Setting Up a Ltd Company for OnlyFans in the UK: 7 Steps

Whether a limited company is right for you depends on three things: how much profit you make, how much risk you want to carry personally, and how much admin you’ll put up with. The steps below show what setting one up involves, so you know what you’re signing up for.

Important: this isn’t financial advice. Tax rules change, and everyone’s situation is different. Speak to a qualified accountant before you decide on your business structure.

Why some creators choose to incorporate

As a sole trader, you and your business are legally the same thing. That keeps things simple, but it means you’re personally liable for any debts or legal claims. A limited company is a separate legal entity, and your personal liability is generally limited to what you’ve put in.

People usually make the switch for two reasons.

1. Tax. Once your profits pass a certain level, Corporation Tax plus tax on dividends can cost less than Income Tax and National Insurance as a sole trader. As a sole trader you pay Class 4 National Insurance of 6% on profits from £12,570 to £50,270, then 2% above that. Where the crossover sits moves whenever tax rates change, so get an accountant to run your own figures. You can get a rough idea first with our tax calculator.

2. Limited liability. If something goes wrong, creditors generally can’t come after your personal assets the way they could if you were a sole trader. If you’re building a business you plan to keep, that protection counts for something.

There are trade-offs. You’ll have more paperwork, more rules to follow and less freedom over how you take money out.

Step 1: Choose a company name

Your company name goes on the public register at Companies House, and anyone can search it. If privacy matters to you, choose carefully.

You don’t need to use your stage name or anything linked to your content. A neutral business name is fine. Something like “JH Media Ltd” or “Maple Creative Ltd” says nothing about what the company does.

There are a few rules. The name must end in “Limited” or “Ltd”. It can’t be the same as a name already on the register. And it can’t include certain sensitive words (such as “Royal” or “British”) without permission. Check the Companies House name checker before you get attached to a name.

Step 2: Set up a registered office address

Every UK limited company needs a registered office address. It goes on the public register and appears on official letters.

Don’t use your home address if privacy is important to you. Anyone can look your company up on Companies House and see the registered office. For a creator, that’s a real risk.

Use a registered office service instead. These firms give you a business address for a small yearly fee, often somewhere between 30 and 100 pounds, and forward your official post to you. Plenty of accountants offer this as part of their package too.

Step 3: Pick your SIC codes

When you register, you choose Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes that describe what your business does. They’re only category codes. The ones most likely to fit a content creator are:

• 59112: video production activities
• 74202: photographic activities
• 70229: management consultancy activities (if you also offer consulting or coaching)
• 73110: advertising agencies (if marketing or brand partnerships make up a big part of your work)

You can list up to four. Pick the ones closest to what you do. There’s no perfect answer, and you can change them later.

Step 4: Register with Companies House

You register online at Companies House. The fee has gone up more than once in the last few years, so check the current fee on GOV.UK before you start. Registration usually takes about 24 hours. Every director now has to verify their identity with Companies House too, so do that when you register.

You’ll need:

• your company name
• the registered office address
• at least one director and one shareholder (usually both you)
• your share structure (most small companies issue one ordinary share)
• your SIC codes
• a memorandum and articles of association (standard versions are provided when you register)

Appointing directors and shareholders

In a one-person company you’ll normally be the only director and the only shareholder. Your director details go on the public register, but you can give a service address, such as the one your registered office service provides, so your home address stays off the public record.

If you’re thinking of making a partner or a manager a director or shareholder, get legal advice first. Giving someone shares gives them ownership of part of your company.

Step 5: Register for Corporation Tax

Once your company is set up, HMRC sends a letter to your registered office with the company’s Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). You can usually register for Corporation Tax as part of setting up the company online. If you didn’t, you have to do it within three months of starting to trade.

Corporation Tax is currently 19% for companies with profits of £50,000 or less and 25% for profits over £250,000, with marginal relief in between. Check which one applies to your profits.

You register through your HMRC online account. Keep your incorporation certificate and UTR somewhere safe, because you’ll need them again and again.

Step 6: Open a business bank account

Your company needs its own bank account. You can’t run company money through your personal account.

