Self Employed or Limited Company

[QwertyBerty]

HMRC told me that being a director of your own company is NOT the same as being self-employed.

QB.

[THEPUMA]

As Alan from NW said it can be difficult to be self employed (in the Tax view) and obtain agency work. It can also be difficult to obtain direct work.

This is because in the event of a status enquiry the risk falls on somebody other than the self employed person and people are unwilling to take the risk.

As THEPUMA said, if you run a company you are an employee of it. However this is only one of potentially many strands to your affairs.

If for some reason you truly want to be self employed you can still be so. The only difference being that your customer is your company. Obviously it is important that the contracts between you are an individual and your company are drawn up correctly, and reflected in working practices.

I do know some people who have operated like this, but I've never received a satisfactory explanation as to why. It seems to me it only complicates things and increases expense, but if you desperately want to be self employed it will enable you to be so.

motor expenses?

especially under the new capital allowance regime coming in if you run an expensive car.

[ASB]

motor expenses?

especially under the new capital allowance regime coming in if you run an expensive car.

Quite possibly. Though it was a few years ago when I last knew anybody doing it that way so the rules will undoubtedly differ but the argument they gave was based on capital allowances and renting their own assets to the company for the company to use.

[ittony]

Yes, but there is a defined tax status called "Self Employed" that impacts NI payments and accounting/reporting rules that are different to you working for your own company. So it depends in which context you use the term.

Just to be safe, I usually describe myself as Company Director.

I stand corrected.

There does seem to be a tendency to use 'self employed' as a synonym for 'sole trader' though, whereas sole tradership is just one type of self employment, as is being a partner in a partnership. Not so for working for your own limited company though.

I'll have to stop referring to myself as self employed then. Company Director is a bit misleadingly grand though....