Becoming an FI as a contractor

[coodem]

It won't be long before I finish my FI(r) rating and am due to start working shortly after. I won't be earning much to start, so thinking of doing it as a contractor.

Now in the past I used an umbrella company, I have contacted them, but they charge a fixed rate, and as won't be earning a great deal, there would be no real benefit

Are there any othe FI contractors out there who use umbrella companies, can anyone recomend any

Any other ideas

[TheOddOne]

As you say, umbrella companies have considerable costs of their own which they have to recover, as well as trying to make a profit. You could set yourself up as a sole trader or alternatively create a Ltd company. Either way, you'll be responsible for your own tax and National Insurance arrangements, so you'll probably want to employ an accountant to sort it all out for you - more expense.

Why not become an employee and let someone else worry about it all? I started as a contractor but was only working for one school; eventually they said to me that that didn't want to be exposed to a possible difficulty from HMRC and took me on as a salaried instructor. The major benefit to being a contractor is that you can claim travel to/from work but if you only work for one school at a time, HMRC might catch up with you. Do a search on pprune and find plenty on the subject!

TheOddOne

[coodem]

As I will have to travel 55 miles round trip each day, I think it will be worth my while, I believe I can claim travel to a fixed base for the first year.
Just need to weigh it all up, was just hoping someone knew of some cheap umbrella companies out there