Ten questions across five areas — corporation tax structure, director pay, IR35, capital allowances, and R&D. Get a 0–100 score, banded verdict, and up to five personalised findings with the saving range typical for an agency at your stage.
The diagnostic covers the levers we typically find under-used at UK agencies between £200k and £5m of revenue.
Year-end timing and corporation tax planning levers.
01How you extract profit from the company.
02Off-payroll exposure across your contractor base.
03AIA and first-year claims on equipment and fit-out.
04In-house development that may qualify for tax credits.
05Built by Alto Accounting — ACCA chartered accountants specialising in UK agencies
A 31 March year-end means your Corporation Tax payment falls one month before the Self Assessment deadline. Other dates can spread tax payments more evenly.
All figures verified to 2026/27 UK rates.
19% on profits under £50k. 25% on profits over £250k. Marginal relief between.
25%£1,000,000 a year of qualifying capex deducted in full. 25% Corporation Tax saving on every £1.
£1M27% credit on qualifying SME expenditure under the merged scheme. 14.5% for R&D-intensive companies.
27%10.75% basic rate, 35.75% higher rate for 2026/27. £500 annual allowance.
10.75%15% above £5,000 secondary threshold. £10,500 Employment Allowance available for most agencies.
15%£90,000 of taxable turnover triggers compulsory registration. All filings under Making Tax Digital.
£90kModel the optimal director extraction split with the new 2026/27 dividend bands.
Open calculatorEstimate what your in-house development could be worth under the merged SME scheme.
Open calculatorRun individual contractor engagements through the same factors HMRC uses.
Open checkerFree 15-minute review with a chartered accountant who specialises in UK marketing, creative and digital agencies. We confirm which findings actually apply to your specific structure.