help re self employed nrp

Haddon201

hi I'm looking for some help on this please,
my ex went self employed oct , in dec he was put on a default payment amount as he failed to provide earnings.
no payment was made and in January he was able to prove his company was running at a loss so a nil assessment was back dated to oct.
csa advised me to leave it until at least aug to allow his company to start earning and that any amount owed to me would be calculated when he submits his first years accounts.
I've called them this week and after speaking to my ex he is still running at a loss! when I mentioned the backdating after his first year trading I was told it wouldn't happen!
If he proves again that he is losing money then all I will be able to do is request another reassessment in 3 months time.
surely this is blatant avoidance?

thanks in advance for any help

CSAworkerx

Well, id assume if hes running at a loss and not paying himself a salary then i can see a nil being fair, Unless you know for a fact his company is actually making money.

Crellow4

I'd he self employed or a director? There is a massive difference in the way he is remunerated. If he is self employed I would expect his first year of trading to be at a loss whilst he establishes himself. Until he turns a profit his liability will be nil, any new liability will only take place from when the change is notified. If,on the other hand, he is a director then he is an employed earner. He could receive a salary and dividends or repayment if directors loan account. The salary would be used to establish husband liability, dividends can be brought into account by way of a variation - draw down of a loan account is ignored.

Haddon201

thanks for your response
I don't know for a fact but I do know pretty much every job he does and I know he was asking if anyone wanted a days work helping him for £60, I'm sure he wouldn't pay someone else more than he's earning himself? and to need help he must have plenty of work.
In reality he has a mortgage, a 2yr old and a partner, they cant all survive on her wages whilst losing money into his business? csa or not I don't know any family that could do that for a year especially when he had a decent salaried job before
thanks again

CSAworkerx

Companys can run at a loss for years, you simply loan money from the company to supplement income aslong as its all on the books im pretty sure thats possible.

Haddon201

Crellow4 wrote: »

I'd he self employed or a director? There is a massive difference in the way he is remunerated. If he is self employed I would expect his first year of trading to be at a loss whilst he establishes himself. Until he turns a profit his liability will be nil, any new liability will only take place from when the change is notified. If,on the other hand, he is a director then he is an employed earner. He could receive a salary and dividends or repayment if directors loan account. The salary would be used to establish husband liability, dividends can be brought into account by way of a variation - draw down of a loan account is ignored.

I really don't know, its a limited company lol, self employed stuff goes right over my head!
The csa worker said that too, that most companies don't earn in their first year, but I cant get my head round that either! why would anyone want to do it if u cant see a good turnover early on?

CSAworkerx

Haddon201 wrote: »

I really don't know, its a limited company lol, self employed stuff goes right over my head!
The csa worker said that too, that most companies don't earn in their first year, but I cant get my head round that either! why would anyone want to do it if u cant see a good turnover early on?

becuase the more time the company is active the more advertisement you do, which increses revenue in the long term.

Haddon201

CSAworkerx wrote: »

becuase the more time the company is active the more advertisement you do, which increses revenue in the long term.

Its a courier company, I know he has contracts with small companies that he works for on a daily basis,
he works long hours sometimes until 10 at night and can start as early as 4/5 in the morning which is why making losses makes no sense to me as he is clearly putting the time in.
there cant be many more hours he could put in so I dont see how it could ever show as a profit as the costs involved (ie fuel) are constantly increasing

ihatebananas

Hi,

In a similar situation.

Can you tell how much dividends they have been paid or can they hide this as well??

If so where can you find the info??

Thanks

Crellow4

If it's a Ltd Company you can buy a copy of abbreviated accounts from Company House. This will give an overview of how the Company is doing.

CSAworkerx

ihatebananas wrote: »

Hi,

In a similar situation.

Can you tell how much dividends they have been paid or can they hide this as well??

If so where can you find the info??

Thanks

A caseworker wont be able to tell what dividends have been paid, heres a tip for anyone reading, if ure nrp owns a company MENTION THE WORD DIVIDENDS ON THE PHONE. We are taught to not mention them to either the nrp or pwc when speaking to directors, and we only act on them if a pwc mentions she thinks he may have recived some, Thats advice you will never hear from a caseworker on the phone.

Next, If dividends are mentioned, ure case will go to what we call "variation officers" people specifically trained to deal with these circumstances amoung others, so my knowlage of how the process works in terms of how we track dividends is non-exsistent.