IR35 Update following discussion group yesterday - survey request

[Outside Edge]

Sorry guys newbie alert..

Regular reader first time poster...

Although not in the IT field I frequent your forum as it is firstly an interesting read.. but secondly being a contractor in anther field (Oil & Gas) we share a lot of common issues..

to add to Lisa's question..

Professional Indemnity Ins @ £600 PA
Public Liability Ins @ £125
Fore majeure - where changes in legislation stop/hold projects..
unsociable hours working for no uplift in money..
Working Time directive - regular having to do 60 hours per week to meet project deadlines..

I'm sure there are more..

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

You've got mail

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

I'm spending about £800 / year on landline phone/Internet.

I budget £3K a year for computer hardware, but I'm buying more hardware than just mine, someone else might be £1K a year or less.

I guess you could use £100-200 year for software. That's going to vary widely. Some will spend almost nothing.

I'm around £200 / year for promotion.

For just my phone, £30 / month.

The employee share ownership plan I used to be in was probably worth an average £5K / year.

I'm probably older than most here so someone else should put a value on Relevant Life Plan and private health insurance.

I'm paying £1K a year accountancy fees. Others whose business is simpler than mine are probably paying less.

I get multiple small contracts not all of which I have reviewed for IR35 (anything less than two months isn't worth it). If the average guy has a contract every six months and has QDOS review them, he's spending £200 / year on legal costs.

My insurance needs are different, someone else should answer that.

Gym cost is £30 / month. I'm still an out of shape slob, but at least I feel good about trying twice a week.

thank you

[WordIsBond]

thank you

The amount I gave for promotion only tells a fraction of the story, of course.

I spend thousands a year going private for repeated operations on my shoulder (the doctor tells me to quit patting myself on the back). I say it's promotion cost and should come out of the company, but my accountant disagrees.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

The amount I gave for promotion only tells a fraction of the story, of course.

I spend thousands a year going private for repeated operations on my shoulder (the doctor tells me to quit patting myself on the back). I say it's promotion cost and should come out of the company, but my accountant disagrees.

Think your accountant may be right on that one

[Contreras]

Additional to your list.

Things I don't get:
When I was permie I was in an Employee Share Ownership plan.
Could eat at company canteen.
Relevant Life Plan.

Have to buy:
- computer, printer, fax, copier
- mobile phone
- business telephone / Internet
- virus software
- misc other software
- business cards / stationery (maybe that's under "promotion")

Business cards a separate item imho (reinforcing the IBOYOA aspect). Promotion could be renamed Marketing.

+ domain name registration
+ web & email hosting
+ companies house AR01 fee

Non-fee earning duties which reduce one's effective day rate:
+ attending interviewsales meetings, travel and prep time invested to secure every N weeks of work
+ bookkeeping admin (even if this is via an online accounting portal)
+ VAT returns & RTI
+ corporate compliance, as below...

Directors have a legal responsibility for corporate compliance, that means:
+ posting on CUKkeeping up to date with new rule changes
+ reviewing and sign-off of yearly financial statement
+ regular invites to HMRC tax webinars for example, do they invite permies too?

[supersteamer]

A big one for many of us is of course flights / hotels etc. just to get to site. This is contentious in light of the T&S changes but that doesn't mean it's not a factor.

In the current situation where this is deemed business travel then an employee may expect their employer to pay for them to go to a temporary site. That could be worth £10,000s per year.

Even if this gets reclassified as "ordinary commuting" (2 international flights per week ordinary commuting?!!) then it would still be potentially more expensive for a contractor: an employee would have sufficient job security to consider relocating close to their employer to minimize travel costs. A contractor may only expect to be there a few months so it is not practical to relocate each time. Over time their average commute is bound to be longer / more costly on average as a result (although impossible to quantify by how much).