If you like turning up for the same job, day in day out for ever then you should be paye. If on the other hand you like variety, freedom and to maximise your earnings the the self employed route might be for you.
As above, your accountant will work miracles to make it appear as if you earn very little so as to minimise your tax liabilities and this could have an adverse effect on mortgage applications and the likes but you will know if you intend to apply for something like that and can work the figures accordingly and totally legally.
Others have pointed out the various things you can and should be doing if you really want to maximise the money and earning potential of your business.
A few pointers:
Its probably wiser to register as a limited company than sole trader. The main benefit is that should it all go pear shaped you personally will not be liable for anything so your house should be safe providing you have not registered it as part of the company assets. A lot of people seem scared of taking this route for whatever reason but it really is nothing to worry about and can be set up online for as little as £25.
Bookkeeping is for accountants so get yourself a local one at the right price. A fair price range should be £200 - £500 per year. A decent accountant will do your company returns as well as your personal tax return for about £350. If you go vat registered then they will charge more but I suggest doing this return yourself as it really is very very easy and costs you nothing to do yourself.
The business and almost everything else can be set up fully online. Most of the bank account can too but you will probably have to call into a local branch with id.
Going vat registered will help improve your earnings by about £100 per week. Take a look at the Flat rate vat scheme. This works, to put it simply, by you charge 20% on all your invoices which is the current rate of vat. You now multiply the total invoice amount plus vat by 9% as this is the allowance for our industry, it rises to 10% after your first year of trading so an example will be:
Invoice amount £1000
Vat £200
Total £1200
Times 9% £108 <<<<<<<<< This is what you pay to the vat man, the remaining £92 of the £200 vat that you originally charged is yours to keep. What I do is save ALL the vat I charge and that pays my accountant fees along with my corporation tax bill in full with change for me to treat myself.
Obviously you offset anything you can against your tax bill so you should be claiming £10 per day meal allowance (depends on shift length) but more than 10 hours down the road and £10 is fine.
Claim for every mile you do in your car, this includes imaginary mileage to drop off timesheets etc. I didn’t say that.
So, you have a bad back caused by the uncomfortable lorry drivers seat? you need a special bed, it’s work related so bang it in the books. Anything that can be attributed to the business can be thrown in. Like all things in life, don’t take the pee.
The basic secret is to do you homework, talk to other self employed drivers. Never discuss rates or else you will rapidly find yourself kicked out of jobs for upsetting the full timers, that or the other self employed men will undercut you. If you are working for less that £10 per hour self employed then you need your head looking at.
If you go with an umbrella company you also need your head looking at because they are fleecing you and you are NOT self employed. SAVE SAVE AND SAVE some more during the good months or you will look a right knob come January to March when it can and probably will go quiet. If you are established then you generally have little to worry about but if you are new to the agency scene or freelance then beware of the quiet periods because they will ruin you if you do not plan and budget for them.
Do not listen to the knocking full timers who only think they know what they are talking about when it comes to self employment, they are irrelevant and should be ignored. They are generally talking about something they know nothing about and never will so like all good workplace gobby gits, give them a wide berth.
There is no reason why you should not be earning in excess of 50k, the only thing stopping you will be the wife because she never sees you.
REMEBER! this might not be for you so don’t go rushing into it without first doing your homework.
Good luck.
