Sidekick - Limited Company and Self-Employed Accountants

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Sidekick - Limited Company and Self-Employed Accountants

Sidekick are one of the fastest growing accounting services for Self-Employed professionals and Contractors.

Sidekick was created by a team who have over 25 years’ experience providing services to small business owners. Having recognised the way others do things, and feeling that this is outdated, we felt we could offer more. The world is changing, people are busier than ever and the days of putting receipts in an envelope and having a stressful year end are long gone. Life doesn’t have to be stressful w

ith Sidekick, we are here to make running a small business or getting paid as simple and efficient as possible.

05/06/2026

If you are self-employed and you have ever looked at your self-assessment bill and wondered why the National Insurance figure is what it is, this one is for you.

Most people know that employees pay National Insurance. Fewer people understand how it works when you are self-employed, because nobody explains it clearly.
Here is the straightforward version.

You pay one main type: Class 4. This is calculated as a percentage of your profits. Currently, 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% on anything above that. It is collected through your self-assessment return, not through payroll.

Class 2 National Insurance, which used to be a compulsory flat weekly payment, has not been compulsory since April 2024. If your profits are above £7,105 per year, you receive a qualifying year towards your state pension automatically, without needing to pay anything extra. If your profits fall below that threshold, you can choose to pay voluntary Class 2 contributions, currently £3.65 per week, to protect your National Insurance record and state pension entitlement.

Two things that often catch people out.

Self-employed National Insurance does not give you entitlement to statutory sick pay or statutory maternity pay. Those protections do not exist in the same way they do for employees. Planning for that gap matters.

If you have both employment income and self-employment income in the same year, there are rules that cap how much National Insurance you pay in total. Most people do not know this rule exists and end up overpaying.

Your accountant should be across both of these points as a matter of course. If you are not sure whether yours is, that is worth finding out.

DM us, and we will take a look at your National Insurance position.

03/06/2026

Every year, limited companies are struck off the Companies House register for missing a filing deadline...

Here is what it is. Once a year, every limited company must confirm to Companies House that the information held on the public register is accurate. Your registered office address, your directors, your shareholders, your share structure. If anything has changed, you notify Companies House separately. The confirmation statement simply says everything is current and correct.

Miss the deadline and the penalties begin. Ignore those and Companies House can strike your company off the register entirely. At that point you are looking at restoration proceedings, legal costs and potential personal liability for anything that happened while the company was dissolved.

All of that from a £34 filing.

The problem is not that it is complicated. It is that when you are running a business, it is easy for a routine annual deadline to fall off the radar. Especially when nobody reminds you it is coming.

This is exactly the kind of thing that should never reach the point of being a problem. At Sidekick, we track every filing deadline for every limited company client. The confirmation statement gets filed. You do not have to think about it.

That is what a proactive accountant does. If yours is not doing it, it might be time to talk to us.

DM us to find out what is included in our limited company service.

01/06/2026

Most people find out they have crossed a tax threshold when the bill arrives. By then, there is nothing they can do about it.

Here is what nobody tells you when your income starts to grow.

At £50,270, your income tax rate jumps from 20% to 40%. Most people know this one.

What most people do not know is what happens at £100,000.

For every £2 you earn above £100,000, you lose £1 of your personal allowance. By £125,140, it is gone entirely. That creates an effective tax rate of 60% on income in that band. Not a typo. Sixty per cent.

There are ways to manage this. Pension contributions made before the tax year closes can bring your adjusted income back below £100,000 and restore your allowance in full. For someone earning £110,000, that could be worth thousands of pounds in a single year.

But the planning has to happen during the year. Once April comes, the opportunity is gone.

This is the kind of thing your accountant should be flagging to you proactively, before you hit the threshold, not after.

At Sidekick, that is exactly what we do. We review every client's position throughout the year and act on it while there is still time to make a difference.

If your income is growing and you are not sure what that means for your tax position, that is the conversation to have right now.

DM us the word THRESHOLD and we will tell you exactly where you stand.

