Company formation for mortgage advisers takes about one working day through Companies House, but it is only the first step. You also need to satisfy FCA authorisation or your network's rules, verify director identities, register for Corporation Tax, and open a business bank account. Our accountants handle the whole process.
Established mortgage advisers often reach the point where a limited company makes commercial sense. The mistake we see most often is a cheap incorporation completed before the FCA permissions, network agreement and tax registrations have been checked. That order matters, and it is exactly what our accountants review before anything is filed.
Typical turnaround
Companies House incorporation usually within 24 hours when identity checks are complete.
A limited company is usually worth considering once a mortgage adviser's profits pass roughly £45,000 to £50,000 a year. Below that level, the extra administration rarely pays for itself. Above it, the salary and dividend split normally produces a meaningful saving, and the company structure gives you something a sole trader never has: a separate legal entity that can hold contracts, retain profits and be sold later.
In short: company set up for mortgage advisers gives you limited liability, better tax efficiency at higher profit levels, a cleaner route to paying pension contributions, and a business you can eventually sell. The trade-off is statutory filing, published accounts and a higher bookkeeping standard. If you are still undecided, our guide on whether a mortgage adviser should be a sole trader or a limited company works through the numbers in detail.
The table below summarises the differences that actually affect mortgage advisers in practice. Figures reflect 2026/27 rates and are a guide only; your own position will depend on profit level, other income and how much you leave in the business.
| Consideration | Self-employed sole trader | Limited company adviser |
|---|---|---|
| Liability | Unlimited personal liability | Limited to share capital in most cases |
| Tax on profit | Income tax 20/40/45% plus Class 2 and Class 4 NI | Corporation tax 19% to 25%, then tax on dividends drawn |
| Filing obligations | Self Assessment return only | Annual accounts, CT600, confirmation statement, plus director's Self Assessment |
| Public disclosure | None | Accounts and directors published at Companies House |
| Pension planning | Personal contributions only | Company can contribute as an allowable expense |
| Selling the business | Difficult: assets and goodwill only | Shares transferable, with possible Business Asset Disposal Relief |
| Sensible when | Profits under about £45,000 | Profits consistently above about £45,000 to £50,000 |
If your firm acts through a network, check the network's own rules before you incorporate. Some networks permit an appointed representative limited company without difficulty, while others impose conditions on ownership, permitted payments or director changes. We make those checks before the incorporation is filed, because unwinding a badly structured company is far more expensive than getting it right first time. See our specialist service for accountants for advisory and financial services firms if you operate alongside IFAs, brokers or wealth managers.
Company registration for mortgage advisers is not simply a Companies House filing. There are seven stages, and two of them must happen before anything is submitted. Here is the order we follow for every mortgage adviser we set up.
Before incorporating, we check how your regulated activity will be held. An appointed representative limited company, a directly authorised firm and a network member all have different requirements, and the company's name and share structure often need to reflect them. Getting this wrong means amending the company later, or worse, a gap in your permissions. If you are directly authorised, the FCA needs to approve the change of legal entity; start that conversation early because approval timelines drive everything else.
We run the proposed name against the Companies House index and against sensitive words that require approval. Share structure is decided here too: most adviser companies are set up limited by shares, with the adviser and spouse as shareholders in proportions that reflect the intended income split. The registered office must be a genuine address where statutory post is received, and using a service address keeps your home address off the public register.
Identity verification is now mandatory for directors and people with significant control, and every new director must be verified before or alongside incorporation. Verification is done through GOV.UK One Login or an authorised agent using the individual's identity documents. Each verified person receives a personal code, which needs to be quoted when filing. Incorporation stalls without it, so we collect the details and confirm codes are in place before submission.
We file the IN01 application with the memorandum and articles of association. Standard model articles suit most adviser companies, though we will recommend bespoke articles where there are multiple shareholders or where dividend rights need protection. Online incorporation is normally processed within 24 hours; a same-day service is available at extra cost. Your certificate of incorporation and company number arrive electronically.
HMRC is notified automatically of the incorporation, but you must register separately to receive your company UTR and to confirm the date your accounting period begins. Within the first months we also register for PAYE so director salaries can be paid and reported, and register for VAT if commission income is likely to exceed the threshold. If your commission is exempt or outside the scope of VAT, we confirm that position in writing so you have a defensible record. Our guide on finding your company UTR is useful once registration is complete.
