Reply to: Cancelled assignment

[northernladuk]

He thinks director = shareholder.

Magpie2121 talk to your accountant about giving your wife shares and the pitfalls of making her any officer position in your company.

With that level of understand I would say don't. It's not something you want to get in to if you don't have a clue. You give introduce her to the business and do it properly, not defacto standard just to gain a tax advantage. It's not a standard part of business set up as some people seem to think.

[TheFaQQer]

Why would you make her a director?

You wouldn't. My wife is a director without being a shareholder, though

Would HMRC necessarily treat it as a gift?

No

[SueEllen]

Why would you make her a director?

Would HMRC necessarily treat it as a gift?

He thinks director = shareholder.

Magpie2121 talk to your accountant about giving your wife shares and the pitfalls of making her any officer position in your company.

[Old Greg]

What you may want to do is to give your wife a 50% stake in the company, you would then make her a director in your company.

You need to do this when you form the company, not later otherwise HMRC will treat this as a gift. Any dividends paid would then be distributed to both you and your wife on an equal basis.

Why would you make her a director?

Would HMRC necessarily treat it as a gift?

[kal]

Of course you can, but you'll still have to sort out your final accounts. If you're with SJD (or any other accountant) for a couple of months, they're not going to throw that in for free. Make sure you understand the costs before going down that road - it's not like an umbrella; you're a company director and you have to close that company properly with all the paperwork that involves.

+1, Forget the Ltd for now, get yourself a decent 3 month full time contract and some money in the warchest first, stick with the Umbrella, what is it that you do exactly?

[mudskipper]

SJD accountancy have told me there is no minimum contract term with them so I can potentially leave after a few months If I want to.

Of course you can, but you'll still have to sort out your final accounts. If you're with SJD (or any other accountant) for a couple of months, they're not going to throw that in for free. Make sure you understand the costs before going down that road - it's not like an umbrella; you're a company director and you have to close that company properly with all the paperwork that involves.

[TheFaQQer]

Also, I have a wife that works part time and a 2 year old daughter that goes to a private nursery part time. Can I make my wife an employee of the limited company if I decide to set one up?

Yes. As long as her salary is commensurate with the work that she does.

If so, what would be the advantages of doing this?

She earns money, when she otherwise might not. Salary is an expense, so that reduces your corporation tax liability.

We are finding it hard to make ends meet.

If you think that contracting is a path to riches, then you might want to research your target market very carefully before jumping into it.

[TheFaQQer]

Is the above a decent deal bearing in mind I'm currently paying my current umbrella company £30 to process each payslip? Is there anything else I need to consider from the above email? Should I opt for the VAT registration? SHOULD I NOW FORM A LIMITED COMPANY??

If you don't know whether you should register a limited company, I'd suggest that you shouldn't be running a limited company.

[Brian Potter]

Are you doing on/off work for Dimension Data through Hays? Sounds like you're being operated like a tap. Your situation puts you in the perma-temp 0 hour contract camp.

You should be aiming for at least 3 month gigs to make this exercise more viable. Forget the ltd co route for now because you have no clue as to what the crack is. Get a 3 month gig under a brolly and research the Ltd co whilst doing the gig. At the end of the gig you should be in a better position and better informed to go ltd, remain brolly or go back to permie-land.

Opening a ltd is real easy, but closing one is a real pain in the c0ck and can be pricey too.

What's your bag in IT?

[psychocandy]

Yes I'm an IT contractor. SJD accountancy have told me there is no minimum contract term with them so I can potentially leave after a few months If I want to. My ambition is to stay as a contractor for as long as possible but I'm struggling to find any work other than through Hays.

Dont get tied into one agent though. There are literally thousands around. Keep looking on the job boards.

[sociopath]

It might be worthwhile revisiting your CV and expanding your area of search to increase your contract opportunities. Good luck to you.

[Magpie2121]

If you set up a limited company, you are committed to it for some time - if a month down the line you do get a perm job, you will still have all the expenses of the limited - to wrap it up will cost you and you will almost certainly be committed to a year's accountancy fees if you want them to do your final accounts. Don't set up a limited unless you're planning to carry on as you are for at least a year, and even then at that level of income it really seems like overkill.

What do you do? Are you an IT contractor?

Yes I'm an IT contractor. SJD accountancy have told me there is no minimum contract term with them so I can potentially leave after a few months If I want to. My ambition is to stay as a contractor for as long as possible but I'm struggling to find any work other than through Hays.

[psychocandy]

jobsite, cwjobs, technojobs worth keeping eye on too.

[Magpie2121]

With an annual turnover of £5K, I'd be more concerned about getting a proper gig.

Try to find a decent paying contract first, then get an accountant immediately.

I would not be twidling my thumbs waiting for a phonecall from Hays. Get your CV up to scratch, get looking on websites for contracts and start earning some real money

Thank you. I'll be doing 37.5 hours of work next week. Other than Hays and Jobserve, are there any other recommendations for IT contracting work I can check out in terms of websites? I'm struggling to find more work. I applied for a couple of jobs through Jobserve a couple of weeks back but have heard nothing. Most of the contractors I've bumped into have also recommended Jobserve and I've already uploaded my CV onto their website. I've not had anybody contact me though

[mudskipper]

OK, that's fine. Please can somebody just explain whether or not the deal offered by SJD Accountancy is any good or of benefit to me? Thank you

If you set up a limited company, you are committed to it for some time - if a month down the line you do get a perm job, you will still have all the expenses of the limited - to wrap it up will cost you and you will almost certainly be committed to a year's accountancy fees if you want them to do your final accounts. Don't set up a limited unless you're planning to carry on as you are for at least a year, and even then at that level of income it really seems like overkill.

What do you do? Are you an IT contractor?