27/05/2026

Most people know that the higher rate of tax kicks in at £50,270. Fewer people know what happens at £100,000, and it is one of the most important thresholds in the UK tax system.

Once your income exceeds £100,000, your personal allowance begins to reduce. For every £2 you earn over that threshold, you lose £1 of your personal allowance. By the time your income reaches £125,140, your personal allowance is gone entirely.

What this creates is an effective tax rate of 60% on income between £100,000 and £125,140. You are paying 40% income tax on that band, plus losing the allowance that would otherwise shelter income from tax altogether.

This is not a widely publicised quirk of the system. Many people earning in that range are completely unaware of it until they see their tax bill.

There are legitimate ways to manage this. Pension contributions are the most commonly used. A contribution that brings your adjusted net income below £100,000 restores your personal allowance in full, turning a 60% effective rate back into 40%.

The planning window here is the tax year itself. Once the year ends, the opportunity to act is gone.

If your income is approaching or within this range, it is worth having a conversation about your options now rather than after the fact.

DM us or tap the link in bio to find out more about how we can support you!

25/05/2026

If your director's loan account is overdrawn, meaning you owe the company more than it owes you, and that balance is not cleared within nine months and one day of your company's accounting year-end, your company pays an S455 tax charge on the outstanding amount.

From 6 April 2026, that rate increased to 35.75% on any loans taken from that date. The charge is repayable when the loan is repaid, but it ties up a significant amount of cash in the meantime.

If the loan exceeds £10,000 at any point in the year, it is treated as a benefit in kind. National Insurance becomes payable by the company and the amount needs to be declared on your P11D.

Interest-free loans to directors are also subject to specific HMRC rules around the notional interest that should be charged.

None of this makes directors' loans something to avoid. It makes them something to manage properly and review regularly.

At Sidekick, this is exactly the kind of thing we track for every limited company client throughout the year, not just at year-end. Knowing your position before the deadline means you have time to act on it.

DM us to make sure your director's loan account is being managed correctly.

22/05/2026

Since April 2021, the rules around IR35 have changed significantly for contractors working with medium and large private sector businesses. Understanding how those rules work is essential for anyone operating through a limited company in that environment.

Before the reform, contractors were responsible for assessing their own IR35 status. Since the reform, that responsibility sits with the end client, the business engaging the contractor, not the contractor themselves.

What this means in practice is that your client determines whether your engagement falls inside or outside IR35, and communicates that determination to you through a Status Determination Statement. If they determine you are inside IR35, they become responsible for deducting income tax and National Insurance before paying you, in the same way they would for an employee.

The implications of an inside IR35 determination are significant. You lose the ability to draw dividends from that income. Your effective tax rate on the engagement increases substantially. And while you are taxed like an employee, you do not receive employee benefits.

Challenging an incorrect determination is possible, and end clients are required to have a disagreement process in place — but it requires a well-documented case based on the actual working practices, not just the contract.

The key factors remain the same as they always have been. Control, substitution and mutuality of obligation. But now it is your client making the call, which means your contracts and day-to-day working practices need to be consistently aligned.

If you are a contractor unsure of your IR35 position, DM us. We can help you understand where you stand.

20/05/2026

More people than ever have income coming from more than one source. An employed role alongside freelance work. A limited company alongside rental income.

Dividends, interest and self-employment income all in the same tax year.

When multiple income streams are in play, the way your taxes are calculated becomes more complex and the opportunities to plan effectively increase significantly.

The order in which different types of income are taxed matters. Non-savings income, which includes employment and self-employment income, is taxed first. Savings income comes next. Dividend income is taxed last. Each has its own rates and its own interaction with your personal allowance and the relevant tax bands.

This sequencing creates planning opportunities. Dividend income sitting in the basic rate band is taxed at 8.75%. The same amount taken as additional self-employment income could be taxed at 40%. The structure of how you draw income can make a meaningful difference to your overall liability.

