How much tax would each structure actually save you?
Put in what you earn, what you can deduct and any offshore income. We work every structure on the same figures, show the cost of running it, and the penalties if the forms are missed.
Start from a real example
Six situations people actually turn up with. Tap one and the calculator fills itself in, then the figures below are worked out with the same rules as the rest of the app.
1. Where do you live and pay tax?
2. What is the money from?
3. Your numbers
Plain figures, in your own currency. Deductions come off before any structure is considered, because they save tax without costing a penny to set up.
Every structure, same figures
Tax on everything you earn today is £58,589 a year
The profit a structure could hold is £150,000. Tap a row to see its steps, forms and risks below.
| Structure | Tax under it | Saved a year | Setting up | Running cost | Pays for itself |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A normal company at homebest on your figuresreal saving | £36,000 | £22,589 | £300 | £1,500 | within a year |
| Offshore trading companyno saving | £46,000 | -£10,000 | £5,000 | £10,000 | never |
| Offshore holding companyno saving | £44,000 | -£8,000 | £6,000 | £8,000 | never |
| Offshore trust or foundationno saving | £48,000 | -£12,000 | £18,000 | £12,000 | never |
| Move yourself abroadneeds adviser | £58,589 | -£0 | £6,000 | £2,000 | never |
Your chosen structure
Registered abroad, run from your sofa. Your home country taxes it anyway, and you pay twice for the privilege.
Home company, same profit
£36,000
Offshore company run from home
£46,000
No tax saved
£10,000
no saving
Setting it up
2,000 to 8,000 including local directors and bank onboarding
Every year after
5,000 to 20,000 a year for local substance, audit and home country reporting
Worth it when
Never. The extra cost is pure loss while the management stays at home.
What a missed form costs you
Offshore plans rarely fail on the tax. They fail on the paperwork, and the penalty sits on the form whether or not any tax is owed. Set these against the saving above before you spend anything.
Offshore income on SA106
Up to 200 percent of the tax
Failure to Correct and offshore penalties can double or treble the tax owed
Late Self Assessment return
100 straight away, then 10 a day
Automatic, whether or not any tax is due
Trust Registration Service
Up to 5,000 for deliberate failure
Trusts must be registered and kept up to date
The legal steps, in order
- 1Use a home company insteadSame profit, lower cost, no reporting minefield. Our business plan builder prices it for you.Now
- 2If a foreign company already exists, declare itReport it and the profit on this year's return before anyone asks. Coming forward is far cheaper than being found.This tax year · SA106 and CT600B
- 3Get one hour with a cross border accountantOne paid hour now is cheaper than a penalty later. We can send your brief.Within a month
What you must report
SA106
The foreign pages of your Self Assessment return, for income and gains from abroad
CT600B
The controlled foreign company pages of a company tax return
SA900 / IHT100
Trust returns and trust charges where a trust is involved
What can go wrong
- •Penalties for unreported offshore income reach 200 percent of the tax in the UK, and 10,000 dollars per unfiled Form 5471 in the US.
- •Bank account data is shared automatically between more than 100 countries.
- •Directors who sign paperwork they do not understand carry personal liability.
Official filing dates, forms and costs
Straight from the body you file with. Each page sits in our tax law library, and we read it on a schedule, so the date below is when it was last checked, not when it was typed in.
SA100 with SA106 foreign pages · HMRC
checked nightlyDeadline: 31 January online, 31 October on paper
Cost: Free to file, penalties start at 100
Read it on the official siteFailure to Correct disclosure · HMRC
checked nightlyDeadline: As soon as you know, before HMRC asks
Cost: Penalty up to 200 percent of the tax
Read it on the official siteTrust registration and yearly declaration · HMRC Trust Registration Service
checked nightlyDeadline: Within 90 days of creating the trust
Cost: Free to register, up to 5,000 penalty
Read it on the official siteCT600, with CT600B where a foreign company is controlled · HMRC
checked nightlyDeadline: 12 months after the year end, tax due at 9 months and a day
Cost: Free to file
Read it on the official siteThe places people are usually pointed at
The headline rate is never the whole story. Substance rules and account sharing decide whether the rate is ever reached.
Ireland
12.5 percent trading, 15 percent for large groups
Real staff and decisions in Ireland, or the rate does not apply
Full EU exchange of information
Official pageUnited Arab Emirates
9 percent above 375,000 dirham
Economic substance rules and yearly reporting
Shares account data under the common reporting standard
Official pageCayman Islands
No corporate income tax
Economic substance filings every year
Beneficial ownership and account data shared
Official pageBritish Virgin Islands
No corporate income tax
Economic substance return every year
Financial account data shared with more than 100 countries
Official pageSingapore
17 percent, with start up exemptions
Local director required, real operations expected
Common reporting standard participant
Official pageIsle of Man
0 percent on most trading, 10 percent on banking
Substance requirements by sector
Shares data with the UK and others
Official pageSend this plan to an accountant
We send your figures, the structure, the steps and the forms to a real accountant, copy you in, and track it on your strategy board so a request never goes quiet.
Sign in to send it and follow it up.
Cheaper savings to try first
Most people save more, with far less paperwork, using the reliefs they already qualify for at home.
Where these rules come from
General guidance, not personal advice. Offshore structures must be declared in full. Hiding income is a crime, and this plan assumes everything is reported.
See the tax law library for the documents behind every figure.