Startups in London
London has strengths in tech, fintech, creative and professional services. The British Library's Business & IP Centre and your local London Growth Hub can help with local grants and advice, and our funding page explains how we help you get ready for a loan, a grant or investment.
Which tax rules come up most for London's tech and fintech businesses?
London's business base leans towards tech, fintech, creative and professional services, and three tax questions come up repeatedly in those sectors. If you work through an agency or inside a client's team, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) decide whether you are taxed as an employee, and a medium or large client makes that status decision. If you sell to VAT-registered businesses, crossing the £90,000 VAT registration threshold has little effect on your customers, because they reclaim the VAT you charge. If you sell to consumers, registering usually means raising prices or absorbing the VAT, so plan for it before you reach the threshold. If you are building a team, EMI share options are usually the most tax-efficient way for a qualifying company to give employees options over shares, and they need an agreed valuation and notification to HMRC within the deadline.
