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The commonly held perception of retirement living is rapidly changing. No longer are older adults settling down after leaving the workforce. Today’s retirees are more focused on active living, whether in the form of exercise, volunteering or picking up a new skill. These new trends will certainly have an impact on the financial strategies of the nearly 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day. Here’s a look at how the latest generation of retirees plan on spending their golden years.

Many sole traders make the move to limited company status because they believe it will make them more desirable to new clients, or perhaps because they think they can save on tax in the long run. For a small limited company however, understanding how tax works is vital – and tax matters can be extremely confusing! All limited companies, both large and small, need to be up-to-date on current tax matters, as the consequences can – and often are – costly.

Limited companies don’t use the same self assessment tax return system as other businesses and self-employed individuals. All limited companies, both large and small, are subject to annual corporation tax.

This means the company does its own corporation tax self assessment – i.e. it calculates the amount of tax it must pay itself using a company tax return. The methods and deadlines are different to those used elsewhere.

The most common tax issues faced by a small limited company

It’s important to remember that once a company has applied for and been given limited company status, it is now a separate legal entity from its owner, irrespective of how many staff it employs or who is a shareholder. Everyone, even the sole director/shareholder, is an employee and the company the employer. What this means in terms of tax is that all the money the company earns belongs to the company and not its owner: from now on, any money taken out of earnings must be noted (and justified) as salary or expenses, and comes under scrutiny from HMRC.

Many small limited companies end up having to pay excess tax because the owner simply takes money out of the company without understanding the tax implications. The company can pay its director in three ways: as salary, to pay back money borrowed or spent on company costs (expenses), or as dividends on the shares the director holds in the company. Getting the mixture of salary and dividends right can reduce a company’s tax bill; get it wrong and it can go the other way.

All limited companies must pay corporation tax by the 1st of January of the year after the trading year, i.e. on 1/1/2014 for trading between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013. It must also file a corporation tax return (CT600) each year to HMRC, 12 months after the year end at the latest. Limited companies who fail to file their CT600s or send it too late are subject to hefty fines.

A small piece of legislation known as IR35 has also caused many small limited companies problems since coming into effect. This is when a company takes on a project for a client and takes on the status (however short-term) of an employee. Rather than pay the ’employer’s’ National Insurance on the full cost of what they paid out, the small limited company makes a ‘deemed payment’ to HMRC. This is the opposite of how it works for sole traders.

Where to get advice

Calculating taxes as a limited company is complex and can be both challenging and time-consuming. There are companies that specialise in tax management that small limited companies can turn to for advice in this field, whether a company needs help filling out its corporation tax return or with IR35 forms for employees. An umbrella company can help a small limited company with all aspects of tax and payroll and as qualified experts in all tax matters, can save time and money in the long run.

In order to concentrate on their key areas of expertise as well as to save costs and resources in secondary areas, large companies often outsource certain tasks. The kind of tasks typically outsourced include payroll, HR services, translation/localisation of marketing materials or documents, tax administration and general administrative tasks.

What are the advantages of outsourcing for large companies?

The most obvious benefit of outsourcing is in cost reduction, but this should not be the only reason for outsourcing: no entrepreneur can do everything themselves, and contracting certain tasks out-of-house means one less thing for a busy company to juggle. It is also a way of getting expert assistance in a specific area without having to train existing staff or recruit new ones.

Outsourcing streamlines a business into the areas it wishes to concentrate on without having to spread resources too thinly, and a third-party supplier of HR, for example, will generally be more efficient in providing HR than a large company with many different departments. Well-trained, expert members of staff employed by the outsourcing company have access to superior technical equipment and systems and are up-to-date on current legal requirements. Outsourcing can reduce legal as well as financial risks.

When and what to outsource?

Almost everything can be outsourced, but it may not be prudent to do so. A large company should not outsource any activity that is central to generating profits or competitive success, for example; these would generally be tasks connected to the company’s brand name or core areas. For example, a company that invented a great engineering gadget should not outsource its production, but if sudden expansion put a strain on its resources, outsourcing payroll could be a sensible option.

Most large companies outsource routine tasks that waste valuable time that could be spent elsewhere, and/or temporary activities that are one-offs or occur once or twice a year and require extra resources unavailable in-house.

How are outsourcers paid?

When a large company finds a third party supplier to outsource certain aspects of their operations to, the two parties will sign a contract or Service Level Agreement (SLA) as regards payment. Outsourcers are normally paid a fixed cost for all services as defined in the contract; any additional services that may occur are charged extra.

