Sometimes. An overseas company can sell to UK customers from abroad without registering at Companies House, as long as it has no physical place of business in the UK. Once you open an office or branch, registration is required within one month.
Companies House registration and tax registration are separate, though. Trading remotely does not remove UK obligations, so check how your business model is treated before you sign a UK contract or hire your first UK employee.
Go deeperWhen overseas businesses need to register for UK VAT, and how we handle it.
VAT registration UK →When do you have to register with Companies House?
When you set up a place of business in the UK, or usually carry on business from somewhere in the UK. Some activity does not count: an independent agent selling on your behalf, or a director meeting clients in a hotel on occasional visits, is not a UK place of business. Selling online or by phone from abroad does not trigger registration on its own.
Do you need to register for UK VAT?
Possibly, from your first sale. Businesses without a UK establishment get no VAT registration threshold, so if you make taxable supplies in the UK you may need to register straight away. The details matter: services sold to UK business customers usually fall under the reverse charge, where the customer accounts for the VAT. Selling goods held in the UK, or selling to UK consumers, normally means registering yourself.
Do you need to pay UK Corporation Tax?
Only if your UK activity creates a permanent establishment, meaning a taxable presence in the UK. A fixed place of business, or a UK-based person who regularly agrees contracts on your behalf, can create one. You can owe UK Corporation Tax without registering at Companies House, so the two questions need separate answers.
What if you hire someone in the UK?
Hiring brings payroll duties straight away. An overseas employer may need to register a UK PAYE scheme to pay a UK-based employee, and UK employment rights apply from day one. An employee's activity can also create a permanent establishment. Read more on registering a UK PAYE scheme as a non-UK company.
Is trading without a UK entity a good long-term plan?
It works for testing the market. As UK sales, contracts and staff grow, the risk of creating a taxable presence by accident grows too, and UK customers and banks often prefer a local company. Most overseas businesses move to a UK subsidiary once the UK becomes a real market for them.
Sources: Register as an overseas company, GOV.UK · Register for VAT, GOV.UK
Related questions
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