Limited liability partnerships

The limited liability partnership "LLP" is a hybrid, across between a partnership and a limited company. We can register an LLP electronically but do not yet have the facility to take instructions for this on this website, so please contact us for this service. Formation of an LLP (with a standard members' agreement) is £145.83 + £29.17 VAT + £14.00 registration fee = £189.00. We also have an excellent value for money partnership agreement service.

An LLP makes an ideal format for a professional partnership or a small business where there are at least two members. It is simple to operate and very flexible. We strongly advise, however, that an LLP should only be set up with advice from an accountant to ensure that this is the best format for the business for tax purposes.

Like a limited company, an LLP is a separate legal entity which gives full limited liability to its members. It must be registered at Companies House. There must be at least two members, but there is no upper limit. Like a company, it must register its accounts annually and send an annual return to Companies House. It is much simpler to operate than a company. There are no legal rules for running an LLP. Like a partnership, these are matters for the members to decide for themselves and to include in an LLP agreement. An LLP does not have shares or directors, just members who own the LLP between them and run it as they think fit. There is no statutory requirement to register (or even to have) a written partnership agreement, but such an agreement is essential in practice.

The name of an LLP is subject to the same rules as for a limited company except that is name must end in either "limited liability partnership" or "LLP". Click here for our page on company names and click here to do a name check.

The LLP is treated for tax purposes as an ordinary partnership: i.e. each member is liable to income tax for his or her share of the profits, and to Capital Gains Tax in respect of any gains made on the disposal of assets belonging to the LLP.

Standard LLP formation costs are £145.83 + £29.17 VAT + £14.00 registration fee = £189.00).

Company Law website

Visit our company law website provided as a free service for Incorporation Services clients. It is the largest open source of UK company law information available on-line, including:

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