Keep more of your day rate,inside or outside IR35.
Whether you contract through your own company or an umbrella, we handle the filings, review your contracts for IR35 and show you the real take-home behind every rate.
What makes your finances different.
IR35 decides your tax
Since 2021 medium and large clients determine your status. Inside IR35, tax and National Insurance are deducted like an employee; outside, you pay yourself through your company. The difference on a £500 day rate is thousands a year.
Umbrella or limited
Umbrella companies are simple but costly, and from April 2026 recruitment agencies are jointly liable for unpaid PAYE in the umbrella chain. A limited company pays off for outside-IR35 work but needs running.
Gaps between contracts
Income stops between engagements but Corporation Tax, VAT and personal tax bills do not. Retaining profit in the company, and planning dividends around the gaps, keeps cash steady.
Expenses are restricted
Travel and subsistence to a client site are only claimable where the engagement is outside IR35 and the site is a temporary workplace under the 24-month rule.
What we do for you.
- Set up your limited company, business bank account, VAT and PAYE registrations
- Review each contract and working practices for IR35 and explain the client's status determination
- Compare umbrella, inside-IR35 limited and outside-IR35 limited take-home for each engagement
- Run monthly payroll for your salary and prepare dividend paperwork
- File quarterly VAT returns, using the Flat Rate Scheme where it still pays
- Prepare company accounts, Corporation Tax and your personal Self Assessment
- Plan pension contributions through the company to reduce Corporation Tax
- Close the company efficiently when you return to permanent work, using a members' voluntary liquidation where the reserves justify it
The tax rules that matter here.
- Off-payroll working rules
- For medium and large clients, the end client issues a status determination statement and the fee payer deducts PAYE if inside IR35. For small clients (two of: turnover under £15 million, balance sheet under £7.5 million, 50 employees), your company decides.
- Outside IR35 pay structure
- A salary around £12,570 plus dividends is the usual pattern. Dividends are taxed at 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35% in 2026/27 after a £500 allowance, with no National Insurance.
- 24-month rule
- Travel to a client site stops being deductible once you know the engagement will last more than 24 months at that location, or once 40% of your time has been spent there for 24 months.
- Umbrella liability from April 2026
- Recruitment agencies, or the end client where there is no agency, are jointly and severally liable for PAYE that an umbrella company fails to pay. Expect agencies to be stricter about which umbrellas they allow.
- Closing a contractor company
- A members' voluntary liquidation lets you take reserves as capital, with Business Asset Disposal Relief at 18% in 2026/27 on the first £1 million of lifetime gains, provided you do not restart a similar trade within two years.
Rules and rates are those in force for 2026/27 at the time of writing. Check your own position before acting.
Run your own numbers first.
- Dividend tax calculator
Tax on dividends for 2026/27, with your salary taken into account.
- Salary vs dividend calculator
Find the most tax-efficient mix of salary and dividends from your company's profit.
- Take-home pay calculator
Salary after tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension.
- Sole trader vs limited company calculator
When does going limited actually save you money? Find your break-even point.
Worth asking.
If most of your work is inside IR35, an umbrella is simpler and the tax outcome is similar to a limited company. If your contracts are genuinely outside IR35, a limited company usually leaves you noticeably better off because you can pay dividends and retain profit. We compare both for your actual day rate.
For medium and large clients, they tell you through a status determination statement. The main tests are whether you could send a substitute, how much control the client has over how you work, and whether there is mutuality of obligation. We review the contract and working practices and challenge determinations where the facts support it.
It depends on IR35 status, working days and how you draw the money. Outside IR35 through a company, taking a small salary and dividends, take-home is typically around 70% of gross. Inside IR35 or via an umbrella it is nearer 55% to 60%. Use our calculators for your own figures.
Only if you are outside IR35 and the site counts as a temporary workplace. Once an engagement is expected to exceed 24 months at the same site, travel and subsistence stop being allowable. Inside IR35, travel to the client site is treated as ordinary commuting.
It keeps running. You can leave profit in the company, continue a modest salary to keep your State Pension record intact and draw dividends as needed. If a gap becomes permanent, we can make the company dormant or close it tax-efficiently.
Contractor packages in London typically cover payroll, VAT, accounts, Corporation Tax and a personal tax return for a fixed monthly fee, with IR35 reviews either included or quoted per contract. We confirm the scope and price in writing before you commit.
The services involved
- Annual Accounts & Corporation TaxYear-end accounts and company tax work within the agreed engagement.
- Payroll & PensionsPayroll processing and related workplace pension administration.
- Self AssessmentPersonal tax return support for individuals, directors and sole traders.
- Set Up a Limited Company: Business Startup & Company FormationSetting up a new business properly: structure, company formation, registrations, banking and software.
- Company Secretarial Services & Confirmation Statement FilingConfirmation statements, director and shareholder changes, and your Companies House records kept right.
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