Hi all

Probably a stupid question so please forgive me!

I’m looking to start a limited company that’ll be providing services and charging a fee.

My question relates to taxation:

I’m currently an employed higher rate tax payer and this new venture will be treated as more of a side hustle to begin with.

Therefore I’ll not be taking any money out the business. Let’s say year 1 it makes £5,000. Year 2 it makes £3,000 so there’s £8,000 in the company account.

Do I only pay tax on the money the company made in each tax year? So pay tax on £5,000 year 1 and £3,000 year 2? Even though there would be £8,000 in the account - for simplicity.

Any help would be appreciated!

Hi, I am trying to get more information about importing from Afghanistan spices to sell in the UK , can someone give me some please? Thank you

Hi all, I wanted some info for a friend who was taken to court by a Ltd company claimant. The Ltd company (after 1 year) went into administration, and the administrator failed to notify my friend or the court of their takeover, until it was noted at the trial by the Ltd company solicitor who told my friend and the court at that time.

My friend received a judgment against them, and the judgment was given in the ‘Ltd’ company name (without ‘in administration’) status at the end. The Ltd company then went into liquidation 2 months after judgment.

It has now been 3 years since the judgment, and the Ltd company solicitor is trying to enforce the judgment. My friend has tried contacting the liquidator, but they are ignoring them.

The thing we find strange is, that the ‘solicitor’s firm’ is not documented in any of the statement of expense accounts for the company in its administration or liquidation for the last 3 years, and the liquidator never enforced the judgment fir all this while.

The solicitor states they are on a private retainer with the liquidator, but they have no proof provided. Another solicitors firm is documented for obtaining other debts during the administration/liquidation stage, so we are finding this pretty weird.

Could the solicitor essentially take the judgment amount for themselves if the liquidator does not in fact believe a debt is owed to the Ltd company?

Hi all,

New to the site - First post.

I have items arriving in the UK at the end of January. I have been sent the bill from the port handlers and there significant charges for ESC (Emergency Contingency Surcharge), LSS (Low Sulphur Surcharge) & CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor). I have not previously paid for any of this via Felixstowe Port. However, this time around the items are arriving at Southampton Port. It might be plain nativity or sheer luck that I have not been previously charged these fees.

ESC - I do find it baffling that the ports can charge for this. ESC charges cover effects like congestion, bottlenecks, missed sailings, equipment shortages etc. I do have a 'not my problem' attitude towards this.

CAF - I have read online that CAF is usually between 1-10% of the valuation of the cargo. In my case it is ~15%. I have read numerous pages online to understand how it is calculated and I am still of the opinion I am being way over charged. Potentially the fault of the shipper from China.

LSS - I can kind of except this, just another tax we end up paying for the 'dirty fuel' the cargo ships burn.

My questions: Are these charges normal? Have I merely been unlucky? Do these charges lay with someone other than myself; ie. the freight forwarder/ shipping agent in China?

The shipment was supposedly sent CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight). I am beginning to question it.

Importing items to the UK seems to be a bit like the wild west. I do appreciate there are a number of things you can be charged for that other times you may potentially get away with. Best example I have heard of is, if they x-ray your container, they charge you for the privilege.

Thanks for any information/advice in advance.

I am currently working on my R&D for my start-up and have reached a point where I need some volunteers to try out my idea and I hope you are able to help me with that.

I am in search of 10 volunteers, any volunteers will do. The crucial point here is to incorporate the task into your daily lives for 1 Month.

In a nutshell, my idea is to explore whether individuals can incorporate a daily ad-watching quota into their lives as an alternative to paying interest on loans, and to understand the impact this may have on their daily routines.

As a thank you, there will be a potential £20 reward.

Thanks, looking forward to hearing from you.

Hello All,

looking for a little bit of advise. Firstly i am female and my company shares a medium building with 3 other companies, all of which have their own toilets within their offices apart from myself in my office. We have a male toilet in our office however no female toilet. I would use the communal female toilet upstairs until a new company moved in and they asked the landlord to turn the only female communal toilet into a male toilet (even though they already have plenty male toilets so this was not a legal requirement) The landlord changed this to a male toilet without warning me. When i discovered it was no longer a female toilet asked him what toilet i should now use he said i will need to walk through another companies office and use their female toilet. Am i wrong to feel like this is not appropriate? I do not feel comfortable doing this as we have no association to the other company or know the people within the other company nor is it acceptable for any customers of ours to have to go through another company to use their toilets. There is now no female toilet for my company nor a communal female toilet. Am i overreacting? a little advise would be greatly appreciate. Thank you

I’m the sole director of a limited company. In the 2023-24 tax year, I started a pension with AJ Bell and made a £40,000 contribution from my company. I also have a Nest pension from previous years. This year, I plan to contribute £60,000 to my pensions, with the goal of paying a total of £80,000 by using £20,000 of carry-forward from the previous tax year. The contributions will be split mainly between Nest and AJ Bell. I have sufficient profits in the company to cover the contributions.


