accounting period concluding.

For example, if your accounting period ends on 31 March 2026, your deadline to submit your CT600 Form would be 31 March 2027.

It is important to note that paying Corporation Tax and submitting your CT600 Form have different deadlines.

Any Corporation Tax bill needs to be paid within nine months and one day after your accounting period ends, unless you have taxable profits of more than £1.5 million, in which case you will need to pay quarterly.

There are a number of tax reliefs available to businesses, including:

• Capital allowances – A claim for relief on essential items bought for your business, such as equipment, machinery and company vehicles.
• Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) – It is a relief claim for businesses whose property’s rateable value is below £15,000.
• Employment Allowance – This allows eligible employers to reduce their annual National Insurance liability by up to £10,500.
• Creative Industry Tax Relief (CITR) – Eligible companies can receive relief for their creative production, such as films, TV programmes, theatrical and orchestral productions and video games.
• R&D Relief – A scheme that allows companies working on science and technology projects that address an uncertainty to claim tax relief.
• Marginal Relief – Supports limited companies that pay Corporation Tax on profits between £50,000 and £250,000.
• Allowable Business Expenses – Before tax, businesses may be able to claim relief on their profits for everyday running costs like office equipment, utility bills, staff salaries and insurance premiums.

Capital Allowances give you the ability to claim relief on items bought for your business. The allowance means you may be able to deduct some or all the value of those items from your profits before you pay tax.

However, there are a number of Capital Allowance schemes, so you will need to clarify where your items fit within the criteria and their value before making a claim.

Some of the schemes include:

• Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) – This allows you to claim up to £1 million on certain plant and machinery.
• 100 per cent first-year allowances – Gives you the ability to claim the full amount for certain new and unused plant and machinery in the year it was bought. This includes electric cars.
• Full expensing and 50 per cent first-year allowance – This is for plant and machinery items brought after 1 April 2023.
• Writing Down Allowances – This scheme is applicable if you are not eligible for AIA or you have already claimed the maximum amount of relief.

It isn’t just plant and machinery you can claim for: you can also make a Capital Allowance claim for extracting minerals, research and development, patent rights, as well as structures and buildings.

A good tax plan for your business should suit its needs, be tax efficient and allow you to confidently fulfil your tax obligations.

You need to know your business structure and plan accordingly, factoring in what your organisation is required to pay and taking advantage of the reliefs available.

You also need to be looking ahead to the future when considering your growth and expansion plans.

This means forecasting your potential tax liabilities, additional costs on your current payments and projecting your company’s cash flow.

Your plan should be adaptable and allow you to stay on top of any tax reform announced by the Government.

In addition to this, there is also your exit plan to consider, as there are different strategies like a trade sale, Management Buyout (MBO), selling to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) and passing your business to the next generation.

Each comes with different tax implications and it’s important your tax management plan reflects this, as any deal will be taxable upfront regardless of when and how the costs are spread.

You are likely to face a CGT bill, which will be based on the difference between the sale proceeds and the purchase costs of the shares you are selling, but some of this can be offset if you’ve not used your annual CGT exemption.