Contractor accounting
Accountants for contractors in Glasgow.
Specialist contractor accounting for Glasgow — ACCA-regulated, fixed-fee, with a named accountant on direct contact.
Countify for Glasgow contractors
Local context
that actually matters.
Glasgow's contractor market splits across three distinct bases. The first is financial services around the IFSD (International Financial Services District) along Broomielaw and West George Street, where Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Barclays and the resident insurers run mostly outside-IR35 engagements through framework agreements with well-documented SDSs. The second is the public sector — NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Glasgow City Council and the universities — which is almost entirely inside-IR35 and where umbrella is the realistic vehicle. The third is the creative and tech cluster in Merchant City and around Tontine, mostly outside-IR35 but with weaker paperwork that needs reviewing every renewal. We also see a steady stream of energy-services subcontractors who live in Glasgow but contract into Aberdeen — for those, the IR35 status sits with the end client, not the agency, and that distinction matters at HMRC enquiry.
Sector context
What contractor accounting actually involves.
Contractor accounting hinges on three decisions you make and re-make every engagement: inside or outside IR35, limited company or umbrella, and how aggressively to extract via dividends versus salary. Each decision has a different right answer depending on the day rate, the engager, and what you already have in the company. Countify reviews each Status Determination Statement (SDS), runs the IR35 take-home calculator at current 2026/27 rates, handles the Ltd vs umbrella switch around your company year-end to avoid wasted accounting fees, and keeps Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions and verifications tidy for trades contractors.
How we help Glasgow contractors
Contractor-specific scope, fixed fees.
IR35 status review per engagement
We read the SDS, the contract and the working practices, then model take-home both ways before you sign.
Ltd company year-end, CT600 and dividend planning
Accounts and CT600 filed inside three weeks of year-end. Dividend timing scoped against PAs and Scottish bands.
Umbrella / Ltd switch handled cleanly
Including ceasing trade, final dividend, MVL routes if appropriate, and the timing implications for personal tax.
CIS for construction contractors
Subcontractor verifications, monthly CIS300 returns and gross payment status applications where you qualify.
Run the numbers
Calculators built for contractors.
IR35 Inside vs Outside Calculator
Inside vs outside IR35 take-home for limited-company contractors.
Sole Trader vs Ltd Co Calculator
Side-by-side take-home comparison: sole trader vs Ltd Co salary + dividends.
Dividend Tax Calculator
Salary + dividends modelled for limited-company directors, with the £500 allowance.
Questions we hear weekly
Contractors FAQs.
Am I better off as a limited company or through an umbrella?
It depends on day rate, IR35 status and how much of the income you need to draw. Above roughly £450/day and with at least one outside-IR35 engagement per year, a Ltd usually wins on take-home and pension headroom — but only if you actually use the structure (retain profits, salary-sacrifice into a SIPP, optimise dividend timing). Below that, or on inside-IR35 engagements, umbrella is often the realistic choice. Use our IR35 calculator alongside the sole trader vs Ltd comparison to see the gap at your specific numbers.
What does an outside-IR35 SDS need to actually contain?
It must show the client has considered the three IR35 status tests (control, substitution, mutuality of obligation), reach a clear determination, and explain the reasons. A bare "outside IR35" stamp without reasoning is challengeable by HMRC and exposes you to retrospective tax. Countify reviews each SDS against current case law (PGMOL, Atholl House) and flags weak determinations before you sign.
Can I claim travel and subsistence as a contractor?
Outside-IR35 contractors working through a Ltd can usually claim travel and subsistence to a client site if it is not their normal place of work and the engagement is under 24 months (or expected to be). Inside-IR35 and umbrella contractors generally cannot claim T&S as expenses under the 2016 reforms. We document the 24-month rule against each engagement and prompt before the threshold trips.
What about the Managed Service Company (MSC) rules?
If your accountant influences how your Ltd is run — choosing who you contract with, dictating dividends, providing a turnkey company — HMRC can deem your company a Managed Service Company and tax you as employed on all the income. Countify advises but does not control: you make the engagement and remuneration decisions, we model and document them. That distinction matters.
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