Is this approach compliant, and am I allowed to use carry-forward to top up the contribution this year ?

Hi

HMRC recently has issued me with a huge amount for unpaid Import duties & vat on past imports from China. It all started in June 2023 with one of our container being seized and taken from Flx port to their storing premises. They concluded that the wrong commodity codes were used by our clearing Agents on the Customs Entry which should have been different ones that have an extra applicable Anti Dumping Duty Rate of 48.5% . We have been using the same reputable clearing agent for the past 8 years who have been established for over 100 years. They admitted in their email which was forwarded to HMRC that they had always applied only 2 commodity codes to our goods for the past few years, and these were deemed acceptable by HMRC.

This is an excerpted paragraph from our agent’s email to me about the usage of these wrong commodity codes:
“Any entries prior to this we can assume are incorrect, as you weren’t paying anti-Dumping Duty prior to the container being seized. We were using the commodity
Codes, which I believed were correct at the time and the containers were being cleared by HMRC without any issues. But following the seizure of the container in June, we can assume that the codes used on some of the previous entries have been incorrect. Hence the fact that we now complete your entries in a different way.”

We made our appeal to HMRC showing that this was an honest mistake on the part of our agent and that there was no bad faith on our part with intent to avoid Anti-dumping duties. There was also no plausible reason to question our clearing agent when the same 2 commodity codes were being accepted on all our imports by HMRC which was never questioned over the past 6 years. The container was eventually released after almost 3 months with a restoration fee and the Anti-dumping duty that was owing on this container and with no penalty charge. I would just like to highlight here that in our appeal to HMRC for the restoration of the container, it was clearly understood that we only became aware of the application of the incorrect commodity codes by our clearing agent at the time of the seizure and therefore all imports from before this had had the same 2 erroneous commodity codes on their entries. However, after this hurdle we made every endeavour and worked closely with our clearing agent to make sure that this mistake was never repeated again.

However moving forward from June 2023 with the seized container incident, almost one year later we received a letter from HMRC (Compliance Check)who were making inquiries into our past imports dating back to 3 years They wanted all the information on 10 imports, (7 imports before the seizure and 3 imports after the seizure). The information was supplied to them and 5 months later they wrote back slapping us with a huge bill of £30,000, representing unpaid anti dumping duties on 5 previous containers. Two of the imports date back to more than 3 years which HMRC did not include in their demand and the 3 imports after the seizure , all the duties, anti-dumping duties and vat were paid correctly on these. We were given the right to appeal, which we did but the original decision was upheld.

We have now been served with a C18 demand for £30,000 for unpaid Anti Dumping Duties and VAT on those 5 entries This demand is for settlement within 30 days but has also given the right to appeal again and reviewed by an independent HMRC official from another office. As the sole Director of the company and now past 70 years of age, I thought going through the Covid period and the lengthy 3 months seizure of our container would be truly the end of the Storm. Further to this, our family online business is currently going through a difficult time with sales going down to extremely unprecedented levels which is making me think about insolvency preparation.


At this juncture, I would like to think there is still some hope where HMRC can reduce this bill significantly or even write it off.

Is there any exception to the rule in my case which can be used as mitigation against this demand?

I have been informed that at the time of the imports, if HMRC did not notify me of the unpaid anti-dumping duties and vat charges, then it can be argued that i was unaware of the liabilities and not given the opportunity to pay. Therefore, it is unreasonable to be penalised with a sudden payment demand for 5 imports which will seriously cripple my business.

I have also been informed that HMRC has a responsibility to inform me of these liabilities within a reasonable time frame. Can one year down the line ( after the seizure) be considered a reasonable time frame especially as they were already aware that the 2 wrong commodity codes had always been applied to all my previous imports. What surprised me, is after so many years using these 2 wrong commodity codes which both my agent and HMRC could not detect, yet in spite of this obvious shared blame, I as the importer is having to accept the full blame which in my opinion is so unfair.

Furthermore, as HMRC failed to detect these mistakes for such a long time span , can it be argued that they also have a share in the blame and it would again be unreasonable for my company to be penalised with a payment demand for 5 imports.

Thank you for taking the time to read my case. I would greatly appreciate any advice, feedback, or your own experience that can help my position in this matter.

Best Wishes

MOS

I’ve been trying to figure out how to buy products in bulk directly from manufacturers in the UK, but I just can’t seem to wrap my head around it. I’ve been at this for a few weeks now, and I’m still hitting dead ends.

