I’m thinking about looking to do some IT consultancy in a field I am interested in, and I think there is a small market out there for it. Not enough to jack the day job but enough to make it worthwhile.

Unlikely to turn over much money say in the region of £10k per annum

Anyone done this? Any tips? Ltd company or sole trader? Any tax implications of having both a full time job and a consultancy business?

Check your current contract, it will probably ban other work…..

Yep, as above. I did so for a while, between “proper” jobs. I had a great job that was fun, but low stress and in which my employers knew I was consulting in the “proper” side of things.

For the fun job, it paid some bills, allowed me the time to look for my next career move and to do some very lucrative consultancy stuff on the side. Given that they gave me that freedom, I gave them my all when I was on their time. They deserved it. Good people.

The fact that all parties knew what was going on was vital, I think.

Yep, my contract specifically outlaws this.

How long have you got?? Lol cut and dry you will pay huge tax on 2nd income as your allready full time employed, your time will become more valuable than ever, the words not enough hours in the day will ring in your head, i worked for a well known social housing firm full time whilst running my own door security team, each job allways clashed even though i started at 830am and finished at 2pm most week days i still didnt have time for my book keeping, hours , client liason insurance interviews etc it gets out of hand in the end, if you have a partner thats willing to help it becomes a team effort and is a lot easier on the both of you.
In the end i concentrated on the building side, now i work 80 plus hours pw and am away from my family for up to 4 weeks at a time go figure!!!! You get out what you put in my friend!!!!

Current contract doesn’t outlaw, but I am required to seek their approval. As it is not directly related to their core business it is unlikely they will block it. Day job is nice, but doesn’t stretch the grey matter much. This is a way to dip my toe in the water of consultancy without the risk as we are not financially secure.

On the second income tax point, I was planning on setting it up as a professional services company rather than go the soletrader route.

I did for about two years, then the sideline became fulltime. It was a limited company and no salaries or dividends were taken during the overlap period. It was more than a little bit stressful…

Yes 2 actually, i’m prohibited from being a Director but I hold large shareholdings. There are a load of other conditions but as the company i work for now bought my old company these were already ‘there’. Both are miles away from what i actually do – one is an outdoor clothing business and the other brews craft beer ! Neither make any money whatsoever !

Yep, my contract specifically outlaws this

It doesn’t mean your contract is legal, many employment contracts contain stuff that could never hold up in court.

Yeah there’s a few fireman on here.

Whaaaaaat?

I haven’t but a mate does photography on the side, he has a web-site that gets him the odd job, not enough to live on but helps pay the mortgage etc.

you will only pay huge tax on 2nd income

You will only pay Tax on what you earn, you can’t pay more Tax just because you have more than one income.

However as I am sure you know if your second income puts you into a higher Tax bracket it will appear as if you are being taxed more.

If you set it up as a Ltd Company then you are better to pay Corporation Tax then take the payments as a dividend.

My advice…get an accountant.

Worrying about an accountant will probably be a year 2 decision. First I have to set up and see if there is genuine interest and a market!

see previous thread about going solo.

sole trader is easiest to manage route, *may* be less tax efficient..