Ever tried using a Contractor Calculator? If not, why
not?!
You can now access a contractor calculator for pretty much any
situation. You can use them to formulate your take home pay
as an umbrella company, working out your potential IR35 tax
liability, what tax is be payable in certain situations, your
potential earnings, contract comparison and the list goes on.
There are many good contractor calculators
online that are really simple and easy to use. You can
find out in minutes what your potential take home pay would be
helping you make the right decision without delay.
Contractor calculators are a great way of discovering figures
quickly so you don't have to waste precious time going over
calculations to get the figures you need. It is
important however, to ensure that the calculator is taking into
account all the necessary figures ensuring that you are left with
the correct calculation. Some sites tend to try and simplify
them too much meaning important figures can actually be left out or
assumptions made regarding expenses which could give you inaccurate
results.
Contractor calculators are also a great way of helping you
decide which route would be better for you i.e. you may feel that
when taking into account the overall difference in take home pay
(compared with that of setting up a limited company), an umbrella
company still appeals when you take into account the fact that your
administration burden will be greatly reduced plus of course, you
will have no IR35 issues to worry about. (This is one less
online calculator to fill in!)
So, to summarise, if you are new to contracting and weighing up
your options, it's a useful exercise to put some figures into an
online contractor calculator to see what your potential take home
pay could be. If you have been contracting for some time and
just want to see what a new project may be worth, again use an
online calculator - they're free and easy to use, and it's not very
often you hear that!