Directors Loan Account Accounting
Overdrawn DLA, s455 tax, benefit-in-kind, write-offs, and year-end clearance.
What we do
If you have taken money out of your limited company that is not salary, dividend, or expenses, you have a director's loan account that HMRC watches closely. We track every movement, calculate the s455 charge on any overdrawn balance not repaid within nine months of year end, work out the benefit-in-kind on cheap or interest-free loans, and flag bed-and-breakfasting risks before they cost you. Where a write-off makes sense, we model the tax both sides (company and personal) so you choose with full information, then handle the clearance and paperwork before your accounts are filed.
What’s included
- →Director's loan account reconciliation and ledger maintenance
- →Overdrawn DLA s455 tax calculation (33.75%) and reclaim tracking
- →Benefit-in-kind on beneficial loans (P11D and Class 1A NIC)
- →Bed-and-breakfasting and 30-day rule risk review
- →Loan write-off tax modelling (corporation tax and personal)
- →Repayment planning before the nine-month deadline
- →Dividend vs loan vs salary extraction comparison
- →Year-end clearance and board minute documentation
What happens next:
Send us your latest accounts and we will review your DLA position, quantify any s455 or benefit-in-kind exposure, and confirm a fixed fee before any work begins.
Indicative Pricing
From £250/year
Final fee confirmed after free consultation
Not sure if this is right for you?
All new clients get a free 30-minute consultation before any commitment. We’ll assess your situation and recommend exactly what you need.
Frequently asked questions
A director's loan account records money you take out of your company that is not salary, dividend, or reimbursed expenses. It becomes a problem when it is overdrawn (you owe the company) at year end. If the overdrawn balance is not repaid within nine months and one day of your accounting year-end, the company pays a s455 charge of 33.75% on the outstanding amount.
Section 455 is a temporary corporation tax charge of 33.75% on an overdrawn director's loan not cleared within nine months of year-end. It is reclaimable once you repay the loan, but HMRC only refunds it nine months after the year-end in which the repayment falls, so the cash can be tied up for a long time. We track the charge, the reclaim, and the timing for you.
If your loan exceeds £10,000 at any point in the tax year and you pay no interest (or below HMRC's official rate), it is treated as a benefit in kind. The company reports it on a P11D and pays Class 1A National Insurance, and you pay income tax on the benefit. We calculate the exposure and advise on whether charging interest is the cheaper route.
Sometimes, but a write-off is taxed as a dividend in your hands (income tax) and may not be deductible for the company, and HMRC scrutinises bed-and-breakfasting where you repay then re-borrow around year-end. We model the tax on both sides before you decide, then handle the board minutes and clearance.
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