Contracting in Europe - Legal/Accounting Advice - and yes, BREXIT!

[Certifiedpro]

Hello,

I am an IT consultant. I have a UK Limited company, and am a UK national.

I work from home (in the UK) and have clients all over Europe.

Evidently, I have to travel a lot over Europe for meetings, but as of late, with one particular client, I've been going to Belgium a lot - perhaps 2 days a week.

I do spend most of my times in the UK, and I have NO rental agreement in Belgium. I stay in hotels often whenever I go to Belgium.

Here are my questions:

a) Despite working from home in the UK, and paying income and corp tax in the UK, I still filled out a Limosa form as I figured out that I spend more than 5 days a month in Belgium. Was that right?

b) My family are in the UK and that's where I'm based. I spend LESS THAN 183 days in Belgium a year. Do I need to still pay taxes in Belgium? If so - what percentage?

c) Is working from a LTD Company the idea scenario for my line of work? Or would you recommend that I just class myself as an Auto-Entrepreneur?/Self-Employed (as opposed to a company director).

- now I know many will think that both are the same thing: if you are a company director , you are self-employed, sure.. but some self-employment statuses do not require a limited company. Is that right?

d) With Brexit looming, is it better for me to be established in Belgium or UK? I have figured out that most of my clients and business does indeed come from the EU market. Would it therefore be wiser, to mitigate against any effect of Brexit concerning the detrimental effect on free-movement of goods and people, to establish myself in Belgium? i.e. to create a Limited Company in Belgium and just leave the UK?

With Brexit, if they leave the CU and EEC, surely it will mean I cannot sell services (my services) to a company outside the EU without incurring some additional trade tariff. Am I right?

I saw a few threads on here where you all seem to be angry about Brexit, and understandably so - its worrying. The UK was top of its game before Brexit won. I fail to understand this self-immolation that has consumed the Brits.

Thanks
CP

[BlasterBates]

Yes you're right working more than 5 days a week has implications in Belgium. It depends what sort of work you are doing in Belgium.

My advice is simply to sort this out via a Belgian accountant. Working only 8 days a month will probably mean there isn't much tax to pay.
Any tax liable is then taken into account in the UK.

In my view the only disadvantage is the additional cost of an accountant in Belgium, but well worth it.

[Certifiedpro]

Yes you're right working more than 5 days a week has implications in Belgium. It depends what sort of work you are doing in Belgium.

My advice is simply to sort this out via a Belgian accountant. Working only 8 days a month will probably mean there isn't much tax to pay.
Any tax liable is then taken into account in the UK.

In my view the only disadvantage is the additional cost of an accountant in Belgium, but well worth it.

Hello sir, no, I'm working only 2 days a week in Belgium - do I still need a Limosa??
But then the main question is this:
Do you advise me to stay in the UK or to relocate to Belgium??

Thanks

[BlasterBates]

Hello sir, no, I'm working only 2 days a week in Belgium - do I still need a Limosa??
But then the main question is this:
Do you advise me to stay in the UK or to relocate to Belgium??

Thanks

Whoops I meant 5 days a month.

I think it is likely that you'll be able to continue working in the EU for a couple of years after Brexit, probably not after that.

[Hokum50]

Belgian reporting. My British clients that are actually based in the UK seem to prefer so far staying there and working as they did before Brexit while waiting for a radical change to happen ; then,they'll see how it turns out and react to it effectively. As far as we don't know what really lies ahead, preparing for any kind of change is a bet with high stakes...

[m0n1k3r]

c) Is working from a LTD Company the idea scenario for my line of work? Or would you recommend that I just class myself as an Auto-Entrepreneur?/Self-Employed (as opposed to a company director).

- now I know many will think that both are the same thing: if you are a company director , you are self-employed, sure.. but some self-employment statuses do not require a limited company. Is that right?

Self-employment does not involve a company. If you have registered as self-employed then you are the business.

If you are a company director then you are not self-employed. The company, a separate entity from yourself just like your neighbour is separate from yourself, is the business and you hold the office of a director to manage it.

If you also do ordinary work in the company's line of business (IT consulting), whether for customers or for internal projects, then you are also an employee of the company.

If you are both a director and an employee of the company then that makes it quite hard to work in other countries without incurring a permanent establishment and effectively relocate the company there with everything it involves. Aside from the UK and Ireland, registering as self-employed and posting yourself to other countries is generally the best and most compliant way.

d) With Brexit looming, is it better for me to be established in Belgium or UK? I have figured out that most of my clients and business does indeed come from the EU market. Would it therefore be wiser, to mitigate against any effect of Brexit concerning the detrimental effect on free-movement of goods and people, to establish myself in Belgium? i.e. to create a Limited Company in Belgium and just leave the UK?

Depends what will finally be agreed, but let's assume the worst that there will be no agreement. The UK will then obtain the same status as Australia v the EU. You would still be able to provide services from the UK, but you wouldn't be able to work in the EU without a work permit.

In order to get a work permit you would need to have an employer (yes, a real employer) in the EU. You could, for example have a company in the country where you will provide services. It could be owned by your UK company but some countries impose additional withholding taxes on dividends paid to shareholders outside of the EU - not sure about Belgium. Alternatively, your UK company could be owned by the EU-based company. Regardless of which, you could then do an intra-company transfer of yourself to the EU-based company whenever you need to work there, but you would have to pay taxes and NI there for that work. If you qualify, you could also apply for an EU blue card.