Director of my own company - do I qualify for the 80 per cent salary?

[cucumber66]

I’m a director of my own limited company and ordinarily earn about 28k per annum. However, since the virus hit business has dried up and I’m facing serious financial difficulties.

From what I gather, I’m also classed as an employee of my company and am paid my monthly salary through the payroll. There are no other directors or employees - it’s just me.

I can’t get hold of my accountant tonight to check whether I’m eligible for the 80% government grant and am feeling anxious as to whether I can claim this. It could be the difference between my business surviving or going under. Does anyone know?

Cohle - just FYI my clients made me set up a limited company. I didn't particularly want to but I didn't have a choice

All people have said, correctly, is that most of the posters on the thread complaining about how hard done by they are have deliberately structured their finances to minimise their tax liabilities

How is coming onto a thread of distressed people and effectively saying "it serves you right" about a situation that none of us could have predicted helping to make the world a better place in these difficult times, do you think?

do people realise that plenty of paye only get ssp when sick?

Also, I presume you people criticising us regularly pay more tax than you are liable for

How is coming onto a thread of distressed people and effectively saying "it serves you right" about a situation that none of us could have predicted helping to make the world a better place in these difficult times, do you think?

My sympathy for your distressed state more or less evaporated when you told me to "shut the fuck up" Tabby.

Not if you taken a dividend in the last 3 years

Yes because you are employed by the company however its only on your salary and most director will take a small salary and large divided. You can only claim this if you are not working

My sympathy for your distressed state more or less evaporated when you told me to "shut the fuck up"

I might be a little bit upset, weirdly, like the OP who is pregnant and too distressed to stay on her own thread that she started for support because people are wanging on about how we deserve it, pretty much. I have recently lost my DF, my DM also nearly died, I lost income and reserves already because of that, I got no help from anyone then, and now I get naff all for all my hard work. How are you helping?

Corporation tax is 19%
just saying

These are unprecedented circumstances and many people are sadly facing economic hardship. The government has to prioritise how it can support the economy effectively and fairly.

I'm not going to get involved in some kind of self-pity pissing contest with you.

For any ltd co directors, just seen/heard this:

"Furloughed Directors Can Still Work" - Sonali Parekh, FSB Head of Policy

soundcloud.com/steven-ringrose/furloughed-directors-can-still-work-sonali-parekh-fsb-head-of-policy?fbclid=IwAR0pdIuxqSJbXLmES7Nc07dx9HjLLHYTgugE12bRBOPMzw7Ytb86SUCJfd4

All these "directors" who have been ripping the country off by paying sod all tax and then taking dividends for salary - suck it up, bet you don't feel it was such a good idea now! Also suck up paying proper NI in the future too

What on earth are you talking about?

You do realise that the company directors (who is anyone who has a limited company not fat cats) are literally entitled to nothing unless they stop trading?
Who's going to pay the wages then if the company is stopped?

These aren't people 'dodging tax' it's literally how the system is set up, you pay slightly less tax to offset the cost of having a limited company such as accountancy fees. This is because the government LIKES you to be a limited company because your tax returns are public and that's been shown to improve how quickly and how much people pay.

We aren't even being offered anything on our salary. I'd be delighted if they did, something is better than having no income, having to pay all the company overheads, pay the 20% of people's wages and that's even before you've thought about paying yourself.

Give your head a wobble man, you have no idea of the reality of running a company.

Give your head a wobble man, you have no idea of the reality of running a company.
I second that!

Experimentation
Statutory Duties is NOT normal work.
It is the legally mandated stuff like filing annual returns and accounts
NOTHING ELSE that generates income

Just remembered why I left the FSB

I realise that @ListeningQuietly

80% of PAYE amount is still better than 0%, if your business has been so heavily impacted it's probably better to close the doors for a period. Like mine has.

Just remembered why I left the FSB

The umbrella bodies have been pretty poor, yes I get that it's a good deal for the SE, but they didn't even seem to initially acknowledge not so much for us. Let's see what my Conservative MP comes back with.

Life
My business is absolutely fine because I'm in compliance

my DHs business will earn nothing until September at the earliest
BUT
we will not claim because its better for him to take the tax loss and be able to market and connect and do the website all of which are barred under furlough between now and then.

Fwiw the FT covered this yesterday, you can claim as ltd employee of your own company but would be up to salary/PAYE and exclude divis.

If you all want to know how much tax I've "dodged" as a contractor, I have paid more tax not less. HMRC deliberately talk only about employment taxes. I pay 19% on everything I make, I then pay full income tax on all divis, income tax and NI on PAYE and collect VAT for HMRC that would otherwise not accrue. Employer NI is 13.8%, it's my client that is saving that on the arrangement they forced me into, not me. It's good for big companies, not for contractors. I have no rights, no pension, no insurance, no notice period. You should stop and think before you believe whatever crap HMRC wants you to believe.

tootletum
Could you link to the FT article as I very much doubt that directors who work in any way will be eligible

Martin Lewis has tweeted confirmation that it's statutory duties only, so connected with filling, accounts, complying with company law etc. not client work or trying to get client work.

Tabbystar
I shall try to sound surprised but as somebody who passed my CCAB exams decades ago .....
not

Shocked at the amount if vitriol and spite from some posters on this thread. Horrible people enjoying the unfortune of others. My dh is the sole director of a Ltd co in events, and was forced to set up like this as many agencies and companies will only deal with ltd cos. I can assure you that we pay plenty of vat and corporation tax! To those posters enjoying the fact that small, struggling businesses will be left with nothing, I really hope that karma is real, and what goes around comes around, back to your nasty, cruel selves.

Well we will just have to pay a dividend to top up to survive which uses up the cash quicker endangering future salaries of employees. Except we won't. We pay ourselves last. Our employees come first and that's that.
What a shit situation.
All the stress, worry, extra hours, personal liability and we come further down in the government rescue pecking order.
But when things are good we do well out of it. Boom or bust.
Just got to keep fingers crossed