National Insurance adds another layer. Class 2 and Class 4 contributions apply to self-employment profits.

Employment income carries its own NI obligations through PAYE. Dividend income carries none. Understanding what each income type costs in NI terms is part of making the right decisions.

There is also the interaction with the personal allowance, the higher rate threshold and the £100,000 taper to consider. With multiple income streams, it is easy to drift into higher tax territory without realising it.

Getting a complete picture of your income each year and planning around it properly is where the real savings happen.

DM us to speak to our Tax Specialist about your specific situation.

18/05/2026

A P11D is a form submitted to HMRC by employers to report benefits in kind provided to employees or directors during the tax year. If your company provides anything of value beyond salary and dividends, there is a reasonable chance a P11D is required.

Benefits in kind are non-cash perks that have a monetary value. Common examples include a company car or car allowance, private medical insurance paid by the company, gym memberships, and director's loans exceeding £10,000.

Each benefit has its own HMRC-approved method of valuation. The resulting figure is added to the employee or director's taxable income for the year, meaning they pay income tax on it. The company also pays Class 1A National Insurance on the total value of benefits provided, currently at 13.8%.

P11D forms must be submitted to HMRC by 6 July following the end of the tax year. Any Class 1A National Insurance due must be paid by 22 July.

It is also possible to apply to payroll benefits in kind through your regular payroll rather than reporting them via P11D. This is known as payroll benefits and can simplify the process considerably, removing the need for a separate year-end return.

Missing a P11D or submitting incorrect figures results in penalties and potential interest charges. It is one of the year-end obligations that gets overlooked more than it should.

DM us to make sure your year-end reporting is complete and correct.

15/05/2026

Sole trader or limited company: how to decide which structure is right for your business…

This is one of the questions we are asked most often, and the answer is not the same for everyone.

As a sole trader, you and your business are legally the same entity. Your profits are your income, taxed through self-assessment at income tax rates. It is simpler to set up and administer, but it offers no separation between your personal and business finances.

As a limited company director, your business is a separate legal entity. You pay corporation tax on profits, currently 19% for profits up to £50,000, and pay yourself through a combination of salary and dividends. The tax efficiency at higher income levels can be significant.

The general rule of thumb is that limited company status becomes more tax-efficient once your profits consistently exceed around £30,000 to £35,000 per year. Below that, the additional administration costs can outweigh the tax savings.

Income level is not the only factor. Limited company status also offers limited liability protection, can look more credible to certain clients, and offers more flexibility in how and when you extract profit.

It is also worth knowing that switching from sole trader to limited company mid-year has tax implications that need to be managed carefully.

The right structure depends on your income, your plans for growth, your industry and your personal circumstances. There is no universal answer, which is exactly why we take a personal approach.

DM our team to talk through which option is right for you.

13/05/2026

Most people think of pensions as something to sort out eventually.

From a tax perspective, contributing to a pension now is one of the smartest financial decisions a business owner can make.

Here is why.

If you are a limited company director, your company can make pension contributions directly on your behalf. Those contributions are treated as allowable business expenses, which means they reduce your company's profit and, therefore, your corporation tax liability.

A £10,000 pension contribution from your company costs the company £7,500 after corporation tax relief. That money goes into your pension rather than to HMRC.

If you are self-employed, personal pension contributions reduce your taxable income. Every pound you contribute at the basic rate automatically receives 20% tax relief from the government.

Higher-rate taxpayers can claim additional relief through self-assessment.

There are annual allowance limits to be aware of, currently £60,000 per year or 100% of your earnings, whichever is lower. For most of our clients, there is significant room to contribute more than they currently are.

Pension planning is not just about retirement. It is a legitimate, HMRC-approved way to keep more of your money working for you.

If you have not reviewed your pension contributions recently, now is a good time to start.

Get in touch with us or find out more via the link in bio.

Address

71-75 Shelton Street
London
WC2H9JQ

Telephone

+448081643000

Website

http://www.yoursidekick.co.uk/

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