Contracting gives you freedom, but it also makes you responsible for your own accounts, corporation tax, payroll and personal tax. Get the setup right and it is highly efficient. Get it wrong and you pay more than you need to.
We look after contractors across the UK, keeping your company compliant and your pay structured sensibly, with one team that sees the whole picture.
The tax challenges contractors face
- Running a limited company alongside the day job of contracting
- Structuring salary and dividends efficiently as rates and allowances change
- Understanding IR35 and whether a contract is inside or outside
- Claiming the right expenses without overstepping the rules
- Keeping on top of several deadlines at once
What we help with
- Year end accounts and your corporation tax return
- An efficient salary and dividend mix reviewed each year
- Director Self Assessment handled alongside the company
- Payroll for your director salary
- Guidance on IR35 and contract status awareness
- Reminders for every deadline and payment
Common mistakes to avoid
Useful tax tips
- Review your salary and dividend mix every year, as allowances change
- Keep business and personal spending completely separate
- Understand whether each contract is inside or outside IR35 before you sign
- Set aside corporation tax as you go so it is never a shock
A contractor paying themselves the smart way
An IT contractor had been taking an ad hoc mix of salary and dividends. We reviewed the position, set an efficient salary, planned dividends around the allowances and made sure corporation tax was budgeted. The result was a clearer, more efficient structure with no nasty surprises at year end.
Fixed fees from £19.99 a month for self employed contractors, and from £30 a month for limited company contractors. Your exact quote is agreed up front, and takes about 2 minutes to get.
Same day rate, very different outcomes
A contractor moved between 2 engagements in a year, one outside IR35 through his company, one inside through an umbrella. The day rate was almost identical, the take home was not, and January became complicated: company accounts, umbrella payslips and a Self Assessment pulling both together. Because records were kept cleanly from the start of each contract, the return was filed early, the company entered a planned dormant period during the inside stint, and no penalties or double counting appeared. The contractor knew his real take home per contract before accepting the next offer, which changed what he negotiated.
Your first month with us
- Week 1: company records and any umbrella payslips collected, software connected to the business account
- Week 2: your current contract reviewed for what it means in practical terms for pay and claims
- Week 3: salary, dividend and pension mix set for the year rather than left to habit
- Week 4: a forward view of your tax across company and personal, so nothing in January is a surprise
IR35, umbrella or limited: getting the structure right
For a contractor, the structure decision is worth more than any expense claim. Outside IR35 through your own limited company usually keeps the most of your day rate. Inside IR35, an umbrella or agency payroll may be simpler, and running a company for one inside contract often is not worth the admin. Many contractors now mix both across a year, which makes the tax return fiddlier but is completely manageable when the records are kept properly from the start.
- A plain English view on each contract: what the status determination means for your take home pay
- Limited company running done for you: payroll for your director salary, dividend paperwork, VAT and year end accounts
- The salary and dividend mix reviewed each year rather than left on autopilot
- Flat Rate Scheme VAT checked against standard VAT on your actual numbers, because the right answer changed for many contractors when the limited cost trader rules arrived
- Help closing or mothballing the company properly if you go inside for a long stint or take a permanent role
What contractors can and cannot claim
Working through your own company outside IR35, the usual claims are travel and accommodation to a temporary workplace, equipment, software, insurance, pension contributions through the company, and use of home. The 24 month rule on travel catches people who stay too long at one client site, and claims inside IR35 are far more restricted, which surprises contractors who assume the old rules still apply. We keep the claims right for the status of each contract, which is exactly the record HMRC wants to see if they ever look.