So what is a UTR, in plain terms?
UTR stands for Unique Taxpayer Reference. It's a 10-digit number that belongs to your company and nobody else's. HMRC uses it to know which company is which when it comes to Corporation Tax, the tax a limited company pays on its profit.
Think of it as your company's tax membership number. Every time your company talks to HMRC about Corporation Tax, the UTR is how HMRC pulls up the right file.
Where does my UTR come from?
You don't apply for it. As soon as your company is set up at Companies House (the moment it's "incorporated"), HMRC creates a Corporation Tax record for it and gives it a UTR.
HMRC then posts the number to your company's registered office, the official address you gave Companies House. That letter usually arrives within a couple of weeks of the company being set up. So if you've just started a company, keep an eye on the post going to that address.
This is also why it's worth checking your registered office address is right and that you'll actually see the post sent there, because that's where this letter lands.
What do I need my UTR for?
You need it for the Corporation Tax side of running your company. In plain terms:
- To register your company for Corporation Tax with HMRC.
- To sign in to HMRC's Corporation Tax service (part of your online business tax account).
- To file your Company Tax Return each year and pay the right amount.
Without the UTR, HMRC can't match what you send to your company, so it's one of the first things you'll be asked for.
Where do I find my UTR?
A few reliable places:
- On letters from HMRC. The number is printed on HMRC post about your company, including the letter that tells you to send in your Company Tax Return.
- In your business tax account. Once your company is signed up to HMRC's online Corporation Tax service, the UTR shows up there when you sign in.
If you've filed before, it'll be on your earlier paperwork too.
What if I never got it (or I've lost it)?
It happens, post goes missing, or you took over a company and never saw the original letter. You can ask HMRC to send it again online. HMRC will post a copy to the company's registered office (the address registered with Companies House).
If it's been more than about 15 days since your company was set up and nothing has arrived, that's the point to go and request it rather than keep waiting.
Is the UTR the same as my Companies House number?
No, and this is the mix-up that catches people out. Your company actually has two different reference numbers:
- The company registration number (sometimes called the CRN) comes from Companies House when the company is set up. It's how Companies House identifies your company.
- The UTR comes from HMRC and is how the tax office identifies your company.
They're issued by different offices for different jobs, so they're different numbers. There's also a personal UTR, the one an individual gets for their own self assessment tax. Your company's UTR is separate from that too. If you run your own company, you might end up with both, your personal one and your company's one, and they are not interchangeable.
A quick example
Say you set up Bluebird Bakery Ltd on 1 June.
- Companies House gives it a company registration number straight away, used on the public register.
- A couple of weeks later, a letter from HMRC lands at the bakery's registered office with its 10-digit UTR.
- When it's time to file, that UTR is the number HMRC uses to find Bluebird Bakery's tax record and match the return to it.
Same company, two numbers, two different offices.
How SimpleReturns handles it
When you file with us, we ask for your company's UTR once during sign-up, then use it to file your Corporation Tax for you. If you're not sure which number is your UTR, we'll show you exactly where to look, and you only ever enter it the one time.