Paying yourself a bonus

[hippy-chick]

a question for self employed therapists here.

I pay myself a set weekly wage regardless of how much work I do.
I call if "future drawings" on my spreadsheets for my accountant.

I wanted to pay myself a bonus as a one off payment and wondered to do I have to justify this? or do i just log it into future drawings?

bit confused but would like to get it sorted before I do actually give myself this bonus.

 

[FlawlessBeauty]

I'm not definite but i would just log it under future drawings. You don't have to justify how much you get paid so i don't think this is any different.

Or you could ask your accountant.

HTH xx

 

[Ruth Mills]

As long as you pay the tax and NI due on the bonus, there shouldn't be a problem.

 

[lthomson]

sure you can take this out as drawings, i do book keeping for my husband and if we need to withdraw more that than normal weekly drawing we just take it out what we need as drawings. its your money, but like ruth says as long as the tax and ni is in order its not a problem

 

[shedunlop]

If you are a limited company you are an employee of that company but a shareholder so you would log it as dividends. If you are a sole trader then all the profit of the company is yours so you can draw what you want. As Ruth said, as long as you pay your tax and national insurance there is nothing to worry about.

Sheila :green:

 

[Ruth Mills]

If you are a limited company you are an employee of that company but a shareholder so you would log it as dividends. If you are a sole trader then all the profit of the company is yours so you can draw what you want. As Ruth said, as long as you pay your tax and national insurance there is nothing to worry about.

Sheila :green:

Yep, if you are a shareholder of a limited company, then you can pay yourself dividends. The situation with dividends is more complicated though and you should seek your accountant's advice before paying yourself dividends. They can work out a lot more tax-efficient than a bonus though. The limited company must pay corporation tax on dividends, and there may also be an additional self assessment liability that you will have to pay if your total income falls into the higher rate tax bracket.

 

[Becca Bee]

You could always draw it out as expenses, unless you are already drawing them...depending on what you want the bonus for, you could make it an expense, say you were buying a laptop for your own use, well, that's a legitmate business expense, and if you write it down quickly it will even help reduce your tax liability at the end of the year.

Checky with an accountant.

Rebecca

 

[hippy-chick]

I'm a sole trader so LTD and shareholding etc is not applicable.

I will mark it in the future drawings section, its not for the business use its for my holiday.

 

[Ruth Mills]

I'm a sole trader so LTD and shareholding etc is not applicable.

I will mark it in the future drawings section, its not for the business use its for my holiday.

Better make it a nice "Brucie Bonus" then...

 

[shedunlop]

I had guessed you would be a sole trader, it is much easier as Ruth has explained far better than me.

Your profit, less tax and national insurance is yours to keep so have a fab holiday!!

 

[Elaine143a]

I'm a sole trader so LTD and shareholding etc is not applicable.

I will mark it in the future drawings section, its not for the business use its for my holiday.

Maybe you could visit some expos, wholesalers etc whilst away and then put "bonus" down to business and travel expenses. You would need to check with a/c how to do this tho.