umbrella solution - maybe too nice?

[mrv]

Hi,

I started working under umbrella company, and examining their first payslip they sent me left me wondering. I was under impression umbrellas usually provide 65 - 70% net return, in this case I'm getting somewhere around 87%. This looks too good to be true, so my question is - what are potential consequences to me if HMRC finds it to be fraudulent? I would love to think that as a simple employee I'm not responsible for the way my employee runs its business, is that so?

Payslip details: they set me on minimum wage, then ~half of the gross amount are my expenses (mostly accomodation), and then mysterious line Bonus, which pretty much includes remaining amount.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Hi,

I started working under umbrella company, and examining their first payslip they sent me left me wondering. I was under impression umbrellas usually provide 65 - 70% net return, in this case I'm getting somewhere around 87%. This looks too good to be true, so my question is - what are potential consequences to me if HMRC finds it to be fraudulent? I would love to think that as a simple employee I'm not responsible for the way my employee runs its business, is that so?

Payslip details: they set me on minimum wage, then ~half of the gross amount are my expenses (mostly accomodation), and then mysterious line Bonus, which pretty much includes remaining amount.

Hi mrv

There are a number of reasons why your take home is higher than you expected; the most likely is that you have had a gap between payment in your last employment and the first payment through the umbrella company - if you are on a cumulative tax code you may have accrued more than one tax free allowance in which case your taxable pay will be reduced.

The minimum wage payment and the bonus should both be subject to tax - is there a line on the payslip which shows taxable gross?

I am afraid that, if you have underpaid income tax, you would be liable for the shortfall should there be an HMR&C investigation; your umbrella company may be subject to a separate investigation but you would be responsible for repaying any sums due.

[MCC7]

Hi,

I started working under umbrella company, and examining their first payslip they sent me left me wondering. I was under impression umbrellas usually provide 65 - 70% net return, in this case I'm getting somewhere around 87%. This looks too good to be true, so my question is - what are potential consequences to me if HMRC finds it to be fraudulent? I would love to think that as a simple employee I'm not responsible for the way my employee runs its business, is that so?

Payslip details: they set me on minimum wage, then ~half of the gross amount are my expenses (mostly accomodation), and then mysterious line Bonus, which pretty much includes remaining amount.

Can you PM me the name of the umbrella company you're using, I'm on the hunt for one and 87% sounds good to me! THanks

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Can you PM me the name of the umbrella company you're using, I'm on the hunt for one and 87% sounds good to me! THanks

[MCC7]

It's never nice to laugh at a newbie!

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

It's never nice to laugh at a newbie!

Not laughing Chana7,definitely not laughing

[MCC7]

Not laughing Chana7,definitely not laughing

Right Im learning very quickly here. He's just advertising. Do you get banned for that?

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Right Im learning very quickly here. He's just advertising. Do you get banned for that?

Yes you can get in trouble for advertising. The point I was trying to make was that an umbrella company that offers guaranteed 87% take home is liable to be applying some sort of 'scheme' that would probably get you in trouble with HMR&C

[mrv]

Lisa, thanks for your reply. I'm on 747L tax code, whatever that would mean. It also shows gross taxable amount, which, after deducting my expenses, company's fees and some HMRC payment is ~35% of my total salary. At least they pay on time, as agreed.
Oh and btw they did not advertise 87%, example calculations they sent me showed something around 67%, so this came as a real surprise to me.

Chana7: I'm not advertising, I have nothing to advertise. I'm worried about this tax thing, if you do or already did some forum search, you will find that any returns above 75 - 80% are most likely fraudulent in one way or another, and umbrella companies usually give ~65%. So just trying to find out what scheme I'm in before it gets too late.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Lisa, thanks for your reply. I'm on 747L tax code, whatever that would mean. It also shows gross taxable amount, which, after deducting my expenses, company's fees and some HMRC payment is ~35% of my total salary. At least they pay on time, as agreed.
Oh and btw they did not advertise 87%, example calculations they sent me showed something around 67%, so this came as a real surprise to me.

Chana7: I'm not advertising, I have nothing to advertise. I'm worried about this tax thing, if you do or already did some forum search, you will find that any returns above 75 - 80% are most likely fraudulent in one way or another, and umbrella companies usually give ~65%. So just trying to find out what scheme I'm in before it gets too late.

It would seem that your take home is so high because your expenses represent such a large proportion of your earnings; these would be treated as a tax benefit and therefore would reduce your taxable pay. You need to ensure that your expenses are all actually allowable although your umbrella company should be checking this for you. Your tax code is a standard cumulative code which means there is also a possibility that if more than one pay period had elapsed since your last payment your tax free allowance would have accumulated.

If you want to PM me the payslip I would be happy to have a look at it for you to put your mind at rest.