Our Blog
CV advice you really need as a contractor
According to Forbes, the average number of people who apply for a job is 118! Incredible isn’t it? While this figure may not be a true representation of every sector or specialism, it does show that competition for roles can [...]
What are dividends and when can they be paid?
If you’re an independent contractor who is working through your own limited company, as well as being a director, you will also likely be a shareholder. This means you are entitled to receive dividend payments on any retained profits that [...]
Things to consider when making children shareholders
If you run a limited company and have children, you can give them a stake in the business and provide them with the opportunity to benefit from any profit the business makes by making them shareholders. If your children are [...]
Research and Development tax credits explained
The government wants UK companies to succeed. It’s great for employment and training and overall successful companies boost the economy. To help companies be successful the government provides an incentive in the form of tax credits, to companies who are [...]
The £85,000 FSCS protection and how it applies to your ltd company bank account
With the collapse of Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley, Icelandic banks and others now over 10 years ago, savers should still be thinking “Is my money safe?” As your business grows, it is likely the cash you hold in the [...]
What taxes do I need to pay as a contractor?
Leaving the world of employment and stepping out on your own as an independent contractor is both exhilarating and terrifying. One of the biggest challenges you’ll face initially is getting your head around what taxes you need to pay. We [...]
What do you need to know about Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR)
On closure of a company, retained reserves (net profit after the payment of Corporation Tax) in a company can be distributed as a "capital distribution". The owners of small businesses may be entitled to Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) - [...]
Company bank accounts: do I need one for a private limited company?
One of the fundamental things to understand when contracting through a private limited company is that the business is a separate legal entity to you. This means that any money which is held within the company belongs to the business [...]
Restoring a dormant limited company
There are those who will only ever work as a contractor, and there are those who dip in and out of it. This could be because they are tempted back into a permanent role by great benefits or their personal [...]
Getting the rate you deserve – negotiating contract rates
Contractors who work in the IT sector were able to command some of the highest rates during 2018. According to data by ITjobswatch, in the six months up to 14th January 2019, the average day rate of an IT contractor [...]
What pensions can I get as a self-employed contractor?
It’s simple, all the healthy food we’re consuming and the hours of exercise we’re doing is making us live longer. According to the Office of National Statistics, the life expectancy for a man in the UK is 79.2 years, and [...]
Tax Planning for 2019/20
For the 2019/2020 tax year, tax allowances and rate bands have increased. In this article, we demonstrate what that means to contractors in real terms, and offer our advice for trading as tax-efficiently as possible. 3 ways to trade tax-efficiently [...]
Can a limited company loan money to another limited company?
If you operate as a contractor through your own limited company, you may be asked, or you may want to loan money from your limited company to another. It may be the company asking for the money is a start-up [...]
Making a will as a contractor
We all know that we should make a will, yet figures released in 2018 by Unbiased show that a staggering 60% of UK adults (approximately 31 million people) don’t have a will. Reasons given for not making a will include [...]
Our Managing Director’s take on the Spring Statement
The Chancellor has said before that the Spring Statement would be more of a fiscal state of the nation than an opportunity to announce new legislation but with the backdrop of the Brexit vote defeat last night and further votes [...]
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01962 896968
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