Why is the Revenue giving approval to so many new umbrella companies?

[stotty]

I received an email today from yet another umbrella company announcing that 'they had the best IR approved dispensations in the market'.

This is the 6th new umbrella that's contacted me in the last month alone. Do the IR know about all these new co's springing up and, if so, why would they supposedly give higher allowances to a start up venture?

Has anyone else received unsolicited emails/calls from ex=employees of the big umbrellas who (most likely) departed with their tail between their legs and the customer d'base stuffed down their trousers.

[Rebecca Loos]

Getting IR dispensation is a common thing to get for many companies (not just umbrellas)
It just means that they can allow their employees to claim expenses without them (the umbrella) actually seeing the receipts. That's all. It's nothing clever. It just makes your life easier, as an employee (of the umbrella or otherwise), to claim your legitimate expenses (i.e. you don't have to post the receipts to them before claiming). As far as I can see, the IR will give dispensations to pretty much anyone who asks, so for umbrellas to sell themselves in this way is just a good soundbite that doesn't actually mean much at all.

[boredsenseless]

The only qualification needed to gain a dispensation is to ask for it, and then sit through a HMCR half day seminar on record keeping and hey presto you've got it.

But its only to protect the company from having to see everything before reimbursing their employee (i.e. so things like tube travel, bus fares and the like can be reimbursed without having receipts) the onus is still on the individual to have actually made the purchase and be able to prove they did. - The dispensation usually also covers hotels to a reasonable amount and subsistence.

If you are swayed by IR dispensations for brollies why don't you set up as limited and ask them for the same they will probably say yes. So you can make as much that way. As a company you can pay your employee - you - anything you want up to the limits but you as the employee are still under a legal obligation to keep receipts for the purchases.

[planetit]

If you are swayed by IR dispensations for brollies why don't you set up as limited and ask them for the same they will probably say yes.

As a one man band, they will probably say NO. Since you need someone else in the organisation to independently check the expenses. It's rare for very small companies to get a dispensation.

[Bradley]

Re:Practise

As a one man band, they will probably say NO. Since you need someone else in the organisation to independently check the expenses. It's rare for very small companies to get a dispensation.

I'd have to disagree there. It's the Revenue's stated policy to encourage more dispensations for one-man companies. You can get round the verification thing by getting the company secretary to do the checking. The Revenue usually accepts this.

[planetit]

Oh I can see that going down well with the IR Braders.

“And your expenses were INDEPENDENTLY audited by ….. your wife? Hmmm”

[ASB]

Bradley is right,

The IR have relaxed a lot. Dispensations are now relatively easy to obtain by a one man band.

Why not read this: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/workingtogeth...er_co_disp.htm

I would be curious as to the level of investigations on people who happen to be a director of a one pman band holding a dispensation though....

[boredsenseless]

Dispensations are just that - they dispense with the need for the company to see the receipt therefore it should matter not the size of your company you will be up to your neck in it just as much as a single person company or as a minnow in a huge consultancy if you claim for things you haven't bought