I’m new to this, so I’d appreciate some guidance. I want to bulk buy household products made in the UK, but most manufacturer websites don’t seem to have a clear way to place wholesale orders. Sometimes they only sell through wholesalers, but even then, it’s not obvious who those wholesalers are or how to find the right ones.

If a manufacturer doesn’t sell directly, how do you figure out which wholesalers they work with? Are there any reliable directories or methods to track this information down myself? Also, if anyone knows of UK manufacturers that do sell directly to businesses, I’d really appreciate some recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

Hi there, I instigated a claim on a company, but after judgment was granted to me, I was pointed by the defendant to the claim form, particulars and the judgment was in the ‘trade name’ of their company (without Ltd).

It has been 5 years, 11 months since I issued the claim, and 4 years since the judgment. Should I apply to amend the claim form and judgment, or just the judgment? Is there a limitation period on anything?

Thanks
Pierre

I was checking a site's T&C and I noticed the following clause:

Any link to this Web Site without our written permission is prohibited. Notwithstanding authorisation to link to this Web Site, linking to any page other than the initial start page is prohibited.

Click to expand...

Then I did some research and realised that dozens of websites use the same (or similar) language.

My questions

1. The moment I post here on UKBF (say) any content from any of those websites I'm supposedly in breach of their terms. How is this enforceable?
2. Some of these sites provide an RSS feed which does not just point to their webpage. Clicking on a link resulting from using their own RSS feed would be a breach of their Terms, surely?
3. What could such a language possibly protect against?

(mods this could either be in Legal or IT/websites, please move as appropriate, thanks)

Hi,

I am looking to start a business selling items online. I currently earn over £60k in my day job and want a side business (for the moment) in which I do not intend to earn a wage but reinvest back straight back into the business increasing stock and advertising, earning limited profits with the view that in a few years time I will have built enough stock, equity and capital that I would be able to leave my job and run the business full time whilst taking a wage.

I understand that this can be undertaken and that any profits would be subject to corporation tax but wondered if anyone had any experience of doing this for the first few years? Any advice would be greatly appreciated along with guidance on possible pitfalls.

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for a small business to buy and I want to ask if there is anyone with information about platforms that provide this type of service.

I will be hoping for various solutions to my question.

Thanks

Web development is changing rapidly with advancements in AI, automation, and decentralized tech. As low-code/no-code solutions gain traction, will traditional development still hold its ground, or are we heading toward a completely new era of web creation?

Hi there,

Been reading a number a posts in the forum and it seemed like a good place to get unbiased answers. Please go easy. The short version is that my company has failed after 6 years (Covid, AI, lack of funding) and after speaking with a number of insolvency practitioners, accountants, debt charities, solicitors etc - it's looking like compulsory liquidation is our only option (can't afford voluntary). As a result I am liable for 30K Directors loan & £15k in Company credit Card debt (PG) which is accumulating an eye watering amount of interest each month.

I owe £25k in personal debt (used to cover my wages) and with no job and a number of significant health problems at the moment I can't see a way of ever getting on top of this + I don't want to risk having bailiffs coming to my elderly parents home. Lost or sold everything I had to try and keep the business alive but couldn't, so bankruptcy seems like my only option. Business owes 4k on BBL, all above board btw and 80% paid as well so not sure strike off would work for us. To be honest, I am really frightened of having to go through compulsory liq & bankruptcy. I have never missed a payment for anything in my life until now but I know I must face the consequences.

My question is, does anyone in the forum has experience of having gone through these? Or can offer some words of wisdom. Can I apply for bankruptcy before compulsory liquidation? I know it can take months - years. If I apply for bankruptcy first, then could I apply for strike off for the company?

FYI: I have no assets outside of a 5 year old basic laptop & mobile phone. My family are paying my bills at the moment until I can get back on my feet & I am hoping to be healthy enough to get back into self employment in the next month or so. Also, have been told that getting professional indemnity insurance or insurance at all is going to be almost impossible. Surely that's not true? I know I have messed up but I am sure there are plenty of people who fail at one business and then try another further down the line...........

Any advice would be very helpful. Thank you.

How do I post a link?

If as a director and shareholder I am not invited to directors meetings or to shareholders meetings are the resolutions legally binding on me. The company uses model articles of association. The company last year made some decisions that are now impacting me financially because someone was lazy to update the shareholders register.

Unfortunately I have had an accident in my work van and it is to be written off.
I own the van outright and will be offered a cash settlement by the insurance company in due course.

My question is, will I get taxed on the settlement? My accountant, who unfortunately hasn’t always given me the right advice and I don’t fully trust says that I will as I have already claimed the cost of it back as a purchase previously but then blinded me with gobbledegook that I couldn’t clearly understand. Other sources suggest that as it is compensations for an already owned asset it would not be taxed. I am also VAT registered.