Where are tasks outsourced?

Many tasks, including payroll solutions, IT and tax administration, can today be outsourced to a third party supplier based anywhere in the UK thanks to modern computer and communications technology that enables efficient business without the need for face-to-face contact.

How does a company find a good outsourcer?

Make no mistake: the selection process is of utmost importance. Choosing the right outsourcing partners is not only about finding the cheapest provider: the right partner must be good at what they do and be a trustworthy and legitimate enterprise. It’s also important to ensure that contracts and SLAs are written in a way that meets everyone’s needs, and that can be adjusted by the company to suit unforeseen changes should they arise.

The internet has made finding good outsourcers easier; for instance, typing get ‘tax help here’ into a search engine can bring up many qualified and reputable companies suited to one’s needs.

If you are new to the word of Forex trading, then read on here. First of all, forex trading is a shorthand way of saying foreign currency exchange trading. In the introductory video to forex trading, which you can watch below, you will receive a simple overview of this form of investing. As you will see, a lot of investors do not participate in this form of trading, but maybe they should.

Where’s the Money in Trading Currency?

Maybe the extent of your knowledge about currency stops at the currency exchange, as in “How many shoes can I buy in Britain if the US dollar is trading at 1.52 for every British Pound?” Currency trading is the art of making money on the spread of going between currencies.

Basically, currency is factored out to the fourth decimal place. That is where most of the gains and losses will appear. In that fourth decimal space is the one-one-hundredth of a percent, also called pips. Now you know what a pip is.

As with any securities and commodities trading, currency trading has no guarantees. It is all about learning a new way of investing while making sure you can afford to lose the money you put out for trading purposes. There is an interesting term used to describe gains or losses that is unique to forex trading.

Starting Small in Forex Trading

Plenty of big fish are in forex trading, which mostly consists of larger banks. As an individual investor it may feel both exciting and intimidating to start out as an investor. Did you know that large banks aid businesses who need to make exchanges of goods across international borders in their conversion of value from one currency to another?

Anyhow, the reason for mentioning this is that even the professional traders have a tough job. They do not all make money all the time. This is one piece of information to keep you going, especially as you are just starting out here. Instead, take time to learn the nuances of technical analysis. Learn to read charts, what they may indicate and how that might impact your present investment strategy.

From there, be sure to master the trading platforms and systems that are available to you as an individual forex investor, because it maximizes these tools. Learn to read graphs and determine pips to chart progress, click here to learn more about moving averages and reading graphs.

That is a very good question. How do you finance your small business? How small is your business? Do you dare go to a bank and try for a traditional loan? Well…. You can try. If you have immaculate credit and it screams good risk, you are likely to get that loan. But if you are under 700 in the credit score, forget about it!

Here are some other options to look at:

• You can try a pay day loan, but you may go broke trying to pay it back.
• Of course, there is a loan on your house. Do you really want to risk your home if the business fails? NO!
• You can try a loan shark. Do you like your legs? They are quick to loan and quick to ask for it back. Better hide the family too.
• How about a cash advance on your merchant account? What? You don’t know what I am talking about….. Well, let’s get you some information.

Loans for small businesses

When the market crashed and banks decided that the very people they were bailed out by should not be getting help, the merchant account servicers heard the cry. They put together packages to help anyone in need. All you need is a merchant account to make payments.

It’s really rather easy

Depending on the business you have, you adjust the kind of account you process credit and debit cards through. With that, you ask for a cash advance or loan. They will help you out up to $250,000. So let’s say you borrow $5,000 and you agree to the terms of 5% interest.

How it works

The Merchant account servicer has bought your credit and debit purchases at a reduced rate. Every day that you get paid with the cards, that five percent is taken out of the daily totals. If you have a bad day, they have a bad day. So, if you have $500 in sales that day and it was on the cards, your total payment for the day is $25.00. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not bad.

You will have the loan paid off in 200 days, or 6 months. Some merchant account servicers will do a traditional pay back program. You just have to ask to find out the best options and what programs they use.

For every good guy

Just like anything, for every good business is one that is a fraud. So, when you go about this, take the time to insure they REALLY are a business. Be sure they are one of the good guys. Check for online forums and their names. See what people are saying about them. Do several places; don’t give up. The right one is out there for you. It’s no different than trying to find the right boots. You have to keep looking to get them to fit correctly.