IR35 awareness
Practical understanding of what inside and outside status means for you, so you're not navigating it alone. Read our plain-English guide to IR35 for the full picture.
IT & Software Contractors
Accounting for IT & software contractors.
Contracting through your own personal service company brings a specific set of questions that a generalist accountant often can't answer well — IR35 status, how to extract income tax-efficiently, what counts as a genuine business expense. Buzz works with PSC contractors who want an accountant that already understands the structure they're operating under.
IR35 got you worried? You're not alone
Whether an engagement sits inside or outside IR35 has a direct, material effect on what a contract is actually worth to you, and getting the status wrong isn't just a paperwork problem — it can mean an unexpected tax bill landing well after the work's done. We help contractors stay compliant, understand what each engagement's status actually means, and extract income in a way that's correct and tax-efficient rather than guessed at.
What contractors need from an accountant
Support built around how PSC contracting actually works
PSC structure handled properly
Year-end accounts, Corporation Tax and Companies House filings for your personal service company, kept on top of properly.
Tax-efficient extraction
Practical guidance on drawing income from your company in a way that's compliant and doesn't leave money on the table.
VAT and Self Assessment
VAT returns and your personal Self Assessment handled alongside your company accounts, so nothing falls between the two.
A dedicated accountant
Someone who understands contracting and can talk through a specific engagement, not just generic small business advice.
One fixed monthly fee
No hidden extras and no surprise bills between contracts — support included as standard.
FreeAgent included
Clean records, ready if a status determination is ever questioned
FreeAgent is included as part of your package, worth up to £330 a year, giving you a clear, organised record of income and expenses. Keeping proper records is part of what "compliant" actually looks like day to day, not just how the contract is worded.
Who this is for
Built for PSC contractors who want it done right
- IT and software contractors operating through their own limited company
- PSC contractors who want IR35 status understood properly, not guessed at
- Anyone who wants to extract income tax-efficiently and stay compliant
- Contractors between engagements who want consistent, fixed-fee support
- Anyone who's outgrown a generalist accountant who doesn't know the sector
Frequently asked questions
Common questions from contractors
How much does it cost?
A fixed monthly figure agreed in writing after a 30-minute discovery call. For a personal service company the work is fairly predictable — bookkeeping, VAT if registered, a small payroll, year-end accounts, the Corporation Tax return, the confirmation statement and your self assessment — so the quote is straightforward. What moves it is a second company, higher volume, or an inside-IR35 arrangement running alongside. FreeAgent is included, worth up to £330 a year, and there is no hourly charge for asking a question mid-contract.
Can you tell me if I am inside or outside IR35?
We can review a contract and your working practices and tell you what we think, including when it is not what you hoped. What nobody can do is give you certainty from a questionnaire — status turns on control, the right of substitution, mutuality of obligation, financial risk and how embedded you are with the client, and it is decided on the reality rather than the paperwork. For medium and large private-sector clients and all public-sector bodies, the client issues the determination and you can challenge it. See the IR35 estimator.
How should I be taking money out of my company?
Usually a modest salary around the National Insurance thresholds plus dividends, with employer pension contributions frequently the most efficient route of all — deductible for the company, no National Insurance, and no personal tax at the point of payment. The constraint on dividends is distributable reserves: cash in the bank includes VAT and Corporation Tax that is not yours. Take dividends without reserves and they become a director's loan with a section 455 charge attached. Model it on the salary and dividend calculator.
What can I claim, and what will get challenged?
Equipment, software, professional subscriptions, insurance, accountancy fees, training that maintains existing skills, and the business proportion of home working are all reliably allowable. The area that generates disputes is travel and subsistence: travel to a client site is only business travel while that site is a temporary workplace, and the 24-month rule means it stops being temporary once you expect to be there beyond two years — at which point past claims can be challenged too. Diarise the 24-month point at the start of a long engagement.
Should I close the company if I take an inside-IR35 contract?
Not necessarily, and it is worth taking slowly because restarting is not free. Many contractors run a mix of inside and outside work, and the company still earns its keep where you have outside engagements, retained profit to extract over time or expect the market to move. Making it dormant is usually a better first step than closing it. Closing a company with substantial reserves has its own tax consequences, and a members' voluntary liquidation carries anti-avoidance rules if you restart a similar business within two years.
What about the Flat Rate Scheme and VAT?
Check the limited cost trader rule before assuming the Flat Rate Scheme helps. Contractors typically spend very little on goods, which pushes them onto the 16.5% rate and removes almost all of the benefit that made the scheme popular. Standard VAT accounting is usually better once you factor in equipment, software and accountancy on which input VAT can be recovered. Run both on your actual figures. Registration itself becomes compulsory over £90,000 of rolling twelve-month turnover, which most day-rate contractors cross.
Accreditations & Partnerships
