Starting a business. (1 Viewer)

[nlgbbbblth]

I'm looking to start up my own thing too. I'm a graphic designer mainly and have a regular supply of work coming in, so want to go completely legit. The thing I need advice on though, is what would be the best option for someone like myself - Sole Trader or Company?

would imagine that sole trader would incur less costs than limited company (set up fees etc)

 

[IFF]

The thing I need advice on though, is what would be the best option for someone like myself - Sole Trader or Company?

advantages of incorporation:
- lower tax rates (company tax rate of 12.5%. income tax is 20% & 42%. so therefore surplus income would be taxed at 12.5% rather then 20%)
- limited liability
- more scope for pension contributions
- good mileage and subsistence rates

disadvantages of incorporation:

- surcharge (as a service company you would be hit with approximately 6.5% extra tax on top of 12.5% of profits as it'd be a closed company. this is an anti-avoidance measure)
- double tax hit (retained profits from prior years. suffer double hit. appreciating assets held by company when disposed of also would if you wanted your ahnds on the money though it can be avoided with good tax planning from day 1)
- burden of regulation - audit, company law

 

[Johnnyc]

Cheers for that. I've decided to go down the sole trader route. I've signed up with the CRO, as soon as I sign what I gotta sign and send it off to em, I'll reg for tax.

 

[avernus]

aren't there special grants you can get too for setting up a new arty type company in certain areas?

 

[todd_landers]

Cheers for that. I've decided to go down the sole trader route. I've signed up with the CRO, as soon as I sign what I gotta sign and send it off to em, I'll reg for tax.

I'm starting out as a contractor in the IT sector and I've been trying to find information on registering as self employed but there is very little relevant information out there.
Do I need to register as a sole trader?
Has anyone else gone down the independent contractor route?

I'd really appreciate any information you may have.

 

[IFF]

you'd need to register with Revnue (or ROS) that you are self-employed

 

[bombidol]

I've been toying with the idea of opening a shop in Dublin for a while now. Will be small and specialized. Is sole trader the way to go?

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

question///

ive been offered quite a big contract job which would only be for a couple of months.
thing is i need to have a registered vat number.
someone told me it only lasts a year then you have to renew it. does this mean i could register, use it for this particular contract then leave it at that or do you automatically go onto a register whereby all your future earnings are subject to tax/vat etc?
any info would be cool
tanks

 

[IFF]

earnings being subjected to VAT depend on many things

i would guess you'd be a subcontractor thus self-employed for this but if you were to go into employment for someone else then your earning wouldn't be subjected to vat

the self employment would be the major thing. you won't probably be on the company P35 so you would be self employted i'd guess

you don't need to renew your vat number every year. atleast with our clients we don't renew their vat numbers every year and we've not had a problem in that regard

it might be c2 caqrd witholding tax your person meant, where you need to submit to it every 2 years i think

i could give you better information if i had more time and more details

 

[egg_]

I'm starting out as a contractor in the IT sector and I've been trying to find information on registering as self employed but there is very little relevant information out there.
Do I need to register as a sole trader?
Has anyone else gone down the independent contractor route?

I'd really appreciate any information you may have.

I did that for 2 years, not much information required really, just call revenue and tell them you want to register as self-employed. They should let you know when you need to submit your tax returns

 

[egg_]

does this mean i could register, use it for this particular contract then leave it at that or do you automatically go onto a register whereby all your future earnings are subject to tax/vat etc?

It's not your earnings that are subject to VAT, rather you charge VAT on what you sell (i.e. your time) and then submit the VAT to revenue every 2 months. If you go into employment again it won't affect you at all

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

It's not your earnings that are subject to VAT, rather you charge VAT on what you sell

yeah, i got mixed up there.
i meant about tax, once registered am i liable to tax as a self employed individual or can i register for a vat number for this particular job and then not use it again.
thanks for the help by the way dude.

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

 

[DEARLYDEMENTED]

i want to set up a market stall in drogheda but i woulnt even know were to start anyone know anything about this like is it one fee for the year for your spot or whats the craic and how do you work that out ie- tax and stuff I know how what i want to sell and how much the stock & stall is but its the tax and legal stuff im unfamiliar with and cant seem to find anything on the net

 

[c0De_n1NjA]

guys dont forget to register your company

 

[Stephen]

okay can someone help me. I'm sub contracting so I need to register for tax. I'm not worried about VAT cos I'm not going to earn enough this year and I'm not certain what or where I'll be next year.
So I downloaded a TR1 from from revenue.ie but I can't seem to find an address to send it to.
could someone shed some light on this. I do find the revenue.ie scary so I can't look at it for too long...
I work in dublin but I'm registering from my parents in carlow (seeing as I'm not very.... settled)
thanks

 

[IFF]

i think the address you are looking for is:

Government Offices,
Hebron Road,
Kilkenny

The kilkenny office deals with carlow, laois and surprisingly kilkenny (considering how inefficient governments run things )

looking for phone numbers and addresses and contact information from revenue.ie is remarkably tricky. Every other week, n my office, someone is always askig what;'/s the revenue liasionbs officer phone number

actually it's always the same person. i'm babbling

 

[Stephen]

thanks for that

 

[Stephen]

just a quick one there kids.
How much money can I earn before I need to pay tax.
Is it the 27k same as VAT or is it much less?
danke

 

[IFF]

just a quick one there kids.
How much money can I earn before I need to pay tax.
Is it the 27k same as VAT or is it much less?
danke

i presume you mean income tax (watch the vat thing i'd say. from my knowledge this depend on what you do)

much less

as a self employed person, the only tax credit you'd be entitled to would be the single person credit (or married if you have a wife but i don't recommend this). this for 2008 will be €1,830. from a quick tot, this would mean that the maximum you could earn would be €9,150 without paying tax (this is just estimate. i may check it out with the ros offline program we have at work tomorrow)

however say you were to earn 18,000, you'd pay tax for €1,770 (and then on top of top probably 5% of gross income as health contribution and prsi)

at 27,000, tax would be €3,570 (blah blah blah health contribution, prsi. see above)

of course tax credits are also for rent paid and thus this would decrease tax liability

i based my workings on todays budget

as a paye employee, i could earn 17,500 without paying taxes (and before the salary review in july, i didn't pay tax as my salary was too low). This would be due to employees being entitled to both the single person credit and the paye credit