Corporation Tax only applies to creator income that runs through a limited company. GOV.UK's page on Corporation Tax rates says a company with profits of £50,000 or less pays the small profits rate of 19%, one with profits over £250,000 pays the main rate of 25%, and Marginal Relief may apply in between; you then pay Income Tax on whatever salary or dividends you take out. As a sole trader you never pay Corporation Tax: you pay Income Tax and National Insurance on your profits through Self Assessment, with far less paperwork but no separation between you and the business.
This page compares the two UK structures for creators. It does not calculate which is cheaper for you, because that depends on profits, other income and how you take money out. Australian structures are a different question with different rules. Sources were checked on 1 October 2026.
Side-by-side comparison table
The rows follow GOV.UK's own comparison on its Set up a business page, with creator-specific detail added from the linked guidance. Rates shown are for the 2026 to 2027 tax year where GOV.UK states one.
| Topic | Sole trader creator | Creator with a limited company |
|---|---|---|
| Liability for business debts | Unlimited: you are personally responsible for all of them | Limited to the owners' financial investment, though extra insurance may still be wise |
| Getting started | Trade straight away; register for Self Assessment once income passes £1,000 in a tax year | Register the company with Companies House before trading |
| Tax on profits | Income Tax at 20%, 40% or 45% on taxable income above the £12,570 Personal Allowance, per the Income Tax rates page (Scotland differs) | Corporation Tax on company profits at 19% or 25%, with Marginal Relief possible in between, per the Corporation Tax rates page |
| National Insurance | Class 4 at 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above, per the self-employed rates page | Depends on how you are paid: salary goes through payroll with employee and employer contributions |
| Taking money out | You keep all profits after tax, with no formal steps | Salary, dividends or a directors' loan, each with its own rules and records |
| Yearly filings | A Self Assessment return, plus quarterly updates if Making Tax Digital applies | Annual accounts, a Company Tax Return and a confirmation statement, plus reporting your own dividends to HMRC where they exceed your allowances |
| VAT | You register if your own turnover meets the test | The company registers if its turnover meets the test |
| What appears on a public register | No Companies House entry, since a sole trader does not register a company to start trading | Director name, nationality, month and year of birth and a service address on the Companies House register |
| Changing your mind | GOV.UK says moving from sole trader to company is usually the easier direction | Closing a company takes a formal process such as voluntary strike-off, and its records stay public for 20 years after dissolution |
GOV.UK also notes that the £50,000 and £250,000 Corporation Tax thresholds are reduced for short accounting periods and by the number of associated companies, which matters if you already own another company.
How money leaves a company
GOV.UK's guide to taking money out of a limited company sets the rules. To pay yourself a salary the company must register as an employer and deduct Income Tax and National Insurance. A dividend can only come from available profits from current and previous years, must usually go to all shareholders, needs a directors' meeting to declare it with minutes kept even if you are the only director, and needs a dividend voucher for each payment. Taking out more than you put in, other than as salary or dividends, creates a directors' loan with its own records and tax rules.
The page on tax on dividends gives a £500 dividend allowance and, from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, rates of 10.75% in the basic band, 35.75% in the higher band and 39.35% in the additional band on dividends over the allowance. Dividends also cannot be deducted as a business cost for Corporation Tax. Together these rules are why the structure question has no universal answer: the same profit can be taxed very differently depending on the mix you choose.
Your name on a public register: the privacy question
For creators who work under a stage name, this row can outweigh the tax ones. Companies House guidance on your personal information on the register says a director's name, nationality and the month and year of birth are made public, along with a service address, while the home address and full date of birth go on a private register shared only with bodies such as credit reference agencies and the police. The register can be searched free of charge worldwide, and Companies House says its information also appears through search engines such as Google.
The details stay visible for the life of the company, including for resigned officers, and for 20 years after dissolution. Companies House says it cannot remove them under UK GDPR. To keep your home address off the register, use a different registered office and service address from the start: the registered office must be an appropriate address, you need permission to use it, and the guidance notes that providers of these services charge a fee. Since 18 November 2025, directors and people with significant control have also had to verify their identity for Companies House, and Companies House describes that date as the start of a 12-month transition period rather than a deadline.
None of this stops you forming a company under your legal name while posting under another, but it does mean the two can be linked by anyone who searches. Our guide to anonymous creator privacy protection covers the wider set of precautions.
Admin cost checklist for a creator company
Price each line before you incorporate, using quotes rather than guesses. The Companies House figures come from its published fee list, which was updated on 25 September 2026.
- Incorporation: £100 online, according to the Companies House fee list.
- Confirmation statement every year: £50 online on the same fee list.
- A registered office and service address service if you want your home address kept off the register: ask several providers for written prices.
- An accountant for annual accounts and the Company Tax Return, and possibly payroll; get a fixed quote for each.
- Payroll software and an employer registration if the company will pay you a salary.
- A separate business bank account in the company's name, so personal and company money never mix.
- Your own tax reporting: the dividends page says dividends above your unused Personal Allowance and the dividend allowance must be reported to HMRC.
- Time for dividend minutes and vouchers each time you take a dividend.
- Fixing an address already on public filings: the fee list shows £34 per document for a paper application to remove personal details from the register, and £100 for a section 243 application to withhold a home address from credit reference agencies, which Companies House describes as available to people at risk of violence or intimidation because of the company's work.
- Insurance: GOV.UK notes either structure may need additional business insurance.
- A future exit: voluntary strike-off is listed at £13 online on the fee list, but the records remain public afterwards.
GOV.UK's guide on running a limited company is clear that you can hire an accountant but remain legally responsible for the company's records, accounts and performance, and that directors who fail in those duties can be fined, prosecuted or disqualified.
What changes on platforms and with other taxes
A company is a different taxpayer, so the details platforms collect change too. Under the UK digital platform reporting rules, a UK company seller gives its company registration number rather than a National Insurance number, as our explainer on the OnlyFans tax ID number sets out. Check with each platform whether it accepts a company as the payee before you move income across, and keep the dates of any switch.
The VAT threshold applies to whichever entity makes the supplies, explained in our UK VAT guide for creators. And Making Tax Digital for Income Tax counts self-employment and property turnover but not dividends from your own company, a difference covered in our Making Tax Digital guide.
Questions to ask an accountant before you decide
- On my actual profits for the last two years, what would I keep under each structure after all taxes and fees?
- What mix of salary and dividends would you suggest for me, and why?
- How do my other income sources, such as a job or savings, change that answer?
- Which of my platforms, brands and agencies can contract with and pay a company?
- What would moving income into a company mid-year involve, and what records would I need?
- How would the company affect my VAT position and any Making Tax Digital start date?
- What will your fee be each year for accounts, the Company Tax Return, payroll and my own return?
- What address should I use for the registered office and my service address to protect my privacy?
- If income falls, what would it cost to close the company, and what stays public?
Limits of this comparison
This is general information from GOV.UK and Companies House pages as they read on 1 October 2026, not tax or legal advice. Rates and allowances change at Budgets, Scottish Income Tax bands are different, and Companies House updated its fee list as recently as 25 September 2026. The comparison cannot weigh your personal circumstances, such as other income, student loans, benefits or plans to move abroad, and it does not cover partnerships, limited liability partnerships or companies with more than one owner.
Book a session with an accountant or chartered tax adviser before you incorporate, and take the questions above and a year of income records. The decision is far easier to make well at the start than to unwind later.