OMB Accountants for Owner-Managed Businesses
Specialist accountants for company directors and owner-managers across the UK and US. We join up your company accounts, corporation tax and personal tax into one strategy so you extract profit efficiently and stay fully compliant with HMRC and the IRS.
Owner-managed business accounting is for directors who both own and run their company. We handle statutory accounts, corporation tax and your personal return together, then plan the salary, dividend and pension mix that leaves the most profit in your pocket. Ideal for UK limited companies and US-UK entrepreneurs.
What does an OMB accountant actually do?
As an owner-manager you wear every hat, and the tax that follows is uniquely tangled: the company is a separate legal person with its own corporation tax bill, yet the way you pay yourself directly changes your personal tax. A good OMB accountant looks at both sides of that equation at once rather than treating them as separate jobs.
In the UK that means preparing statutory accounts for Companies House, filing the CT600 corporation tax return, running payroll and dividends correctly, and completing your Self Assessment. We check that every allowable expense, capital allowance and relief is claimed, from the Annual Investment Allowance on equipment to full expensing on qualifying plant and machinery.
For US owners we prepare company returns such as Form 1120 or 1120-S, coordinate state filings, and reconcile them with your personal 1040. Where the same person owns a business on both sides of the Atlantic, we align the two systems so nothing is missed and nothing is taxed twice.
Core services for directors
- Year-end statutory accounts and Companies House filing
- Corporation tax returns (CT600) and US Form 1120 / 1120-S
- Director payroll, dividends and P11D benefit reporting
- Personal Self Assessment and US Form 1040
- Profit-extraction and remuneration planning
- VAT registration, returns and Making Tax Digital
How should directors take money out: salary or dividends?
The single biggest lever for an owner-manager is how you extract profit. Salary is deductible for the company but attracts income tax and National Insurance for both employer and employee. Dividends are paid from post-tax profit but are taxed at lower personal rates and carry no National Insurance, which is why most UK director-shareholders use a blend of the two.
A common UK strategy is a salary set at or just above the National Insurance secondary threshold, enough to secure a qualifying year for the state pension, with the balance of profit drawn as dividends within the most efficient tax bands. Everyone has a small tax-free dividend allowance, and dividends above it are taxed at rising rates as your income climbs. We recalculate the sweet spot every tax year because thresholds and your wider income change.
Pension contributions often beat both salary and dividends. Employer contributions are usually a fully allowable company expense, reduce corporation tax, and are free of National Insurance, making them one of the most powerful ways for a director to move money out of the company tax-efficiently, subject to the annual allowance.
US S-corporation owners face the mirror-image decision. The IRS requires a “reasonable salary” subject to payroll tax before profits can flow through as distributions that escape self-employment tax. Getting that balance wrong invites an audit, so we document the rationale and keep the split defensible.
What about US-UK owner-managers?
If you are a US citizen or Green Card holder running a UK limited company, or a British founder with a US entity, the rules multiply. US citizens are taxed on worldwide income wherever they live, so owning a foreign company triggers reporting such as Form 5471, and anti-deferral regimes like GILTI and Subpart F can tax undistributed company profits before you ever draw them.
At the same time HMRC taxes the UK company and your UK income. The US-UK double tax treaty and foreign tax credits stop the same income being taxed twice, but the interaction is intricate: a dividend that is efficient for UK purposes can be inefficient once US tax is layered on, and vice versa. We plan the two systems as one so your global effective rate is minimised and every disclosure is filed on time.
We routinely advise on entity choice, whether a UK company should elect to be treated differently for US purposes, how to time distributions across two tax years, and how to keep corporation tax, personal tax and treaty relief working together rather than against each other.
Built for director-owners
We are cross-border specialists who treat your company and your personal tax as one connected picture. From your first year of trading to eventual exit, we keep the paperwork clean, the deadlines met, and the tax bill as low as the rules allow, on both sides of the Atlantic.
›Get a ConsultationOne joined-up strategy
Company accounts, corporation tax and your personal return handled together, never in silos.
Profit-extraction experts
We model salary, dividends and pension every year so you keep the maximum after tax.
US-UK on one desk
IRS and HMRC, treaty relief and foreign tax credits managed by one team who speak both languages.
Deadline-proof compliance
Companies House, CT600, Self Assessment and US filings tracked so nothing is ever late.
Explore more ways we support your business
UK Tax Services (Businesses)
Corporation tax, VAT and statutory accounts for UK limited companies.
Corporate Tax Planning
Proactive planning to reduce your company tax bill legitimately.
US Tax Services (Businesses)
Federal and state returns for C-corps, S-corps and LLCs.
Cross-Border Tax Planning
Treaty relief and structuring for US-UK owners and entities.
High Net Worth
Personal wealth and tax planning for successful business owners.
Trusts & Estate Planning
Protect and pass on the value you build in your company.
Ready to make your company tax-efficient?
Speak to a specialist about your company accounts, corporation tax and the smartest way to pay yourself. We work with owner-managed businesses across the UK and US.
Profit extraction planned around your goals
For an owner-manager, the way you pay yourself shapes both your company's tax bill and your personal one. We model the salary, dividend and pension mix each year so more of your profit stays with you. Every recommendation is built around where your business is headed, not a one-size-fits-all template.
- ›Salary, dividend and pension modelling every tax year
- ›Company and personal tax reviewed as one picture
- ›Remuneration structured around your longer-term plans
Every filing tracked, on both sides of the Atlantic
Directors juggle statutory accounts, corporation tax, payroll and personal returns, often across two tax authorities. We keep the whole calendar in view so Companies House, HMRC and IRS obligations are prepared accurately and filed on time. That means fewer surprises, no missed deadlines, and a clean record if either authority ever looks closer.
- ›Statutory accounts and corporation tax returns handled together
- ›Director payroll, dividends and personal filings coordinated
- ›HMRC and IRS deadlines monitored so nothing slips
Official resources & further reading
Authoritative guidance from the relevant tax authorities and regulators. Always confirm current thresholds and deadlines on the official source.
Questions & Answers
An owner-managed business (OMB) is a company where the people who own the shares also run day-to-day operations, typically as director-shareholders. In the UK this is usually a limited company; in the US it is often an S-corporation or LLC. The overlap of personal and company tax is what makes specialist advice valuable.
Most UK director-shareholders take a modest salary up to the National Insurance threshold to preserve state pension credits, then draw profits as dividends taxed at lower rates than salary. The optimal split depends on your other income, corporation tax position and pension plans. We model the exact mix each year so you keep more after tax.
UK corporation tax runs from a 19% small-profits rate to a 25% main rate, with marginal relief between the two thresholds. US C-corporations pay a 21% federal rate plus state tax, while S-corporations pass profits to owners. We calculate your effective rate and use reliefs, allowances and timing to reduce the bill legitimately.
Not usually. The US-UK double tax treaty and foreign tax credits are designed to prevent the same profit being taxed twice. US citizens who own a UK company face extra rules such as GILTI, Subpart F and Form 5471 reporting. Careful structuring and treaty planning keep your combined tax burden as low as the law allows.
Yes, and both can be tax-efficient. Employer pension contributions are usually an allowable company expense and escape National Insurance, making them one of the most effective ways to extract profit. Company cars are taxed as a benefit in kind, so electric vehicles with low benefit rates are often the smartest choice for director-owners.
A UK company files accounts with Companies House nine months after its year end and pays corporation tax nine months and one day after year end, with the CT600 return due twelve months after. Directors also file a personal Self Assessment by 31 January. In the US, S-corp and partnership returns are generally due 15 March and C-corps 15 April.
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