Wee bit confused..

[nealus]

I am mulling over a three month contract in Scotland. My issue is that I live in Devon and whilst a daily commute is obviously a bit extreme I am happy to do the hotel thing during the week and drive/fly/Megabus it back to the south at the weekend. Having discussed this with the agent I have been told that I wouldn't struggle to claim back all of the hotel and travel cost via my umbrella company (although the same agent intimated this would be easier with a LtdCo)..

I haven't been contracting too long, and certainly not over such a distance so can't really look to experience as to why the above would apply.. I have had a look at similar situation posted on here and can't see why I wouldn't be able to claim given the length of the contract and geography? Can anyone offer whether I would be entitled to some/all of the travel and subsistence?

Many thanks

[TestMangler]

I am mulling over a three month contract in Scotland. My issue is that I live in Devon and whilst a daily commute is obviously a bit extreme I am happy to do the hotel thing during the week and drive/fly/Megabus it back to the south at the weekend. Having discussed this with the agent I have been told that I wouldn't struggle to claim back all of the hotel and travel cost via my umbrella company (although the same agent intimated this would be easier with a LtdCo)..

I haven't been contracting too long, and certainly not over such a distance so can't really look to experience as to why the above would apply.. I have had a look at similar situation posted on here and can't see why I wouldn't be able to claim given the length of the contract and geography? Can anyone offer whether I would be entitled to some/all of the travel and subsistence?

Many thanks

I think they mean that you could claim the travel costs from your own earnings to the brolly, therefore reducing your tax liability. You won't be able to claim them in the traditional sense and have the brolly pay them for you.

On the subject of long distance contracting, living on an island has meant i've obviously done a fair bit of it

I've done Bristol from the Isle of Bute and that was only manageable by flying. I found my driving limit was about 300 miles which lets me work in Halifax/Leeds/Manchester (all of which I've done several times).

Where in Scotland are you looking at working ? If it's anything north of Gretna, (and I assume it is), you can pretty much forget bussing it to Devon. You'll have to leave to come back ten mins after you get home.

[VectraMan]

There's a big difference between getting the expenses paid by the client (unlikely but you never know), and offsetting the expenses against tax. If the latter, and you pay 40% tax overall (which is probably about right for an umbrella), you're effectively getting 40% of the expense paid, but the other 60% is coming out of your pocket. The less tax you pay, the worse it is.

[nealus]

Thanks for replies. Kind of makes sense now although I for one am still getting to grips with the in's and out's of contracting and all the interesting tax/income/expenses positions it can put you in!

On the long distance commute - no problem with it at all - My nearest airport is Exeter only ten miles away and contract is near Paisley, which is right next to Glasgow airport. Practically door to door

[DeludedAussie]

Thanks for replies. Kind of makes sense now although I for one am still getting to grips with the in's and out's of contracting and all the interesting tax/income/expenses positions it can put you in!

On the long distance commute - no problem with it at all - My nearest airport is Exeter only ten miles away and contract is near Paisley, which is right next to Glasgow airport. Practically door to door

What is the rate you could get for this - I figure unless you are getting 600+ its simply not worth it

[Wanderer]

Having discussed this with the agent I have been told that I wouldn't struggle to claim back all of the hotel and travel cost via my umbrella company (although the same agent intimated this would be easier with a LtdCo)..

You don't "claim it back" from the umbrella, what you do is submit it as an expense so you don't have to pay tax on the money you spend on expenses.

So if you earn £5,000 and spend £1000 on travel and accommodation then you only pay tax on £4000, so you save the 25% (or whatever) tax you would have paid on the £1,000 you spent on expenses. You still have to stump up for the expenses out of your own pocket, it's just that it comes out of your gross income rather than your net (of tax) income so it's like getting a 25% discount.

[JamJarST]

What is the rate you could get for this - I figure unless you are getting 600+ its simply not worth it

Well I do similar travelling from Luton Airport to Aberdeen every week and I get by comfortably on much less than £600 per day and Aberdeen is bloody expensive.

EDIT: Must point out that I use my onw Ltd Co and not Umbrella.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

WWS - an umbrella company will process your expenses as a tax benefit; they would only be reimbursed to you in full if the client agrees to pay your travel and accommodation costs. Any decent umbrella company will be able to give you an illustration of your likely earnings once you have worked out the costs but you should be aware that some companies will 'assume' expenses for costs that you haven't incurred to over-inflate your take home pay calculation.

[TykeMerc]

What is the rate you could get for this - I figure unless you are getting 600+ its simply not worth it

That's nonsense. Unless you know Nealus's circumstances, costs of living and skillset you can't draw any real conclusions. I worked for 9 months on the Hampshire coast 280 miles from home and made a tidy profit on a rate below £600 a day.

As the others have said expenses reduce your tax liability, obviously if you're in the higher tax bands; which isn't unlikely using an umbrella solution; then that helps manage the overall cost and affordability calculation.