Latest Contractor Guides

With full-time CTO packages in London now surging to £310,000, a growing number of SMEs are asking if they need a permanent tech leader at all. It’s a question that a special breed of senior IT contractor will want to help them answer.

Is a conventional umbrella company still the only way to get paid inside IR35? Far from it — as healthcare, education, logistics, driving and construction contractors will tell you, with many of their payslips changing shape.

The taxman moved fast after Boox tribunal judges retired to consider their verdict — asking contractors to sign up to six more years of standstill in what some have branded an 'extortion threat.' Markel Tax explains why the term has doubled, and what’s worth reviewing before you sign.

SmartPay Ltd, Contractor Umbrella Ltd and Agency PAYE Ltd have all had winding-up petitions filed against them since May 2026 — with Contractor Umbrella now confirming an 'orderly wind-down.' Legal expert Roger Sinclair explains the crucial difference between a petition and an order, and sets out four practical steps contractors should take if their own umbrella company gets petitioned by HMRC.

With HMRC's second Payments on Account (POA) deadline falling this Friday, today is the last realistic day to get your figures to your accountant — even if a live consultation could scrap the entire POA system by 2029.

The rules on what small companies must make public about their finances are changing — and the changes go further than many owners realise. Even a new opt-out from public P&L reporting is only part of a much bigger shift in what Companies House will expect from you.

Want to earn more as a contractor? These 3 software engineer roles companies are fighting over — and here’s how to land their premiums.

VAT compliance checks where no review by the taxman has taken place in the past five years are underway. Act now, ideally across five key areas, before an inspector calls.

Treating an AI interview as something you can wing because no prep is needed to talk to a robot is, in our experience, the most reliable way to fail it — Primis Talent.

Expecting a local branch to be a limited company specialist, among other business banking follies, plus — how NOT to commit them yourself when contracting.

In return for a commitment to settle all related disguised remuneration matters, ‘John’ (and other contractors) could be looking at lowering their HMRC liability by £55,000.

Key aspects of JSL rules for Managed Service Providers appear underreported, belying the importance of the UK contractor supply chain’s new gatekeeper of compliance.

Blurred lines. Making HMRC’s life difficult. And why £20k is the new £8k. Here’s the top strategies on efficiency that no self-respecting limited company director should be without in 2026/27.

Despite the new requirement to use a registered DBS umbrella, ‘Enhanced’ just got more like ‘Basic,’ in a move that Boney M and other contractors will welcome.

Why just one night in your friend’s spare room never looked so unappealing — at odds with no more than 15 nights at your mum’s.