I’ve been driving class 1 for 6 years,I have my ADR licence which I use for my job at present.
I’m getting sick of being away five nights a week and I think being freelance I can be more flexible,me and my wife also wants to start a family,being away all week will stop that,my present employers want me away all week I’ve tried to talk to them.many thanks to listening to my rant any advice will be great.
Your timing is ■■■■! What part of the world are you in for starters? I’d stick with what you’ve got until next year to see how the economy goes to be honest.
welll as an se driver myself im away 4 nights most weeks unless you can find day work youll still be doing nights out
also youll have to set up a ltd company and pay your self through that. also get shut of the car and get a van as you can then claim the full cost of the eihcle through the bussiness if you have a car then youll only be able to claim mileage noting else. youll have to decide whather or not your going to charge nights out if your away you tax bill depending if you work all the time will be about 4k then youll have accountants fees and paye to pay for. oh i forgot you can forget havign a holiday for the first year as well
Thanks for that.I’m in hull working for isotank my main experience has
been powder tanks and now liquid haz tanks and general haulage I think
there’s slot to the saying it’s what you know but who you know.
alix776:
also get shut of the car and get a van as you can then claim the full cost of the eihcle through the bussiness if you have a car then youll only be able to claim mileage noting else
Check how much your car actually costs to run though cos if like me you run older cars you might find that the mileage allowance is a LOT more than your car costs to run.
My last car was a diesel 205 and I had it for 2.5 years and did just short of 24000 miles. It cost me 15.2 pence per mile including everything (purchase, tax, insurance, fuel, servicing, tyres, repairs, the lot). You can legally claim 40p/mile on your first 10000 business miles each year without having to pay tax on it.
Of course if you’re one of these daft people who like to throw money down the drain by running a more expensive car then alix’s advice could well be correct.
Paul
just going off what the accountant has tried to order me to do
alix776:
just going off what the accountant has tried to order me to do
If you were swapping a pretty new car for a pretty new van it might stack up, all I’m saying is it wouldn’t stack up in many cases.
Also I forgot that if you’re allowed to use the van for personal use then there’s also the company car tax to think about which is on £3000 so if you’re a basic rate (20%) taxpayer that’s another £600/year you’re out of pocket if you do it that way.
Paul
alix776:
welll as an se driver myself im away 4 nights most weeks unless you can find day work youll still be doing nights outalso youll have to set up a ltd company and pay your self through that. also get shut of the car and get a van as you can then claim the full cost of the eihcle through the bussiness if you have a car then youll only be able to claim mileage noting else. youll have to decide whather or not your going to charge nights out if your away you tax bill depending if you work all the time will be about 4k then youll have accountants fees and paye to pay for. oh i forgot you can forget havign a holiday for the first year as well
I was freelance until early this year. It’s not brain surgery but you do need a slightly different mind set towards your “customers” than an employed driver and also towards your finances !
My advice, for what it’s worth is to find a good accountant (Chartered if you’re Ltd) as he/she can save you more than their fee’s in unnecessary expense and guide you through the myriad of changing rules regs and general horse ■■■■ red tape. Good luck. Have faith in your self mate, cos if you don’t nobody else’ll take you seriously ! 
