The Companies House is a government body that deals with all the limited companies (“LTDs”) and limited liability partnerships (“LLPs”) registered in the UK.

When would you deal with the Companies House as an individual?

As an individual taxpayer, there are three reasons that you might have to deal with Companies House:

1. You’re setting up an LTD or LLP
2. You’re a company director and need to submit your company’s Annual Return, change of address, or statutory accounts
3. You’re closing an LTD or LLP

If you’re a sole trader (self-employed), you don’t need to register with the Companies House. Instead, you register as self-employed with HMRC and complete an annual Self Assessment tax return; however, you might have to file a Self Assessment with HMRC if you’re a company director as well.

In the following cases, you will need to register with Companies House:

1. You’re taking out dividends (on which you need to calculate and pay dividend tax)
2. You’re selling your company or closing it down and claiming Entrepreneurs’ Relief

In the case of selling or closing your company, you’ll no longer need to do a Self Assessment (as of 2018) because you’re a director only.

If you’re not sure whether you’re a sole trader or a limited company, you can read more about the differences here.