Contractor accountants are accountants that specialise in bookkeeping and accountancy for those that are self employed. In other words, for people who work at as freelancers or as contractors.
In the UK, this is a growing segment of the workforce as employers seek to keep their costs to a minimum they are employing more and more contractors and less and less permanent staff. In April 2000 the UK government put in place new tax legislation which considerably complicated matters for this segment of the workforce. As a result, many of them have no choice but to go out and hire a specialist accountant.
Why Contractor Accountants Are Needed
Without contractor accountants many freelancers end up paying a lot more in tax and National Insurance than they need to. If they are not careful the UK tax man looks at them as full employees of their clients rather than as a freelance or contractor employees. In addition, they are unable in some cases to claim back things like travelling expenses.
Doing their taxes takes up a lot of time and is a big hassle. Plus if they get it wrong and under pay their taxes they can end up being prosecuted. A good contractor accountant completes the tax return for them and ensures that they do so in a way that means the contractor pays the minimum tax possible.
If a freelancer is offered a new contract and is considering taking it their accountant should also be able to advise them as to whether this new contract will be taxed as freelance work or as if they were an employee. This can help the contractor to understand if this new contract is worth their while taking up.
Finding Good Contractor Accountants
As you can imagine it is important to use good contractor accountants. You can find plenty of them advertising online. Look for those that include a contact number on their site and are happy to speak to you and explain things. If there is no contact number or they are hard to get hold of they will not provide a good service.
Beever and Struthers have freelance and contractor accountants available who offer a tailored service to each of their clients.