Freelance Consulting For UK Company

BlackEdelweiss

I work full time for an engineering consultancy in Ireland. I am paid a salary, pay tax, USC etc. I have been offfered the opportuniy of working on a freelance basis for a UK company. Their PI insurance will cover me so no worries there. I am just wondering about how this would work for paying tax. I had set up my own company a few years ago but never traded under it. I would likely use this as the portal for doing the freelance work as it is a requirement from the UK company that freelancers have their own company to trade from. I would also continue working in my current role.

Is this a straight forward thing or would it be complicated and potentially not worth the hassle?

mickdw

Very interested in this topic also even though my situation is alittle different.

Your company will provide a service to the UK company. For VAT purposes you are providing the serivce outside the EU, so no requirement to charge VAT on your invoices to the UK company.

You'll be required to complete an annual income tax return (Form11) as proprietary director of your company. You can pay yourself a salary from your company, which will be subject to income tax, PRSI and USC. If you're still working at your employer and doing this on the side then you'll likely be paying the higher rate of tax on anything you pay yourself from your company.

Your company will have to file a Corporation Tax return every year, and an annual return (B1) to the CRO. Even if your company has not been trading the last few years since you established it you should have been filing both of the above.

mickdw

Hope I'm not hijacking thread but my situation is I'm self employed here in Ireland.

I thinking about offering similar service in UK and basing myself in UK as well as maintaining services here.

Rates seem excellent for my type of work in UK.

I've my business income here and also some rental income so wondering how complex the tax situation would be.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119002835#Comment_119002835

Mick you will be looking at double taxation between the UK and Ireland. If you base yourself in UK you will be tax resident there, but also subject to income tax on your rental income here. You're going to be ordinarily resident in Ireland, possibly domiciled here too. You'll have to file a tax return in both countries, and seek tax credits in either jurisdiction for taxes paid in the other.

Your situation will be more complex than the guys above.

mickdw

The rental income is from a 5 year farmland lease and is tax exempt except for usc and prsi.

Still overall seems to be abit of a mess to actually work out. Probably not worth the hassle.

So if I work from Ireland and get paid by both UK and Irish clients, it would be more straight forward. It is architectural and Engineering design work that I do.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119003068#Comment_119003068

Yep if you work and live in Ireland and have UK clients then you don't have any establishment in the UK so shouldn't have any tax exposure there that I can think of.