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Where to incorporate as semi-nomadic IT consultant?

Toffe

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Aug 21, 2019
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I'm location-independent as an IT consultant/contractor with a single full-time client. I need a company to invoice my work, and I'd like to have it offshore as I move every year or two - keeping my current company now that I'm moving isn't practical.

I'm an EU citizen but don't live in the EU anymore. I'm fine with paying personal income tax wherever I'm actually living (of course, lower is better, as long as it's strictly above-board) but I'd like to keep corporate taxation low. Privacy would be nice but ultimately isn't so important to me. For banking I could just use a Transferwise account - I just need to receive my monthly invoice payment and then pay myself dividends/a salary. What's a practical jurisdiction to set up my business with minimal headache and low fees?

Two small issues:
-I need liability insurance as a contractor, so I don't think e.g. a Belize company would fly. Even here in the Balkans it was a hassle to get.
-My client is registered in the UK (though everyone there is a location-independent contractor abroad), so a UK company as described here would probably just create more headaches as I guess I'd have to register for VAT - never mind all the potential headaches of Brexit.

Perhaps I'm overthinking things, my invoices are essentially a salary plus occasional costs charged to client so I could just make sure the company never turns a profit and so doesn't need to be taxed - where I am now, however, I pay myself minimum wage and take the rest as dividends at year end as that had huge income tax/social security tax benefits.

I was thinking about a Labuan company, but now I hear that I might not pass the local content requirements, so perhaps either I wouldn't qualify for the 3% tax rate or I'd need local employees (out of the question for my 40K/year income). Hong Kong is an alternative, I see that an competitor to Transferwise also offers incorporation so I get both a company and an account with minimal hassle (albeit some fees). What else should I consider?

Thank you!
 
Just use xolo's GO (formally leapin.eu) service once its ready soon. It will be good for getting paid a salary up to 36k with just 5% fee on payouts to yourself.

https://www.xolo.io/go
Don't waste your time setting up anything for 40k a year. Their xolo go service is as simple as it gets. Personal tax wise its down to you if you declare the income in your resident country. You can alternatively if you live in a territorial tax country pay money to yourself offshore.
 
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Hi and thanks Martin Everson, but it looks like I'm not eligible:
You can get Xolo Go if:
  • Your customers are within the EU
  • You have a personal SEPA bank account in Euros (If not, you can get a TransferWise Borderless account)
  • You will earn less than €36 000 per calendar year

My customer won't be in the EU if Brexit goes ahead, and I earn more than €36 000 per calendar year. €40K is the minimum, plus typically a hefty bonus at year end.

Their Leap tier seems more practical, but it's basically an Estonian company, which I could get on my own and ultimately chose not to.
 
No UK vat registration below yearly 85k turnover. UK is cheap and easy. Brexit wouldn't affect it as the client is domestic.

Labuan might still work, not all industries have substance requirements.
 
My customer won't be in the EU if Brexit goes ahead

lol smi(&%....sorry couldn't resist....:(

Good thing is if they leave you won't need to charge VAT smi(&%
 
No UK vat registration below yearly 85k turnover.
Thanks fshore, I didn't know that! That would simplify things enormously and makes the UK far more attractive. And as long as I'm getting paid in Euros to a Euro bank account, there's less reason for me to care about Brexit, short of the pound halving in value without the threshold changing :D Cheers!

I future I still may need another company for higher turnover (thinking of starting another venture with a partner), but for that I'll have fewer limitations or could just bring it onshore.

lol smi(&%....sorry couldn't resist....:(

Neither can I. It's such a complete own goal that it's great entertainment to watch with popcorn smi(&%