When you hire an accountant to take care of your limited company affairs, you need to formally authorise them to deal with HMRC on your behalf. This is achieved by filling in Form 64-8, or using the online client authorisation system.
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The Companies Act 2006 has codified rules which govern where and when you must display your limited company details – both physically, and also when using electronic communications. The 2002 E-Commerce Regulations also contain rules for displaying company information online.
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If your limited company makes a dividend declaration, you must record the fact in the company records, and in most cases provide each shareholder with a dividend voucher.
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The IR35 rules are still in place in early 2012, but are due an administrative overhaul which may be implemented as early as April 2012, according to the body tasked with simplifying small business taxation.
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Once you have become a contractor, your main task will be to source new contract openings, and ensure that the gaps between assignments are as short as possible. So, how do you go about finding opportunities?
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Following the implementation of the Companies Act 2006, all new limited companies must complete a statement of share capital to complete the incorporation process.
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If you have a company website, and are wondering where your first group of visitors will come from, you might consider finding out more about search engine optimisation – and marketing your website to potential clients.
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Since 1st October 2009, company directors can supply a ‘service address’ to Companies House as well as their residential address. To provide extra privacy to those who require it, only directors’ service addresses appear on the public record.
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In this article, we look at the duties a company secretary will typically carry out, and whether or not a limited company needs to appoint a secretary.
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When you become a director of a limited company, you are entrusted with a number of responsibilities and duties, to ensure that you run the company properly, and comply with company law and a wide range of rules and regulations which cover everything from paying your tax on time, to how you treat any employees.
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PAYE stands for ‘Pay As You Earn’. Every limited company, even if the director is the sole employee, must register to set up its own payroll, which deducts income tax and National Insurance Contributions from salaries paid to all staff employed by the company.
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The Extra-Statutory Concession C16 enables limited company owners to distribute any remaining company funds during the winding up process to shareholders as a capital gain. To clamp down on perceived tax avoidance, a £25,000 cap will be applied to capital gains made after 1st March 2012.
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Most contractors operate either via a limited liability company, or an umbrella company (which is operated by a professional firm). Here we look at the pros and cons of contracting via an umbrella company
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If you provide professional services via a limited company (most typically as an IT contractor), and your contracts are caught by the IR35 rules, what expenses can your company claim against tax?
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If you have to travel to a temporary place of work for business purposes, you can usually claim back the costs of travel. However, the 24-month rule exists to prevent travel reimbursements when HMRC deems a workplace to no longer be ‘temporary’ in nature.
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If you want set up your own limited company, you need to decide whether to set up the company via your accountant, through an intermediary (such as a company formations firm), or apply online and do it yourself.
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If you are new to the contracting world, one of your first tasks (aside from finding that first contract) will be to choose an accountancy firm to look after your finances.
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There are literally hundreds of specialist contractor accountancy service providers operating in the UK. They vary in size, what they offer, and of course – how much they charge.
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