About Contractors Recruiters Guidance Referrals Blog Contact LOGIN JOIN NOW SWITCH NOW Contractor’S Guide To Umbrella Company Costs And Fees 02 DECEMBER 2020 SHARE THIS POST If you are new to freelancing and just researching umbrella companies, you may wonder why there is a margin being deducted from your pay? After all, you are an employee. Yes, that’s true, but an umbrella company is not a traditional employer. Let us explain. Why is there a cost to using an umbrella company? Contrary to a traditional employer, umbrella companies provide a service. You don’t work for them, but they work for you and organise your freelance income into a PAYE pay package. The most practical and efficient way to do that is to take you on as an employee. Let’s see what that involves: Organising your income/take over the admin burden – imagine the administrative burden of being self-employed, looking after invoicing, chasing non-paying clients, claiming expenses etc. – all that is taken care of when you are working through an umbrella company. Pay your taxes over – When you run your own freelance business, you have to remember to pay the right tax and NI and submitting a self-assessment return on time every year. Your umbrella employer takes all of this off your shoulders, making the necessary deductions and pay all your taxes over. Providing benefits – The margin deducted goes towards providing a range of benefits that makes the umbrella trading vehicle attractive: Compliance – an accredited umbrella provider will be compliant, ensuring that your taxes are paid in line with HMRC’s rules. Pension – like all employers, umbrella companies will sign you up for auto-enrolment per government guidance; many will offer other arrangements as well, like salary sacrifice. Insurance – almost all umbrella firms will provide professional cover, so you don’t have to pay for a policy yourself. This alone can save you hundreds of pounds per year. Online portal – established firms will have a client portal where timesheets and expenses can be submitted; it will also hold all your contract documents, so everything is in one place. Discounts – through affiliations and partnerships, most companies offer discounts on personal tax services, mortgage, investment and pension advice; some will even offer employee discounts on shopping. Advice – years of experience helps umbrella companies help you. They can advise on IR35 issues or on choosing the best trading vehicle for tax efficiency. Statutory benefits – maternity/paternity, sick pay, holiday pay are all there like they would be with any other employment. You can read about the benefits in detail by clicking here. The typical cost you can expect to see Umbrella margin – Umbrella fees are called “margin” and most of the time, and these are a fixed amount per week or month. Typically they are between £15 and £25 per week. Ideally, this should be the only factor that differentiates one quote from another when you are shopping around; every other deduction (NI and tax) are a standard rate dictated by HMRC rules. You may see companies quoting percentage margin on your invoices, which may look attractive if you have less work, but once things pick up, you may find yourself handing over more of your earnings. Other deductions – Like with any employment, you can expect to see income tax and Employee National Insurance deducted from your pay as well. If you are a basic rate taxpayer (total earnings below £50,000 per annum), you’ll pay 20% tax and 12% National Insurance on your earnings over the annual personal tax allowance (£12,500). In the higher rate and additional rate tax bands, tax deductions increase to 40 and 45%. It is important to note here that the Employers National Insurance will also be deducted from your gross pay. This is unique to umbrella companies as their fee does not cover the cost. On the flip side, this allows them to minimise their processing fees. Deductions are shown on the payslip. For a handy guide that explains what’s on a SmartWork payslip, click here. How do you pay for an umbrella company? Umbrella margin gets deducted from the assignment rate the umbrella company receives for the contractor’s services and is deducted before taxes, meaning that there is tax relief on the margin itself. Take-home pay illustrations often show the net amount, not only to show the real cost but to save you the hassle of working it out. For example, if you earn £3,000 a month, a £100 umbrella margin would leave you with £2,900 to be taxed. The savings made on the £100 not being taxed is a little over £30, so you only pay £70 or so for the umbrella service in reality. What other costs you should look out for? Thankfully, accredited companies are fully transparent, so there should be no surprises if you go with one an FCSA (Freelancer and Contractor Services Association) accredited provider. If you go with one that isn’t, look out for the following: Joining or exit fees Admin fees for processing your records (timesheets, expenses) Fee for same-day payments Insurance costs (if not included) We’ve talked about hidden fees and other factors you should consider when shopping around for an umbrella company in an earlier article of ours here. We hope you found this article useful. We have many more like these on the guidance page of our site here. If you’d like to see more helpful information in the future, please follow us on our LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Should you be looking for an accredited umbrella provider or a specialist contractor accountant, please speak to one of our business managers by calling 0800 434 6446 or e-mail info@smartwork.com. SHARE THIS POST PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR’S GUIDE: WHEN SHOULD YOU USE AN UMBRELLA COMPANY? NEXT WHAT IS AN UMBRELLA COMPANY? YOU MAY FIND THESE ARTICLES HELPFUL Umbrella Insurance Explained 09 JULY 2020 One of the benefits of contracting via an Umbrella company is freedom from admin. This is no different when it comes to insurance.... READ ARTICLE Do I Need to Submit a Self-Assessment Tax Return if I Use an Umbrella Company? 02 NOVEMBER 2021 What is Self-Assessment? Self-Assessment is a system HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses to collect Income Tax. Tax is usually... READ ARTICLE What is SDC (supervision, direction, control)? 09 NOVEMBER 2021 As of 6th April 2016, HMRC introduced new legislation which affects the claiming of tax relief on expenses for umbrella employees. ... READ ARTICLE Whitefriars, Lewins Mead, Bristol, BS1 2NT Registered in England & Wales | Registration No. 4207299 About Contractors Recruiters Guidance Referrals Blog Contact Us HAVE QUESTIONS? Call SmartWork today on: 0800 434 6446 REQUEST A CALLBACK © 2021 smartwork.com Ltd | Designed by Lucid Design Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy Gender Pay Statement Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement