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Switching from sole trader to limitied company
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XJM
Posts: 4 Newbie
in Cutting tax
I've been working as a contractor for the last 2 years. It's my first time being self-employed and was told by the accountant doing my tax return that sole trader was the way to go. Now I have my first full-year tax return, and have spoken to a former colleague who now works at the revenue, it sounds like a limited company would be much better for me, as I'm basically in a full time job.
Can anyone recommend an accountancy firm to handle this? I've seen a few but am unsure:
CCA/Compare the Umbrella sound okay, they say I should take home about 87%of my earnings, but charge about £2k over the year which really bites into that figure.
Darwin say 84% or so, but they don't take any deductions off me or anything which I'm a bit suspicious of.
I also just found this page:
EDIT: There was a link here, but as a new user I can't post it. I googled "accountant for limited company cost" and hit the first link that wasn't an ad, ITcontracting dot com.
So am getting in touch with some of the people on there, but other suggestions are most welcome. Is there anything I should watch out for? I'd like to get this sorted this week, as my new contract starts later in the month and I think it will make the transition more simple for HR.
Can anyone recommend an accountancy firm to handle this? I've seen a few but am unsure:
CCA/Compare the Umbrella sound okay, they say I should take home about 87%of my earnings, but charge about £2k over the year which really bites into that figure.
Darwin say 84% or so, but they don't take any deductions off me or anything which I'm a bit suspicious of.
I also just found this page:
EDIT: There was a link here, but as a new user I can't post it. I googled "accountant for limited company cost" and hit the first link that wasn't an ad, ITcontracting dot com.
So am getting in touch with some of the people on there, but other suggestions are most welcome. Is there anything I should watch out for? I'd like to get this sorted this week, as my new contract starts later in the month and I think it will make the transition more simple for HR.
0
Comments
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Only things that matter are their charges and customer service/support.
Be wary of firms "promising" percentages. Everyone uses the same rules. Some will include travelling expenses in the "take home" percentage which is pretty dodgy because you're spending that money on expenses, so it's money in and money out, not real net pay for you.
Customer service/support is the biggie. Some firms, particular some larger firms, are pretty poor, they just employ loads of people who are barely competent, little experience, usually unqualified etc., so you end up with things being wrong or having to research stuff yourself. Some of them don't even employ any qualified accountants at all and aren't regulated by any accountancy bodies.
There's a list of recommended accountants on contractor uk
http://forums.contractoruk.com/accounting-legal/69742-accountant-recommendation-threads-inc-local-requests.html
Or you could just google for a local qualified accountant, i.e. chartered or certified. Avoid any firm that calls themselves "accountant" as the word isn't protected and literally anyone can call themselves an accountant or run an accountancy practice. The wording to look for should include "chartered" ideally to give you peace of mind they're regulated and insured.0 -
I would be wary of anyone promising more than 80% take home.
70-75% is a more realistic figure.0
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