limited company or umbrella

[Forbes Young]

Hi, just joined the forum. I'm going to start a short contract in Jan 2015. Maybe carry on contracting after if opportunity allows. How quickly am I able to set up a limited company(100% selfemployed no other shareholders). Or would it be easier go under an umbrella? looking for a reasonable fixed fee with the basic cover, such as insurance and etc..
thanks for reading this post

A ltd company can be set up same day - it takes a around a week for the company bank account to be opened and a week or two to obtain a VAT number and set up a PAYE scheme. Your accountant should be able to sort this out for you. Also I would advise you set up business insurances before you start trading through your company.

The whole idea though is not just to set up a ltd company for a few months to undertake a short term contract; you should be making a decision to go into business as an independent consultant and be prepared to put in effort to win a succession of contracts. Then to operate through your own ltd company outside of the IR35 legislation will be the bet way to maximise your take home remuneration.

For a one-off contract for a few months best to go Umbrella -as its easiest in these circumstances and you only pay normally on a monthly basis for as long as you use them. The take-home remuneration is however usually significantly less than operating through your own ltd company outside of IR35.