How do self-employed Personal Trainers pay taxes etc? How come they don't have LTD companies?

JamesFuller · 18 June 2018 at 9:16PM

Hi there,

I am curious, how do self-employed Personal Trainers pay taxes etc? How come they don't have LTD companies?

You see contractors and other self-employed people usually setting up LTD companies but never seems to be the case with personal trainers.

So how do they pay taxes, declare their income etc? Or is it all cash in hand?

J_B · 18 June 2018 at 9:34PM

I guess they all do an annual tax return like most other self employed people do.

Why are you thinking they need a Ltd Co??

Ezorqs · 19 June 2018 at 2:42AM

Sole Traders
Limited Liability Partnerships
Limited by Shares
Limited by Guarantee
Public Limited Company...

So many different business wrappers each offering varying levels of protection. Personal Trainers tend not to need that much "personal" protection and so off they go as sole traders, but anyone with significant assets would likely find themselves served by other mechanisms. Not all personal trainers are sole traders, some do have limited companies.

Self Employed people must maintain accounts that may be subject to review by HMRC at any point (up to seven years needs to be kept I believe). Additionally they must file Self Assessment tax forms every year to HMRC, after which the appropriate amount of tax is paid.

soolin · 19 June 2018 at 7:58AM

I'm not a personal trainer and the main bulk of my income is from being self employed, however I am not a Ltd company but a sole trader. I trade as 'me' using my real name . I have no need of a Ltd company and just fill out a self assessment every year with a basic set of accounts.

00ec25 · 19 June 2018 at 8:02AM

JamesFuller wrote: »

I am curious,

rather sweeping generalisations

JamesFuller wrote: »

how do self-employed Personal Trainers pay taxes etc?

the same way as any other self employed person does, via a tax return. Surely you understood that?

JamesFuller wrote: »

How come they don't have LTD companies?

how many personal trainers do you know? do you know all of them?

JamesFuller wrote: »

You see contractors and other self-employed people usually setting up LTD companies but never seems to be the case with personal trainers

never? you'd be wrong with that as a statement then. The decision to incorporate is, at the most simplistic level, simply a case of crossing over a turnover value at which it is more tax efficient to be a company than a sole trader. Whether a personal trainer is intelligent enough to realise that, and therefore seek out professional advice on their options, is just another sweeping generalisation compared to the decision making qualities of any other self employed trader

JamesFuller wrote: »

Or is it all cash in hand?

obviously a personal trainer will mostly have the general public as their client and so will have a higher probability of being able to be paid cash in hand if that is how they wish to operate than, in contrast, an IT contractor dealing with a company client. However, a personal trader is no different in that respect to any plumber, electrician or other person dealing with the public, whether from inside or outside of a ltd Co wrapper.

scaredofdebt · 9 July 2018 at 1:04PM

I was under the impression being a Ltd company was more tax efficient than a sole trader which is why most IT contractors do it, but is that not the case?

Never been a contractor myself so never really looked into it in much detail.

Savvy_Sue · 9 July 2018 at 1:29PM

scaredofdebt wrote: »

I was under the impression being a Ltd company was more tax efficient than a sole trader which is why most IT contractors do it, but is that not the case?

Never been a contractor myself so never really looked into it in much detail.

It depends. If your income from self-employment is small, then it's unlikely to be worth forming a ltd company. There is extra 'hassle' in terms of meeting legal requirements, for which most people would need - or at least benefit from - an accountant. These requirements don't end automatically: if you're 'just' self-employed it's easy enough to 'finish' but winding up a company is more complex.

PasturesNew · 9 July 2018 at 1:35PM

Contractors are often "forced" by their contracts to be a Ltd company (or operate under an umbrella).

Personal trainers are simply "self employed". They register, they advertise for clients, they have expenses, they make money, they tot it up and do an annual tax return.

You have to pay to set up a Ltd company and there are all sorts of other costs and time deadlines (with big penalties) to get your accounts done on time... it's a huge extra money and time investment.

00ec25 · 9 July 2018 at 6:54PM

PasturesNew wrote: »

Contractors are often "forced" by their contracts to be a Ltd company (or operate under an umbrella).

Personal trainers are simply "self employed". They register, they advertise for clients, they have expenses, they make money, they tot it up and do an annual tax return.

whilst your 1st point is valid, the decision to incorporate is a simple mathematical equation based on net tax cost and has nothing to do with the occupation of the person concerned.

How do self-employed Personal Trainers pay taxes etc? How come they don't have LTD companies?

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