Setting up a business

[lembo121]

im about to set up a business providing call outs for plumbing, heating and gas emergencies between 6pm and 6am. The thing is, i work full time during the day for another company. My gross income is just short of the 40% tax bracket. My wife rents a property for around 8k per year. This is her only income. Any suggestions on how best to set it up, e.g. sole trader with 1 employee, ltd, partnership??

[SanderDolphn]

If your wife can do the 'administrative' work, and you share the family finances, there's no reason why you can't pay her a salary for that administrative work which would allow the family to benefit from that income with only 33% tax (22% income tax, 11% NIC) instead of the 41% (40% income tax 1% NIC).

On the other hand, I would suggest recruiting the services of an accountant to discuss the possibility of setting up a company with both you and your wife, and paying dividends instead of salary., since these are just 10% for the wife's "share" and 32�% for your 'share'