RentACoder.com; also, web hosting and 4th sched. services

Long Lizard

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I'm currently unemployed, and I'm thinking of registering as a sole trader in order to work as a freelancer. Although I have no training in accountancy or business, I'd like to handle my own tax affairs; having read some of the Revenue Commissioners' documentation, I think I would be able to manage this.

I have 3 questions. Firstly, I would like to use the website RentACoder.com. The site allows a person who want work done to make a deal with someone willing to do it. If the work is successfully completed, the person who did the work receives his payment.

When the job is advertised, the fee is deposited in escrow with RentACoder.com, and when they pay the worker, they take a percentage of the fee.

Suppose I do a piece of work worth $200, and that the fee is $16, so that I end up getting $184. My question is how to handle this from a tax point of view. Hopefully, what I can do is to enter the $184 in my accounts as payment for a service, and not have to worry about the $16.

My second question is about the service provided by RentACoder.com: would it be classed as a Fourth Schedule service? If it is, then I would have to register for VAT, and that is a headache that I would rather avoid at this point in time.

My third question, which is also about Fourth Schedule services, is as follows. It might be useful to me to create a website in support of my work. As far as I can see, if the website is hosted outside the Republic of Ireland, then the web hosting will be a Fourth Schedule service, and I will have to register for VAT. Is this correct?
 
Forget making a living with RentACoder unless you think you can compete with the prices Indian developers charge.

So unless you want to work for €2 an hour , I would look elsewhere.
 
Yes, that point occurred to me; but if you go to the following page, and add together the figures for the USA, Canada, and the UK, you find that at least 15% of the workers are from first-world countries, so it may be possible to make a living from RentACoder.com after all.

[disallowed; see footnote]

Admittedly, these could be users registered, rather than users performing work, in which case the statistic doesn't really support my argument.

Footnote: unfortunately, the website is refusing to let me include that URL; however, if you search Google for "rentacoder top 10 worker countries", you'll find the page I'm talking about.

In my original post, I possibly should have mentioned that RentACoder.com are located in the US.
 
Hi Long Lizard, this is Nicole from vWorker (formerly known as Rentacoder).

Unfortunately we don’t have a financial expert with specific knowledge of VAT at our company. However, we can give you the necessary information needed to classify our company for the Fourth Schedule.

Please visit our website to call in and talk to a facilitator 7 days a week, or email us.

Nicole
 
Forget making a living with RentACoder unless you think you can compete with the prices Indian developers charge.

So unless you want to work for €2 an hour , I would look elsewhere.

jhegarty,

While 1/3rd of projects on sites like ours and our competitors will be price conscious, the remaining 2/3rds are awarded based on ratings, certifications and expert guarantees. Some workers make tens of thousands of dollars a year and more (see our worker list ranking list for details). In order to maximize your earnings, it's important to choose a service that protects you, and different sites vary widely in what they do for you.

If you have any questions, please let me know. You can also call in to talk to a facilitator 7 days a week, or email us.

Nicole
 
Very true , but the OP will be starting with any rating as a new user. So will have to compete on price until he has 40/50 projects with good rating behind him. This will take quite a while.


I have the site a few times , but as a buyer. And I know I would never even dream of doing the work myself for what I paid.
 
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