PAYEE

[Craig at Nixon Williams]

Really? I thought they had stopped that or something?

They did for a bit, but it's working again.

Not all accountants to PAYE annually, most will do it monthly.

Craig

[Clare@InTouch]

It's not always simples, I had real grief getting them to agree to doing monthly PAYE returns

They just seem to want to push you into make one annual payroll run

Buy your own software - Moneysoft is about £100 a year and will do it all for you.

[TheFaQQer]

My world is quite simple, I do short term contracts with very basic travel expenses so it feels like a better thing to do if I can get beyond the complexity of PAYEE. Am I being underestimating this?

Maybe a good starting point would be understanding the difference between a payee and PAYE.

Get an accountant.

[Wanderer]

Firstly do any of you do your own accounts and file your own returns? My world is quite simple, I do short term contracts with very basic travel expenses so it feels like a better thing to do if I can get beyond the complexity of PAYEE. Am I being underestimating this?

You are on the right track but I think you are underestimating the amount of work involved. I couldn't say for sure but my feeling is that the majority of people here have an accountant rather than the DIY approach. I've been contracting for many years and I always use an accountant.

The reason for this is that there is a lot more bureaucracy to running a company than there is to being self employed and it's pretty easy to make a mess of it and get fined. There are also a number of ways you can reduce your tax bill that aren't available to you as a self employed worker.

I suggest that you get an accountant at least for the first year and then take it from there.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

It's not always simples, I had real grief getting them to agree to doing monthly PAYE returns

They just seem to want to push you into make one annual payroll run

Some firms have gone down the annual route. I still prefer monthly as it allows more flexibility and, IMO, is less susceptible to error. But theres no right and wrong as RTI is settling down. However your accountant should accommodate whichever way you want to go.

[NotAllThere]

You fail at being a smart arse.

You certainly don't fail at being predictable.

Double fail. Kindly stop with the