Limited company newbie!

[Waldorf]

Clearsky are now part of the big conglomerate which also includes Parasol, SJD & Nixon Williams. I'd avoid paying the inflated fees you've mentioned, Nixon Williams are cheaper at £95 but I've heard there not as good as they were.

Avoid the recommendations of the agency, they do get kick backs from the accountants, so hardly impartial.

[malvolio]

Bring your wife on board as a director & shareholder. She can then be paid for any work she does and not be an employee. Plus its much more tax efficient to take dividends split between you and her (assuming she has no other income and your dividends would take you personally into the higher tax band).

However employees liability insurance tends to come as a freebie with most public liability policies - so it doesn't;t really matter :-)

Hmmm...

Wife's salary would have to be commensurate with the level of work she does, so likely well under £10k. Split dividends is a good idea but the savings just got heavily reduced, with just £2k each tax free. The OP has to take expert advice aligned to their own particular situation, generic solutions may not be the best approach.

Insurance is easily bought, if you want cheap (as opposed to comprehensive if you work in some rather more risk sensitive area than most IT people) then google some suppliers and pick one. Cost shouldn't be an issue anyway, if you have to have it to secure a contract worth several tens of thousands...

And ditto accountants. Get one that understands your business (plenty of guidance on here somewhere) and listen to them. Plenty of time to DIY when you know how much you don't know!

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

Hmmm...

Wife's salary would have to be commensurate with the level of work she does, so likely well under £10k. !

There is an argument that, just by being an office holder (director or company secretary) there is an entitlement to a salary or remuneration because of the responsibility of office rather than actual duties. HMRC seem comfortable with this but I haven't tested this personally.

[Maslins]

There is an argument that, just by being an office holder (director or company secretary) there is an entitlement to a salary or remuneration because of the responsibility of office rather than actual duties. HMRC seem comfortable with this but I haven't tested this personally.

I imagine in practice HMRC aren't going to challenge someone on a (say) £10k salary even where a spouse and reasonable evidence that tax is at least partly a motivator. It's hard for them to prove the person doesn't justify a modest salary level like, and it would also be quite rude for them to suggest it, "you're not worth that".

If it was a £50k salary and matching pension contribution then yes they may be more inclined to ask questions.