Limited Company or Not?

System

Hi Rob here, new to this forum

I'm considering becoming an MIP after 24 years of contracting and working in finance roles within commerce & industry.

Sorry to be thick but do you guys trade as Limited companies or is that not neccesary? i guess that even if you are not you can still set-off mileage 7 stuff against your own income? Are you also VAT registered?

Also i'm thinking of studying for ATT (crazy I know at age 40)!.Can you still do tax for individuals & compan :?: ies with out that qualification - IE justhaving AAT?

Cheers
Rob MAAT, Surrey

System

Re:Limited Company or Not?

Hi Rob

I came late to AAT and MIP too although I've worked in banking, commerce and industry all my life. I am sure your clients will benefit from the wealth of experience you have gained in your career to date.

You don't need to be Ltd, and yes you can claim your expenses as any other self employed person. VAT registration is optional (until your turnover reaches the threshold). You might decide either way depending on your client base and individual circumstances.

As you're Surrey based, will we see you at the Guildford branch meetings?

Sheelagh

System

Re:Limited Company or Not?

Hi Rob,

Just to add on to Sheelagh's post you can do tax returns etc with just the AAT qualification provided it is on your list of services you can offer as a MIP.

I am studying for the ATT qualification as well, I found there is still a lot more I want/need to know even though I studied tax at AAT.
The course is more in depth and may be worth while if you are considering doing a fair amount of tax work.

Michelle

System

Re:Limited Company or Not?

Hi Rob

I can thoroughly recommend studying for ATT, having done so myself.

In answer to your question, I personally began as a sole-trader initially and then incorporated when the time was right. Similarly, I delayed registering for VAT until it was right for my circumstances.

Knowing when is the right time is probably quite important for clients and studying ATT should give you those answers.

If you are intending to be an MIP in general practice but your background is in industry then I would temporarily recommend finding a job at a small local practice whilst studying ATT. The experience you will pick up will be invaluable.

I look forward to seeing you at the Guildford branch meetings.

System

Re:Limited Company or Not?

Many thanks Dean,Michelle & Sheelagh

Yes I'm near Reigate so I'll make of point of getting down to Guildford to maybe hook up with the group.

I think i'm gonna start out doing just bookkeeping and man' accounts and study ATT as I go.I have a friend who has a practise and he's goning give me some work.
I'm hopng to retain my current employer as a client.I do man'' accounts for him although its only a part time job whcih he's stretched to a full time.I think that'll be good as it'll give me at least oen day a weeks of work straight away.

I guess you guys use SAGE.Do you save your clients SAGE data onto a disk or do you save it onto your hard drive? I understand that you cant' get multiple company usage for SAGE whereas software like Access accounts (which i think is great) you can have mulitple companies!!

Again would be grateful for any advice.
Best wishes
Rob

System

Re:Limited Company or Not?

Dean - I have a query from a client related to this thread information - they are currently trading as a limited liability partnership and both have employment as well. They are wondering whether it would be advantageous to trade as a limited company and the question posed was, does it have tax advantages. I don't see any income tax advantage either way, that one of the partners is concerned about, being in the 40% bracket. However I do have a basic understanding through AAT business tax study of the difference between the CT600 and the income tax return

However you mentioned "when the time is right" - could you explain this and give my brain cells some guidance.

System

Re:Limited Company or Not?

Rob: I think going part-time and doing some sub-contracting for your friend whilst studying for ATT is a great solution. Good luck!

Alyson: An LLP partner who is also employed and into the 40% tax bracket will pay tax at 40% (plus 8% NIC) on any profits. A limited company will pay tax at 19% and the shareholder/director will be able to control if and when any funds are extracted. As a minimum saving there will be no NIC to pay. If profits from the LLP are significant then the tax saving could also be considerable.

I have a little comparison on my website here, although it is not really geared towards people with employment as well.

System

Re:Limited Company or Not?

Dean - many thanks for the advice, its really appreciated - I hadn't thought of the NIC implications. Alyson

System

Re:Weblink

Dean - the website link doesn't actually work, maybe its aol. I have found your website from the first part of the link path - could you direct me to the PDF document or send it as an attachment to alysonstoakley@yahoo.co.uk

I too am thinking of continuing with ATT for increased tax knowledge.

Again, many thanks.

System

Re:Limited Company or Not?

Hi Alyson

Try 'Right-clicking' the link and save target as..

The link is a pdf file so AOL may not like it.

Let me know if it still doesn't work and I will email it to you.


Dean

System

Re:Weblink

Ok, right click method works fine. Incidentally Dean the website is impressive, can AAT members subscribe to your free Enewsletter or would you rather this was just for potential clients? Alyson

System

Re:Limited Company or Not?

Hi Rob

You've said that you can't get multiple company usage for Sage. Have you looked into it because unless I've misunderstood what you mean you can get multi company. I've got Sage Client Manager with a licence for 25 companies and two users.

Sue

System

Re:Weblink

salisbury wrote:

Can AAT members subscribe to your free E-newsletter or would you rather this was just for potential clients?

Anyone is welcome to subscribe, it's not solely accountancy based. In fact, most articles are non-accountancy. People would get bored far too quickly otherwise!