Contractor moving from France to UK

[Old Greg]

Hi,

I am starting a contractor business as a java developer and scrum master in France.

In 2014, my girlfriend will move to UK for 6 ou 7 months, and may stay there longer (a few years).

My question are :
-Can I legally work and live in UK for a few months and charge my customer using my french company? (Of course, if me gf knows that she'll be there for 3 years, I would create a local company or get a non-contractor job)
-How can I estimate how much left I will have if I charge, let's say, 400£/day ? In France the calculation is rather complicted, because you need to decide how much you get as dividend from the company and how much you want as a salary, and then how much complementary insurance you want. In the end, if you charge 100.000€ a year, have 6000€ of fees (computer, insurance, ...) and want the same health insurance and retirement plan as any employee, you would have 50 to 55k€ left in the end. I browsed contractoruk.com and found several caculators, but I don't exactly know what to calculate (do I need a complementary health insurance ? Will I have to find a mix between salary and dividend ? ...). Do you have a "for dummies" link ?

Thanks you,
Fabien.

There is a very good beginners' guide on the sjd accountancy website. You have to register for free but they don't spam you. You probably don't need health insurance. Primary care is free immediately as is all emergency care. Planned secondary care (referrals to hospital specialists and non-emergency operations) is technically only free if it is your intention to remain in the U.K. on a permanent basis which you probably can argue it is.

Not sure about the legalities of a French company, but as most contracts are via agencies, I think they probably wouldn't contract with one but I might be wrong. Even for 6 to 7 months, assuming you are outside IR35 (and you need to research this) it is probably worth setting up a U.K. Ltd. Have a look at contractorcalculator (or similar). There are two calculations: inside IR35 and outside IR35. The former will cost you a lot and most people find a way to make sure they are outside and adequately insured / protected against HMRC investigation. Outside IR35 you typically pay yourself a low salary (£10k p.a.) and then pay corporation tax of 20% on the rest and withdraw the rest as a dividend (it is a bit more complex but the sjd guide will help).

[northernladuk]

As you are French and your company is French wouldn't you be better off asking this on ContractorFrance.com ???

[FTregan]

Hi,

I am starting a contractor business as a java developer and scrum master in France.

In 2014, my girlfriend will move to UK for 6 ou 7 months, and may stay there longer (a few years).

My question are :
-Can I legally work and live in UK for a few months and charge my customer using my french company? (Of course, if me gf knows that she'll be there for 3 years, I would create a local company or get a non-contractor job)
-How can I estimate how much left I will have if I charge, let's say, 400£/day ? In France the calculation is rather complicted, because you need to decide how much you get as dividend from the company and how much you want as a salary, and then how much complementary insurance you want. In the end, if you charge 100.000€ a year, have 6000€ of fees (computer, insurance, ...) and want the same health insurance and retirement plan as any employee, you would have 50 to 55k€ left in the end. I browsed contractoruk.com and found several caculators, but I don't exactly know what to calculate (do I need a complementary health insurance ? Will I have to find a mix between salary and dividend ? ...). Do you have a "for dummies" link ?

Thanks you,
Fabien.