Can anyone clarify this in simple non-accountant speak please? Thanks in advance.

Very long story. My daughter signed a lease on her first shop which was 1/3 of a larger unit that used to be a McColls supermarket. 2 of the units owned by one landlord and the 3rd we rent by a different landlord. Our landlord has put a breeze block wall back up and we have rented the space.
Shoot forward we had no idea the problems this would cause. Firstly and mainly our unit has the power for the entire 3 units and having done all our sums on her business not for one minute did we imagine we would inherit an enormous electricity disaster
My daughter cleans shoes as a business her electricity usage is approx £100 a month but with the previous tenant having stored power and half hour meter we are paying 20.20 per day standing charge and huge unit charges as they seem our usage not enough to offer a contract. We are essentially not in contract. Our bills are £1000 a month for £100 actual usage of power.
We have paid for months but simply can’t anymore. The only way to stop the supply is to pay 5000 we don’t have to have it cut off by the grid.
We have now stopped using any power and are running her usage from my premises next door - stupidly I thought we would call and pay the final bill and that’s that but no - n power need a name to move supply too - our landlord suggested we give the details of the landlords of the other units not his! We will remain tenants but close the company and she will trade as a sole trader - this was our landlords suggestion. Whoever’s we give we are apparently responsible for the standing charges until
Someone else takes over and agrees it’s their bill.
We have no choice but to wind up the company which the energy bills are billing and is a limited company - I know this won’t guarantee us they won’t come after my daughter privately but it’s a start
Anyone any other suggestions or does anything think we have any comeback on our landlord who should surly have told us as a tiny “one woman” business the building we are about to rent from him on a ten year lease is trapped paying energy to supply an entire supermarket - he said nothing at all we had no idea just expected it would be a usual meter like the one we have in our other business with acceptable costs per month.
Similarly because the landlord didn’t separate the buildings formally we are also being chased for business rates where we should be getting small business rate relief - this landlord seems to have really conned us!
Thinking if we apply to shut business on companies house but keep paying the bills until then they won’t be able to object as we won’t have debt with them - we are not in contract as they won’t give us one - we are using no energy?
Sorry for the very long post has anyone ever experienced anything like this?

Hi all,

I am looking to join some sort of affiliate platform/program to sell my products through. Does anyone have any experience of using these types of platforms? Such as AWIN, Sharesale, CJ Affiliate etc. I've been looking at the reviews of different platforms and all of them seem to have really bad reviews. I was wondering if anyone has had any success through using these types of platforms and any suggestions of which ones to use and ones to avoid.

Many thanks in advanced,
Stephen

Hi everyone,
I've been brainstorming a software product idea for the past few weeks but haven't landed on something unique just yet. I thought it might be helpful to get some feedback from you all.

So, I have a simple question: What kind of challenges do you face when using software products in your businesses? How do you think these challenges could be addressed?

Or, if you have any software ideas that you'd like to see brought to life, let's discuss them. If it's a good fit, I’d be excited to develop it!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Cheers!

I'm trying to calculate the cost of leasing an electric vehicle through my business. The vehicle will be for business and personal use. Am I right in saying that the full cost of the lease can be offset against corporation tax, plus half of the VAT? For example, if a lease is £728 +VAT (at 20%) p/m, would this be calculated as:

£873.60 Inc. VAT, minus half of the VAT = £800.80, minus corporation tax relief of £152.15 (at 19%) = £648.65.

Has anyone created a business directory using Wordpress?

Currently testing Directorist, not the worst, but a bit awkward. Anyone got any experience of setting up, correctly?

Any better scripts? I tried GeoDirectory, but that looked even more badly designed.

I am a UK Director on Companies House and run the market. Also a shareholder but it is not my company. We are a global business. We will buy a company soon which I am supporting with the process. The intention is to run the businesses more or less separate until after the earn out and then more formally integrate, so this may be a few years.

However, there is rarely trust in business so I'd like to prepare and know my play should a day come where I need to act.

My concern is 'could it be as simple as just making me redundant like I've done to others, and giving statutory pay' given my tenure is under 5 years so not substantial. I am a high earner and my ultimate aim in leaving a business would be to receive a substantial pay out. Its feasible the company would do this but legally what rights or not do I have?

I do not feel yet like I will be pushed, and maybe never, but if I am, I don't want to leave with nothing if legally there is little for me to gain. I'd prefer to find another role if I'm unable to part with a substantial pay out to part ways.

Any advice on tactics or other to be prepared and fend for myself so that I get the most out of it even if it means holding the company liable for x or y - your help is very much appreciated!