Not every bank will take you. Digital banks such as Starling, Tide and Monzo Business are popular with one-director companies, but all three say they don’t offer business accounts to adult entertainment businesses. Read a bank’s eligibility rules before you apply, and ask your accountant which banks their creator clients use. Banks will ask what your business does. Tell them the truth. Content creation is a legitimate business, and if one bank says no, try another.

Once the account is open, check your OnlyFans payout settings and move your payouts to it if you can. Money the company earns belongs to the company, not to you personally. Getting it out to yourself is the next step.

Step 7: Pay yourself, the right way

How you pay yourself makes a big difference to your tax bill. As a director, you’ve got two main ways to take money out of your company.

Salary

Accountants usually suggest a small salary, often set around the Personal Allowance of 12,570 a year or at a National Insurance threshold. A salary counts as a company expense, so it lowers your Corporation Tax bill. The best level depends on the current National Insurance thresholds for employees and employers, and those change, so check the current rates on GOV.UK or ask your accountant to set the figure.

Dividends

You can pay yourself dividends out of the profit that’s left after Corporation Tax, as long as you do the paperwork each time. Dividends are taxed differently from salary. For 2026/27 (from 6 April 2026) the rates are:

• 0% on the first £500 (the dividend allowance)
• 10.75% within the basic rate band
• 35.75% within the higher rate band
• 39.35% at the additional rate

The basic and higher rates went up by two percentage points in April 2026, so older guides quoting 8.75% and 33.75% are out of date. Rates can change again, so check GOV.UK before you plan around them.

At higher profits, Corporation Tax plus dividend tax can come to less than the Income Tax and National Insurance a sole trader would pay on the same profit. It doesn’t at every level, so ask your accountant to compare the total under each setup.

Use our tax calculator to compare the figures for your own situation.

The ongoing admin

A limited company comes with jobs that don’t stop after you’ve set it up.

• Annual accounts: filed with Companies House every year, usually due nine months after your financial year ends (your first accounts have a different deadline). Very small companies may be able to file simpler “micro-entity” accounts.
• Confirmation statement: a short yearly filing to confirm your company details are up to date. There’s a fee, so check the current amount on GOV.UK.
• Corporation Tax return: filed with HMRC, due 12 months after your accounting period ends. The tax itself has to be paid within nine months and one day of your year end.
• VAT: if your VAT taxable turnover goes over the threshold (currently 90,000 pounds), you have to register for VAT and file regular returns. Ask your accountant how the threshold is worked out for you.
• Self Assessment: you may still need to file a personal tax return, for example to declare dividends. Ask your accountant whether it applies to you.

Plenty of company owners pay an accountant to handle all of this. As a rough guide, fees run from about 800 to 2,000 pounds a year depending on how complicated your accounts are, so get a few quotes. For most company owners it’s money well spent.

When it makes sense, and when it does not

A limited company probably makes sense if:

• your profit is steady and high enough that an accountant’s figures show a real saving
• you want the liability protection of a separate legal entity
• you’re fine with the extra admin, or happy to pay an accountant to do it
• you plan to grow your creator business over the long term

Staying a sole trader probably makes more sense if:

• your income is lower or goes up and down a lot
• you’d rather keep things simple than save some tax
• you’re just starting out and still testing the waters
• the cost of an accountant would eat up most of the tax saving

There’s no rush. You can incorporate later, once the numbers justify it.

Getting your business planning right

Sole trader or company, you’ll still need to price your page sensibly. Our pricing calculator helps you set a subscription price, the tip menu builder helps you lay out your paid extras, and the earnings calculator lets you forecast what you’d earn at different subscriber numbers. They’re all on our tools page.

If you’d like hands-on support growing your creator business, see how we work or apply to work with us.

Before you decide

Setting up a limited company isn’t complicated, but it’s a commitment. It can save you tax once your profits are high enough, and a registered office service and a service address help keep your home address off the public register. You’ll also take on paperwork, deadlines and costs a sole trader doesn’t have.

Run the numbers with our tax tools, talk to an accountant who understands creator income, and decide based on your own figures.

Disclaimer: this article is for general information only and isn’t financial, tax or legal advice. Tax rates and thresholds change. Speak to a qualified accountant or tax adviser before you make decisions about your business structure.