Advice required

[gareth01422]

I think you should definitely arrange a meeting with Brookson, if you can get hold of them. If you're not too far from Warrington I suggest turning up on their doorstep to guarantee a response.

I left Brookson because they made a mess of setting up a limited company for me. They underestimated the amount of paperwork and time required to move all their clients to the new set up following the budget. I decided to do it all myself, and although it has been painful I feel a whole lot happier away from the ''ignorance is bliss'' world of Brookson et al.

In fact if you're going to stay with Brookson I would probably stop reading this site now, as it won't be long before you'll read some threads that will give you nightmares.

well i work in middleton so its not far at all.

I phoned them a while ago about my last years diesel reciepts, they told me because i havnt had any history of contracting that i cant claim for my diesel. Hopefully this year i will be able to. They also told me that contracting is good money because you can generally pay a lot less tax because of all the things you can claim for.

Like i said before im an engineer and dont really understand all this tax and vat. But im trying to learn.

Maybe i need a good accountant who can tell what to do.

[Anderson]

I think it would be best if i arranged a meeting with brookson and ask them to explain whats going on.

I know this a really ignorant way of doing things, but i get an amount of money in the bank, i pay myself out of that money, and leave some in for tax. which isnt a lot i must admit. I think i really need to sort this out.

thanks for the help guys.

I think you should definitely arrange a meeting with Brookson, if you can get hold of them. If you're not too far from Warrington I suggest turning up on their doorstep to guarantee a response.

I left Brookson because they made a mess of setting up a limited company for me. They underestimated the amount of paperwork and time required to move all their clients to the new set up following the budget. I decided to do it all myself, and although it has been painful I feel a whole lot happier away from the ''ignorance is bliss'' world of Brookson et al.

In fact if you're going to stay with Brookson I would probably stop reading this site now, as it won't be long before you'll read some threads that will give you nightmares.

[max]

No, thankfully. Just anecdotal evidence. But from what I've heard, I wouldn't want to test if the stories are true...

The stories are incorrect. I've had the VAT man around.

If you have made mistakes..no problem, repay the amount and add interest. The maths is simple and there are few grey areas, so hard to dispute the computations.

On the otherhand, if you have actively tried to cheat the system, then they are armed with lots of powers to get their money.

[Cowboy Bob]

Personal experience?

No, thankfully. Just anecdotal evidence. But from what I've heard, I wouldn't want to test if the stories are true...

[chicane]

If you think that paying the wrong amount of tax is painful, you haven't seen anything until you've been reamed by the VAT man.

Personal experience?

[Cowboy Bob]

including the VAT from the agengcy.

I know this a really ignorant way of doing things, but i get an amount of money in the bank, i pay myself out of that money, and leave some in for tax. which isnt a lot i must admit. I think i really need to sort this out.

Do not mess with the VAT man.

And again just to force the point:-

DO NOT MESS WITH THE VAT MAN

If you think that paying the wrong amount of tax is painful, you haven't seen anything until you've been reamed by the VAT man.

[Old Greg]

I think it would be best if i arranged a meeting with brookson and ask them to explain whats going on.

I know this a really ignorant way of doing things, but i get an amount of money in the bank, i pay myself out of that money, and leave some in for tax. which isnt a lot i must admit. I think i really need to sort this out.

thanks for the help guys.

Good idea - try reading up a bit as well. I found this really useful (free to non-clients of SJD as well).

[gareth01422]

Gareth
I assume (as you're with Brookson) that you are paying yourself a directors salary of about £106 a week. The annual tax and NI bill on this ''salary'' will obviously be very low.

The rest of your income will be via dividends (after corporation tax has been allowed for). You will not pay any further personal tax on dividends paid out until you reach the higher rate tax band. Then you will be liable for higher rate tax, which the tax man will demand off you after you submit your personal tax return for that year.

I assume Brookson will tell you each week/month what your liability for higher rate tax is.

I think it would be best if i arranged a meeting with brookson and ask them to explain whats going on.

I know this a really ignorant way of doing things, but i get an amount of money in the bank, i pay myself out of that money, and leave some in for tax. which isnt a lot i must admit. I think i really need to sort this out.

thanks for the help guys.

[Anderson]

Gareth
I assume (as you're with Brookson) that you are paying yourself a directors salary of about £106 a week. The annual tax and NI bill on this ''salary'' will obviously be very low.

The rest of your income will be via dividends (after corporation tax has been allowed for). You will not pay any further personal tax on dividends paid out until you reach the higher rate tax band. Then you will be liable for higher rate tax, which the tax man will demand off you after you submit your personal tax return for that year.

I assume Brookson will tell you each week/month what your liability for higher rate tax is.

[gareth01422]

If you are a director then PAYE is calculated differently, I think what happens [ although anaccountant will tell you ] is that you use up your allownace first before paying tax, whereas with a normal employee the allowance is spread over a whole year so the payment is the same each month/qtr.

I'd suggest you ring Brookson, if you are on min wage + divi, they should be able to provide you with a PAYE payment schedule for the whole year.

Hope that helps...

Ah right

well thats how i used to get paid before, min wage and divi. Now they opened a new bank account in the name of "brookson (number)" and i get a lot more money in my account than i did before. including the VAT from the agengcy.

(sorry about the spelling - I'm an Engineer)

Gareth

[MrRobin]

I think that;s true for NI but not PAYE. If you're paying yourself only slightly above the income tax threshold though, you will have a very low tax bill.

[Bluebird]

Im not 100% mate, It all goes through Brookson, but i think im limited. and forgive me if this statment is wrong " im the director of the company so does this mean im limited or umbrella"?

If you are a director then PAYE is calculated differently, I think what happens [ although anaccountant will tell you ] is that you use up your allownace first before paying tax, whereas with a normal employee the allowance is spread over a whole year so the payment is the same each month/qtr.

I'd suggest you ring Brookson, if you are on min wage + divi, they should be able to provide you with a PAYE payment schedule for the whole year.

Hope that helps...

[gareth01422]

Are you a Ltd company or going through an Umbrella service ?

Im not 100% mate, It all goes through Brookson, but i think im limited. and forgive me if this statment is wrong " im the director of the company so does this mean im limited or umbrella"?

[Bluebird]

Are you a Ltd company or going through an Umbrella service ?

[gareth01422]

Hi Guys

Im new to this forum and need a little education on the life of a contractor.

Ive been contracted to a company for the past 15 months now and with all the changes to system I'm a little worried about getting my next tax bill. I recieved the first quater about 2 weeks ago anb it was only £5.12p. I assume this is because i havnt earned enougth for me goverment to tax me loads yet.

I would like to know what i can claim for as this is stressing me out a bit.

Gareth