Do I have to set up a Ltd. to do locum work?

[philly]

Currently I work at Boots as an employee. I am willing to do some extra work on my free days. Do I have to set up a limited company to take up offers such as on this site?


What would be the best choice for me in terms of tax issues and maximising my yearly net income?

[johnep]

No. Trade as sole trader and keep accts separate, I did precisely this for best part of 20 years. For many years made a 'loss' on sole trader activities and was able to set this against PAYE.
johnep

[Pharmanaut]

No. Trade as sole trader and keep accts separate, I did precisely this for best part of 20 years. For many years made a 'loss' on sole trader activities and was able to set this against PAYE.
johnep

John,

Could you explain how to make "a loss".
Need all the info I can get.

[johnep]

Simply that you can charge business mileage, expenses, phone , stnry, computer, etc against tax and sometimes this will exceed income from the locums. In my case I was working every other Saturday morning and Sunday rota for an hour two Sundays out of three. I also had a small export business and was able to charge my costs of a trip to Trinidad and Tobago to visit my customer. Nicely balanced a charge for company car.

Initially learnt about this from a colleague at work who wanted a large house and found one with a chicken farm attached. Told me never made a profit from the chickens but in the meantime was able to live in a good style and enjoy a hobby.

We once stayed B&B at a large house in New Forest owned by ICI paint rep who said the B&B enabled him to live in a house which even then was earning more than he did.

In my first year of proper locum work after retirement, I made far too much profit and was in danger of paying higher rate tax. I therefore purchased an annuity pension and immediately had cost of this allowed against tax, also then had 25% back tax free. Mind you, this was at the cost of having an accountant who charged nearly £500. Some years my turnover was only a couple of thousand. The first years were really a hobby and learning experience.

Had I got the knowledge and experience of business that I have now, then I could have been like our friend from Tyneside.

Johnep