Using a specialist contractor accountant can make your life as a contractor so much easier, giving you more time to do what you do best, and leaving the financial and paying tax responsibilities to an accountant. Whether you’re an experienced contractor or new to the role, getting a specialist contractor accountant is one of the first things you should do. Going the lone route is definitely not advised unless you have experience in finance and specific contractor tax legislation. Ignoring it can result in hefty increases in tax at the end of the year.
Today, we bring you just a few of many benefits of using a specialist contractor accountant and how the alternative just doesn’t compare.
Maximise Your Take-Home Pay
Getting in touch with a specialist contractor accountant means you can take full advantage of their experience and their vast knowledge on contracting allowing you to fully maximise your take-home pay. You may not be fully maximising your take-home page if you go through a high-street accountant or the lone route, this is something that can drastically affect your finances.
With many circumstances that differ from contractor to contractor, such as working as a limited company, sole trader or under an umbrella, you’d need an accountant that knows the ins and outs of each.
Safe From Regulatory Changes
If you decide to take control of all your financial accounts and tax obligations or go to a high-street accountant for a cheaper deal, you risk missing important industry updates and legislation changes that could affect how much tax you have to pay.
It’s important to have a specialist contractor accountant on hand throughout the week that will let you know about any potential changes. Missing these could result in you paying more money in tax, leaving you out of pocket all of a sudden. Being prepared lets you concentrate on your contracts and lets you enjoy your leisure time without having to worry.
Tax Legislation
Although you may know some tax legislation that will affect you throughout the year, you want a specialist contractor accountant that knows them all in and out. Especially IR35, which specifically applies to contractors, and without status reviews, can result in heavy increases in tax.
IR35 is HMRC’s way of identifying ‘disguised employment’, where somebody is essentially a full-time employee yet still receives the many benefits of contracting.
If caught by this then you will incur increases in tax, whether you intended to disguise your employment or not. The rules can often be quite complex, so you want an accountant that has full knowledge and has experience dealing with it in the past such as contractor accountants.
Flexibility
What you need from an accountant, especially as a contractor with hours of work that differs from contract to contract is somebody who’s able to assist you as often as possible. Specialist contractor accountants have dealt with hundreds and thousands of people in the same situation as you and understand that being on hand is near the top of the list contractors look for.
Whether it be, providing assistance 6-7 days a week, or allowing you to check your financial accounts on the go with any device through their own unique accounting software. As a contractor, these are the services you’ll cherish as you go from contract to contract, flexibility is the key to having a successful contracting career.
Founder Dinis Guarda
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