Any Limited Company contrators out there?

Just a question.
Are any of the V-Flyers Limited Company Contractors?

I am after some info as how you set yourself up as one
TIA

I work for property developers who use ltd contractors.

Thanks motherger.
What i am after is who is the best on-line company to go through to set yourself up as a Ltd Co, any pitfalls to watch out for etc..

Yep. Real easy. You can buy a company over the internet, although for about 250 you may want to get a good lawyer or accountant to handle all the paper work hassle for you. Lower tax rate is great, but don't forget the accountancy bills. IR35 may also be an issue, not knowing your circumstances.

Any more advice and I have to charge!

Not sure if this will help...

Companies House

Thanks bean counter, I am going to use an accountant for the financial side. i don't think looking at it that I will be liable for IR35, but again, will take the advice of an accountant on that.
Cheers

[Decker]

One of our clients on the Isle of Man is VERY successful at this - look for the Charterhouse Group on the Isle of Man. (Edited by Decker as I was unsure of my facts with one assertion and GJ's subsequent post made me feel better stick to what I know!}

[Decker]

They specifically employed experts to ensure that they were VERY clean on this. It's all above board and legal. They actually provide questionnaires to help you determine whether you're in the scope of IR35 etc...

Originally posted by Decker
One of our clients on the Isle of Man is VERY successful at this - look for the Charterhouse Group on the Isle of Man. (Edited by Decker as I was unsure of my facts with one assertion and GJ's subsequent post made me feel better stick to what I know!}

Thanks Decker I will look into this

Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes
Why are some British so repressed? "Limited" contractors, indeed. Why, here in America, we are limited by nothing other than our own vision, our own ideals, our own limitless, erm, limits. Our contractors are completely without chain or burden upon their minds, bodies and souls. Our contractors soar to the sun and back again in mighty blazes of redemptive glory. We are, friends, a nation of unlimited contractors of the human spirit.

Limited. Pheh...

Carry on.

GJ

Enron[B)]

Originally posted by AlanA
Just a question.
Are any of the V-Flyers Limited Company Contractors?

I am after some info as how you set yourself up as one

Hi AlanA

I set myself up back in 1991, and have operated continuously with 100% of my income coming from the same company I set up then.

Back in those days there was no Internet, so I went to a local accountant that was recommended to me by others operating in the same manner, and paid him 100 quid to transfer an off-the-shelf company to me. You can get the name changed to whatever you like (assuming it's not used already) but like a personalised numberplate, for my operation that would have been purely vanity.

You need a company secretary - I've been lucky and my old man is both my company secretary, has bookkeeping skills, and is retired. Your Company Secretary could be anyone, but you need to hold regular meetings and be able to sign off dividend payments and AGM minutes amoung other things.

As my old man was a bank manager in the Mr Manwaring style of Dad's Army, we play things very straight with HM Revenue and Customs, and always pay tax and present accounts on time. We also use an external accountant to do the revenue returns and recommend on how things are declared, such as expenses. They also audit the accounts. We do the VAT ourselves. The accountants cost about a grand each year.

Some contractors play things rather close to the bone, such as offshoring, which as far as I can see amounts to tax evasion if you're a UK resident. I can't help but feel that they're storing up big problems for themselves especially as the recent HM R&C amnesty on offshoring sounds like the calm before the storm.

IR35 is a tough one. I have insurance that covers me for both legal challenges as well as any tax the commissioners deem due for the past seven years (as far is HM R&C go back). It is not cheap (approx 0.8% of turnover), but it gives peace of mind. The underwriters need to see each contract in order to say yes or no as to whether they'll cover you.

There is much cheaper insurance that will cover you for a legal challenge only at about 0.1% of turnover. If they find against you you'll still have to find the tax for the past seven years: ouch!

In the end IR35 is very subjective as to how it's interpreted and applied. It is clear from the tiny number of cases that HM R&C have won that it was a bit of Gordon Brown trying unsuccessfully to cash in on the huge number of IT contractors cashing in on the Euro/dotcom/Y2K cash cow. Now the number of contractors have reduced substantially back to a fraction of the heady days of the Y2K gold rush, and rates have become rather more sensible, Gordon has bigger fish to fry. In addition, early failures in attempts by the IR to execute IR35 resulted in cases where the Special Commissioners and even Judicial Reviews suggested that what he was trying to achieve was essentially a change to taxation that demanded primary legislation rather than the secondary legislation draughted by a couple of Whitehall civil servants.

Other workarounds to minimise tax include making your partner an employee and/or director in order to minimise your higher rate tax burden, although again Gordon has recently tried to put a spanner in that one too. This has been a tax dodge for a long time but sadly some real genuine cases where husband and wife have been in a genuine working partnership have come unstuck at the expense of other less well intentioned people, a tax loophole, and an over-zealous Chancellor.

Expenses are of course quite a benefit, but again I don't take the mick. Sure, a new laptop will be an expense, but a TV and a fridge can't really be a legitimate 100% business expense. If you have a home office (good for IR35 too) it is possible to allocate a fair rent to your company.

I would seriously recommend that you get professional advice from an accountant. Like many walks of life, I am sure that if you ask three different accountants the same question you'll get three different answers, but if you can, choose one on personal recommendation. More often than not they're fairly conservative, so don't expect that they will recommend some great new offshore tax free dodge. Also accountants outside London are a lot cheaper than those in the capital.

Fianlly, I wish you good luck in whatever enterprise you're considering. There's something of an achievement working for yourself rather than lining someone else's pocket.

Cheers, Howard

Also accountants outside London are a lot cheaper than those in the capital.

Mine aren't as cheap as yours:DHaving said that they are very good no dodges just good advise and they get the books done on time. I am the company secretary wife and mum are directors we do the VAT and the accountants audit the books about £1200 PA.The accountants who set up the company in 1985 were charging over £2k PA (and were useless to boot)at the time we parted company in 2000. As with anything it pays to shop around and as Howard says personal recommendation is a good way to find a decent accountant.
Good luck Alan, I am sure you will enjoy working for yourself I certainly do.

many thanks for all the advice.
Its quite a step and a little thought provoking going it alone :-)