New Business

Martinslovechild

Many Thanks for all the info.
I don't need to raise finance.  My intention is to borrow no cash - so finance isn't an issue.
I was initially interested in this earlier comment from @oldbikebloke- "Unless you expect your start up business to be turning over > £50,000 by year 2, I would caution against creating a Ltd at the start as that just adds pointless admin costs and if you take the money out of the Ltd as personal income for yourself, it is tax inefficient on that sort of low turnover.  You can always 'incorporate' the business at a later date when its performance is clearer" -
on this basis, I was going to avoid going down the Ltd route - but the more recent comments have muddied the waters - particularly with regards to any potential claims should the website server be hacked.
However - if going down the Ltd route with Personal Indemnity Insurance (is this the same as Business Insurance?) means that my house/personal possessions aren't at risk, then this would obviously be preferred - particularly in light of this comment from @jonesMUFCforever - "Your clients would come after you if a sole trader or partnership".

oldbikebloke

Martinslovechild said:

Many Thanks for all the info.
I don't need to raise finance.  My intention is to borrow no cash - so finance isn't an issue.
I was initially interested in this earlier comment from @oldbikebloke- "Unless you expect your start up business to be turning over > £50,000 by year 2, I would caution against creating a Ltd at the start as that just adds pointless admin costs and if you take the money out of the Ltd as personal income for yourself, it is tax inefficient on that sort of low turnover.  You can always 'incorporate' the business at a later date when its performance is clearer" -
on this basis, I was going to avoid going down the Ltd route - but the more recent comments have muddied the waters - particularly with regards to any potential claims should the website server be hacked.
However - if going down the Ltd route with Personal Indemnity Insurance (is this the same as Business Insurance?) means that my house/personal possessions aren't at risk, then this would obviously be preferred - particularly in light of this comment from @jonesMUFCforever - "Your clients would come after you if a sole trader or partnership".

thank you for showing such a clear thought process, many don't
you are of course correct that the tax tail should never wag the dog, as tax is not at 100%. Therefore attaching over riding weight to risk mitigation, if that is how you assess the situation, should be the deciding factor Ltd v other trading formats. AS none of us know exactly what your website will do and therefore what the risk actually is, it remains your decision. I wish you success and a high turnover and profit asap.