New to contracting - contractors pay higher tax?

[ratewhore]

I would say this though.

I'd rather be locked into a £250 a day contract that lasts for a year, knowing you can plan out your year (re: holidays etc) than take a £300 a day contract for a month, not knowing if its going to keep rolling, not being able to book holidays because you might need to launch straight into your next contract if a suitable one becomes available in case another role doesnt come along for ages.

A guy on £250 a day will still earn more than a guy on £300 a day if that guy on £300 a day is spending nearly half the time warming the bench.

Fair point. This is usually reflected in the rates though and you also have to ask yourself what you want to earn, what turnover you need to support that, and then you know how many days work you need to do over your year.

I would say, and it is just a personal opinion, is this is going to be a constant concern to you, maybe contracting is not for you?

[NeverBeenNorthOfTheM25]

Fair point. This is usually reflected in the rates though and you also have to ask yourself what you want to earn, what turnover you need to support that, and then you know how many days work you need to do over your year.

I would say, and it is just a personal opinion, is this is going to be a constant concern to you, maybe contracting is not for you?

Nope its not a concern for me at all, I was playing devils advocate with the above example.

But I guess the point Im trying to make is that if I was offered a contract at £250 a day for a year, or £300 a day for a month, then I would have to think carefully about both offers. To me they kind of have equal weighting, I wouldnt just immediately jump for the £300 a day offer as some on here might.

[malvolio]

I think you will find most of us would go for the £60k contract over the £6k one every time...

[cojak]

I think you'll find Cojack will point out his statement was talking about just him and his personal situation where he wouldnt take £250 a day unless on a short term basis, not necessarily saying that £250 a day is a bad amount across the board,

Quite.

I

I would say this though.

I'd rather be locked into a £250 a day contract that lasts for a year, knowing you can plan out your year (re: holidays etc) than take a £300 a day contract for a month, not knowing if its going to keep rolling, not being able to book holidays because you might need to launch straight into your next contract if a suitable one becomes available in case another role doesnt come along for ages.

I did that once, and the market picked up and I lost a lot of money because of it.

It didn't half chafe...

And generally most 3 monthers (my minimum) will offer extensions - mine have in the past.

[NeverBeenNorthOfTheM25]

Quite.



I did that once, and the market picked up and I lost a lot of money because of it.

It didn't half chafe...

And generally most 3 monthers (my minimum) will offer extensions - mine have in the past.

F' it ........ you have an answer for everything

I think nowadays its not so bad, I bet last year though things would have been different!!! I remember this time last year there were f all contracts being bandied about. Certainly not in my field anyway and if you had offered me a year at £250 a day I would have snatched your hand off.

[cojak]

F' it ........ you have an answer for everything

I think nowadays its not so bad, I bet last year though things would have been different!!! I remember this time last year there were f all contracts being bandied about. Certainly not in my field anyway and if you had offered me a year at £250 a day I would have snatched your hand off.

Of course - I'm a contractor!!

You've just gotta remember the Contractor's Song, boys...

[b0redom]

I would say this though.

I'd rather be locked into a £250 a day contract that lasts for a year, knowing you can plan out your year (re: holidays etc) than take a £300 a day contract for a month, not knowing if its going to keep rolling, not being able to book holidays because you might need to launch straight into your next contract if a suitable one becomes available in case another role doesnt come along for ages.

Except that your contract is really only as long as your notice period, or if the client is being really picky they can not offer you any work during the arranged 'notice period'. A lot of noobs make this mistake - me included. I signed up at a lower rate with IBM, commuting 100 miles per day, as it was a 'guarenteed 12 month contract'. In reality, when the project ran out of money 7 months later, all the contractors were terminated with 1 weeks notice.

[NeverBeenNorthOfTheM25]

Except that your contract is really only as long as your notice period, or if the client is being really picky they can not offer you any work during the arranged 'notice period'. A lot of noobs make this mistake - me included. I signed up at a lower rate with IBM, commuting 100 miles per day, as it was a 'guarenteed 12 month contract'. In reality, when the project ran out of money 7 months later, all the contractors were terminated with 1 weeks notice.

Actually you are correct. same happened to me, however I just thought I was the exception to the rule ....... 12 month contract, ended after 9 months because the recession particularly hit the industry I was in hard.

So I spose you have a point. Having said that, generally speaking if someone is offered a 12 month contract then the job USUALLY should last for 12 months. Everything in life is a risk, but youre right about the notice period. How come it doesnt work like for football managers where they seem to just get paid out in full even if they are sacked a year into a 3 year contract?

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Actually you are correct. same happened to me, however I just thought I was the exception to the rule ....... 12 month contract, ended after 9 months because the recession particularly hit the industry I was in hard.

So I spose you have a point. Having said that, generally speaking if someone is offered a 12 month contract then the job USUALLY should last for 12 months. Everything in life is a risk, but youre right about the notice period. How come it doesnt work like for football managers where they seem to just get paid out in full even if they are sacked a year into a 3 year contract?

My son is going to become a professional footballer.... whether he likes it or not. Training starts at 18 months

[b0redom]

How come it doesnt work like for football managers where they seem to just get paid out in full even if they are sacked a year into a 3 year contract?

Because they are IR35 caught and PAYE.