Lenders must pay commission to the company, not to you personally, so a company account is essential rather than optional. Applications normally need the certificate of incorporation, proof of the registered address and identity checks on each director. Some providers require a genuine business address that is not a virtual office. We point clients towards choosing a business bank account for a limited company and can note which providers currently give free accounting software alongside the account.
The last stage is the one most people skip. Professional indemnity insurance must usually be transferred or renewed in the new company's name, commission arrangements with lenders and networks need updating, and a bookkeeping system should go live from day one of trading. Mortgage advisers rarely have straightforward bookkeeping because income arrives as procuration fees, trail commission and sometimes fees from networks, and each is reported differently. Our page on which business records mortgage advisers must keep for HMRC sets out the minimum standard.
We run all seven stages for you, in the right order, and tell you what each one costs before we start.
Complete the Company Registration FormOur fees are fixed and agreed in advance, so there are no surprise invoices when the work is done. Third-party charges such as the Companies House fee are shown separately and paid at cost. The figures below are what advisers actually pay in practice.
| Item | Typical cost | Who pays | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Companies House incorporation fee | £50 online standard | Client, at cost | Usually decided within 24 hours. Same-day service costs more. |
| Our company formation service | Fixed fee, quoted upfront | Client | Name checks, articles, filing, HMRC registrations and first-year guidance included. |
| Registered office and service address | Varies by provider | Client | Optional, but keeps your home address off the public register. |
| Corporation Tax and PAYE registration | No HMRC charge | Included | Completed by us after incorporation; UTR normally arrives within two to three weeks. |
| First-year accounts and CT600 | Included in your monthly package | Client | Due nine months and one day after your first accounting period ends. |
| Confirmation statement | £34 per year | Client, at cost | Due annually within 14 days of the review period. We file it for you. |
If you are weighing up whether to use a paid service at all, our honest comparison of how to set up and register a private limited company in the UK covers both routes, including the free formation we provide to clients who take a monthly accounting package. Our company formation service in Luton follows the same process for advisers based in Bedfordshire.
Some formation agents will register a company for you in ten minutes and hand you a certificate. That is not company formation for mortgage advisers; that is data entry. A regulated adviser needs the structure checked, the registrations sequenced properly and the compliance obligations understood from the first day. Here is what our accountants actually do.
Your proposed company name, your home address for verification, the registered office you want to use, details of any co-directors or shareholders, and confirmation of your FCA or network arrangement. Most advisers can supply all of it in one call. We do the rest and report back at each stage.
We are ACCA, AAT and IFA qualified accountants working with UK mortgage advisers, brokers and intermediaries every week. That means we already know how a lender's procuration fee arrives, why trail commission needs separate nominal codes, how network overrides are accounted for, and where the FCA's expectations and HMRC's record-keeping rules overlap. A general practice, however competent, usually has to learn all of that on your file.
We will also tell you plainly when incorporation is not yet worth it. Several advisers who approached us were better off remaining sole traders for another year, and we said so rather than selling a company they did not need.
Once registered, most adviser companies take a monthly package that includes the ongoing compliance work. The related services listed below are the ones advisers ask about most often.
The questions mortgage advisers and mortgage brokers ask us most often about company registration, answered directly.
Still unsure whether now is the right time to incorporate?
Book Your Free ConsultationSend us your details and one of our qualified accountants will confirm the right structure, check your FCA or network position, and give you a fixed fee for company formation for mortgage advisers. There is no charge for that first review, and no obligation to proceed.
We work with mortgage advisers and mortgage brokers across the UK, entirely online. Documents are shared securely, meetings happen by video call, and you deal with the same accountant from registration through to your first set of statutory accounts.
About this guide. Written and reviewed by the Taxwise Accountancy team, a UK practice of ACCA, AAT and IFA qualified accountants advising mortgage advisers, mortgage brokers and other regulated professionals on company formation, incorporation, tax registration and ongoing compliance. Content reflects the rules in force for the 2026/27 tax year, including Companies House identity verification requirements. Information is general guidance and is not a substitute for advice on your own circumstances.
