Research & Development claims from small companies – what qualifies for R & D tax relief
Research & development claims from small companies If you are a small or medium sized company who has invested in significant research and development activity it could be worth finding out if you qualify for R&D tax relief from HMRC under the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Scheme. This will effectively act as a contribution to […]
Dividends – when can you pay, what paperwork do you need to complete, when is it taxed?
Dividends – when can you pay, what paperwork do you need to complete, when is it taxed? Taking money out of your Limited Company by paying dividends can be an extremely tax friendly way to extract and distribute the profit you’ve worked hard to earn. It’s important to make sure you’re doing this in the […]
Redundancy- can you claim redundancy from your own Limited Company?
Redundancy- can you claim redundancy from your own Limited Company? In the right circumstances, a shareholder director/owner of their own Limited Company can claim redundancy payments from the company when they leave the company. Care needs to be taken that the different hats worn as a director and an employee are considered. This can mean […]
Five reasons why you need Professional Indemnity Insurance from ContractorUK
Five reasons why you need Professional Indemnity Insurance from ContractorUK Professional Indemnity Insurance is advisable for any business offering a service or advice to clients; a must for almost all contractors, freelancers and consultants. It is designed to protect you from claims made against you by clients as a direct result of work that you […]
Choosing a company name – what to avoid, what’s allowed and how to change it
Choosing a company name If you’re a contractor in the process of setting up your own Limited Company one of the first things to think about is what to choose as your company name. You may think that this is easy and you can basically choose any name you like. This isn’t quite the case […]
Rent a room scheme
Rent a room scheme Many Limited Company contractors will carry out at least some of their work from their own home. Even if the majority of client work is done at the client’s site there will still be admin tasks like book-keeping and invoicing which will usually be done at home. Most contractors will be […]
The new HMRC guide on tax avoidance schemes
The new HMRC guide on tax avoidance schemes The majority of Limited Company contractors will generally steer clear of avoiding tax for the simple reason that it just seems safer to do so. However, a few may be attracted by the idea of saving large amounts of tax in a seemingly ‘safe’ way and may […]
Company resolutions – ordinary and special
Company resolutions – ordinary and special It’s always useful for Limited Company contractors to know a little about some of the basics of the legal aspects of running their business. One important area to be aware of is how company resolutions work as these are used for doing a variety of things within your company, […]
Benchmark scale rates – what they are and how they apply
Benchmark scale rates It can sometimes be difficult to get receipts for expenses incurred on business related travel and overnight stays. This can make things tricky for employers and employees alike. To make things easier HMRC developed a system of approved standard rates which are the maximum amounts which are free from tax and NICs paid by […]
Invoicing – what should you include on an invoice?
Invoicing – what should you include on an invoice? All Limited Company contractors will usually issue invoices to their clients for products or services supplied. Some aspects of invoicing are legally required, for example, if both the contractor and the customer are registered for VAT, by law an invoice must be issued for every single transaction. […]