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EU contractor in UK - taxes, legal, etc.

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    EU contractor in UK - taxes, legal, etc.

    Hi,
    this question has been asked many times probably, but I can't find clear & simple answer...

    I'm a IT contractor and I have a legal company registered in one of EU countries. It's a self-employment. I worked for few companies in EU. It was alway simple to charge them - just a invoice of:
    (daily rate * days worked) + VAT
    And I never needed to register ANYTHING in a country I was working in.

    Now I'm going to start a contract in UK, and I can't find a clear answer for my question:
    Can I do a contracting exactly the same way ?

    Detailed sub-questions:
    Do I need to register anything in UK ?
    Do I need to pay any taxes/insurance/blah-blah in UK ?
    Can I just use simple invoice of net+VAT for my money-flow ?
    Will a company accept my EU-VAT invoice without any problems ?

    Thanks in advance for your answers !
    My studio: kemu Studio
    My site for calculating stuff: Calculla - online calculators and for managing time during work: Pomodorro

    #2
    Originally posted by yosheeck View Post
    Hi,
    this question has been asked many times probably, but I can't find clear & simple answer...

    I'm a IT contractor and I have a legal company registered in one of EU countries. It's a self-employment. I worked for few companies in EU. It was alway simple to charge them - just a invoice of:
    (daily rate * days worked) + VAT
    And I never needed to register ANYTHING in a country I was working in.

    Now I'm going to start a contract in UK, and I can't find a clear answer for my question:
    Can I do a contracting exactly the same way ?

    Detailed sub-questions:
    Do I need to register anything in UK ?
    Do I need to pay any taxes/insurance/blah-blah in UK ?
    Can I just use simple invoice of net+VAT for my money-flow ?
    Will a company accept my EU-VAT invoice without any problems ?

    Thanks in advance for your answers !
    Nationality?

    Comment


      #3
      Polish...
      Shouldn't matter I guess - EU is EU ?

      And the thing is, for a kind of company I'm currently running, I pay only 19% of income tax, a VAT, and ~100 GBP insurance... That's simply incomparable to any kind of employment in UK.
      My studio: kemu Studio
      My site for calculating stuff: Calculla - online calculators and for managing time during work: Pomodorro

      Comment


        #4
        If the work is through an agency with a registered office in the UK, then you have to work through a UK based limited company or umbrella.

        If it's direct with the client it depends on the client.
        "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

        Comment


          #5
          And read some of the threads ... about Germany and other countries. You may be lucky, but a lot of them want you to pay lots of tax in their country - and register there as well for good measure. If you didn't...... read the thread about prison and Germany!

          Comment


            #6
            Working abroad rules

            Originally posted by yosheeck View Post
            Polish...
            Shouldn't matter I guess - EU is EU ?

            And the thing is, for a kind of company I'm currently running, I pay only 19% of income tax, a VAT, and ~100 GBP insurance... That's simply incomparable to any kind of employment in UK.
            Your country where you are tax resident is important

            1 You should read the UK- Polish double taxation agreement as there is no UK- EU double taxation agreement

            2 The length of your contract
            Whether Greater than or less than 183 days as this determins whether you are taxed only on your local income or worldwide income. How the country where you are going to work counts resident days

            3 Social Security payments - Employer contributions and employee contributions
            Some countries have low tax rates but high social security rates like Belgium and France
            4 legally you as an idividual pay tax in the country where you work pay tax from day one but there are exceptions
            5 Legally a company pays tax where it is controlled so for one man LTD companies the company moves with you
            6 Risk and common sense - The risk of the country where you are going to work finding out that you have been working.
            If you are going to work in a country where you will not earn more taxable income than the tax free amount ie UK about £8000 then registering is most likely not worth the hassle
            7 Whether the agency or end client accepts your local LTD

            Comment


              #7
              Ok, thank you all for answers ! Explained me a lot !

              What do you say about different approach:
              Can I register company in UK (limited or self-employed) and then put invoices from my Polish company as expenses for UK company ? So then, most of the taxes will be paid in Poland ?
              My studio: kemu Studio
              My site for calculating stuff: Calculla - online calculators and for managing time during work: Pomodorro

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by yosheeck View Post
                Ok, thank you all for answers ! Explained me a lot !

                What do you say about different approach:
                Can I register company in UK (limited or self-employed) and then put invoices from my Polish company as expenses for UK company ? So then, most of the taxes will be paid in Poland ?
                Firstly no agency will deal with you as a self-employed person and few direct clients will. This is because if you do anything dodgy they are liable for your tax. This means you either have to use a limited company or an umbrella company.

                Secondly if you do anything dodgy HMRC will come after you personally. What you are trying to do falls under the dodgy side and as you are one person company you are easy to come after. HMRC and other countries tax departments have become more friendly with each other over the years.

                In short open a English or Scottish limited company, get a UK accountant and while the corp tax rate is a couple of percent higher if you do things correctly with a bit of planning you won't be out of pocket.
                "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

                Comment


                  #9
                  Thanks again !

                  Short explanation:
                  I don't really want to do anything "dodgy". I just run a company in Poland - and I have income, expenses and taxes to pay out there. So this is real business - pretty legal, without hiding anything.
                  Now, a UK company wants me to do a work for them, so I want to charge them by invoice. I googl-ed and found a lot info about invoicing for imported goods, but yet can't confirm that it works same for services.

                  Additional question:
                  What about "registering of an overseas company opening a UK estabilishment" form ? (OS IN01)
                  Maybe this is what I'm looking for ?

                  Sorry for asking so much questions - just trying to understand the system...
                  My studio: kemu Studio
                  My site for calculating stuff: Calculla - online calculators and for managing time during work: Pomodorro

                  Comment


                    #10
                    When you say UK company wants you to do work? To come over here and work or provide your services from Poland? I can't see an OS IN01 working for you as it clearly states

                    Who must register
                    You must register if you set up a place of business in the UK or if you usually carry out business from somewhere in the UK.
                    'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

                    Comment

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