Same ol' question

[MTB]

Being a fresher I'm going to pose my (ignorant & very long) questions which have all probably been asked before...here goes

If my contracts are likely to be inside IR35 does a Ltd Co. set-up still make sense or should I simply go for a reputable Umbrella?

If I go Ltd Co., is the contract king in terms of deciding whether inside/outside of IR35 or can the operation of the Co. (marketing/advertising, Co. website, pucka office+kit, stationery/bus.cards, VAT reg, PI/EL/PL ins etc.) really have an impact on the in/out decision & possibly change an in to an out?

Finally, I have been told to look at the Salary Packaging solution provided by Dynamic Management Solutions - "A package will usually contain a mixture of wages (subject to normal UK PAYE/NI), expenses, benefits and bonuses. Bonuses structured in the right way may be paid via employee profit sharing schemes, which will attract little or no tax" which because I would be an Employed via their consultancy company keeps me outside IR35 whilst giving approx. 80% return on gross income. It states that this scheme is registered with HMT & received a favourable legal opinion form a Senior UK tax Counsel.....is anyone out there using this scheme or does anyone have any knowledge of it or DMS (good or bad)?

As I said long questions but feedback would be great

[oraclesmith]

Being a fresher I'm going to pose my (ignorant & very long) questions which have all probably been asked before...here goes

If my contracts are likely to be inside IR35 does a Ltd Co. set-up still make sense or should I simply go for a reputable Umbrella?

Depends on whether you like the idea of being an employee. There is another thread hereabouts which has advice about doing PAYE etc yourself.
http://forums.contractoruk.com/threa...tml#post126562

If I go Ltd Co., is the contract king in terms of deciding whether inside/outside of IR35 or can the operation of the Co. (marketing/advertising, Co. website, pucka office+kit, stationery/bus.cards, VAT reg, PI/EL/PL ins etc.) really have an impact on the in/out decision & possibly change an in to an out?

The contract is the thing the HMRC focus on, according to their self-employed guide. Unless you have particularly picky clients, there is not excuse for not having a contract which points towards self employment. The other stuff is secondary, but can be used to shift borderline cases towards self employment. Plus, behave like a contractor.

Finally, I have been told to look at the Salary Packaging solution provided by Dynamic Management Solutions - "A package will usually contain a mixture of wages (subject to normal UK PAYE/NI), expenses, benefits and bonuses. Bonuses structured in the right way may be paid via employee profit sharing schemes, which will attract little or no tax" which because I would be an Employed via their consultancy company keeps me outside IR35 whilst giving approx. 80% return on gross income. It states that this scheme is registered with HMT & received a favourable legal opinion form a Senior UK tax Counsel.....is anyone out there using this scheme or does anyone have any knowledge of it or DMS (good or bad)?

I think the general opinion here is that these are bad news for two reasons (a) anything offshore or managed company or which smacks of an organised tax avoidance scheme is going to get targetted heavily by the nice people at the HMRC (see CUK news today) and (b) a lot of these firms are dodgy (not saying this one is - I don't know) and tend to solve short term cashflow problems by not paying contractors. There appear to be quite a few people who have had to walk away from situations being owed money by rogue umbrella's, clients, agencies and tax dodging outfits. My personal opinion is that I wouldn't touch one of these firms with the proverbial bargepole. I'd rather go permie !