[bettakleen]

was wondering how many people here trade as a limited company rather than as a sole trader? Do the pros of the obvious tax advantages associated with being a ltd co outweigh the cons of the additional paperwork, accountants fees, etc involved by enough to make it worthwhile?

[chosker]

Yes they do! Biggest advantage in going ltd whilst small though is that the bigger you get, the less time you have to properly look into things like that. Its not me who deals with that side of thing, so afraid I can't give too much info. I do know though that if you go bust as a ltd company you are not liable whereas as a sole trader you are liable to pay off all your debts.

Not very specific but hope its of some use!

[utopiacleaning]

We have just become ltd.  Manily because we had our own small business and now we have taken over my partners fathers compny.  There are many benefits of going Ltd.  One is that you pay yourself under the PAYE system, so you can decide how much you take.  ANd if you only take say £20K, you can pay yourself dividends through the year, which you pay only 10% tax.  ALso i think if you are going for bigger contracts even though we are quite a small company in comparision, it makes you appear that you are a bigger company.  As i said we have only just done this so i will keep you posted.  Also you can claim more things like bother your mobile phone and office phone.  Where as a sole trader you can only claim for one of these.  It is best to speak to an accountant, who can advise you more.

[John Kelly]

There a few tax advantages to being limited now. The 10% tax on dividends was abolished last year. We were limited and have now reverted to a partnership. Even when limited a lot of suppliers require loans, leases etc in your own name rather than the companies.
Your accountancy fees are much larger as well.
If you have no staff you still have to operate a paye scheme as being a director you are classed as an employee and you have to have employees liability insurance.
You can still claim for anything which relates to business use including your mobile phone.
If you don't need to, don't do it. Don't always rely on your accountants advice over this as his fees are going to increase markedly if you go limited.

[kleen4u]

I am thinking of going the ltd co route - can anyone confirm what the average additional accountant fees are per annum for a limited company as opposed to sole trader?

[pdl]

Depends on your turnover really, also shop around, mine is £1600 per annum on £1.5 million turnover.  This includes full companys house documentation and submissions, accounts year end reports and my own personnel self assessment.

[cruciblecleaning]

I am thinking of going the ltd co route - can anyone confirm what the average additional accountant fees are per annum for a limited company as opposed to sole trader?

In my experience that very much depends on how good you are at book-keeping.  My accountant is a gem, doesn't need the work and charges £40 an hour (and always knocks something off)  If you present the books in a decent state to a good small accountant then it might cost as little as £300.  If you go to the bigger accountants they will charge pretty much a minimum of £1,300-£1,500 to do your returns.