IT contracting in Germany via a UK agency

Hi,
I have just been confirmed in my first contract in Germany. The agency is an English one who, according to English tax law, won't pay invoices direct to the contractor. They suggested a company in Luxembourg who quoted me 350€/month (that was a minimum, depending on the size of the invoice) for sending one invoice through them to the agency in the UK.

Does anybody have any other ideas as to how to go about this? Or an FAQ on the website anywhere?

Thanks in advance.

PS. To all those kind people who offered me search engines to check. Thank you very much, but sadly the agency was an English one who contacted me direct. So no case of Bolly. However, at the next München evening, there may well be a couple of drinks with your names on them.

PPS. I posted this by mistake on the Berlin Forum too. Sorry

Hi,

You could call Marianne Mock

www.mock-hamburg.de

She's an accountant in Hamburg who's husband (and many of her clients) are freiberuflers.

Hi,
I'm working here as an IT contractor for a UK company (agency). I have my own UK Ltd. Providing I stay here less than 183 days it appears there are no "issues" with this and my tax situation is exactly as it would have been if I were working in the UK bar me not charging VAT and (through personal choice), not claiming back VAT paid in Germany.

BUT there are two things...

1. It's looking likely I'll be offered a contract extension past 183 days.
2. I quite like it here and would like to stay and work as an IT contractor for a reasoanble period to come (at least until UK house prices bottom out)

SO

Are there any knowledgable people here who'd be willing to talk this through with me...of course beer can provided in case you feel a bit parched from talking it through.
I'm based in Munich but I guess telephone's also an option.

Please don't respond to say "contact a specialist" (although I probably will have to at some stage). In the UK I was able to build up more knowledge on the situation there, as it effects me, than many "specialists", just by listening to the comments of others and doing my own research. Already I've been incorrectly advised by the accountant I pay for in the UK and the agency I work through. The thing here is I don't know or work with other contractors and the information I can find in English on the subject is very limited.

Thanks Oliver

It *is* complex in Germany. Try here

http://forums.contractoruk.com/accounting-...germany-tax.htm

If you want to "do it yourself" you have no idea of the complexity of German tax law.
Look at the German Yellow Pages - and note how many Steuerberaters are listed.
I've worked as an IT contractor here and I can tell you - DIY is impossible, it is
just too complex. Why be afraid of using a Steuerberater? Their fees are regulated,
can be offset against tax and the allowances I managed to claim were something
unbelievable. A guy called Claus Henseling did me proud.

The key point is that it's a zillion times easier to "build up knowledge" when the tax relates to the country you've lived in all your life - everything you might need to use / read is in your native language - and so is any conversation you will ever need to have about it - and you have networks of associates who know the ropes. And so on.

It's a whole different ball game in another country particularly if the langauge is different.

I can just about get away without a Steuerberater because my affairs are simple - my partner is in the field and has strong contacts in the tax system - all of my family are self employed here and know the ropes in detail and also have advisors - I have no cross border issues - I am in the finance / tax field myself. And so on. Even then, I've spent an inordinate amount of time ploughing through the reams of German language tax instructions.

But I would not advise anyone without those, and with more complex affairs, to do get advice. I have so many contacts here who ask if me (and my partner) can "just give them a bit of help". The answer is that (a) we probably can't because everone is different and ( it'd be so time consuming that we'd have to charging.

So what we say is - find a Steuerberater, stump up the cash, forget about it, problem solved. If you don't do it now, you'll have to later. Why waste the time, energy and angst?

Hi all,
I've had a strong recommendation for an accountant and I'll give them a bell this week to just try and understand some basics.
I think what it boils down to is quite simple - I need a daily figure of how much I'd need to earn to be in the same position financially as if I were in the Uk. I've got a rough idea what I can sell myself for here and if the two are miles apart then Germany's probably not the spot for me right now.

Still keen to meet up and chat...there's a lot more to contracting than just the accountancy side of things; good job sites, personal recommendations, a list of agencies etc

Ammusingly the link pointed to on contractor uk is my thread!