Ltd company for consulting alongside salaried job

[altaccount]

Forgive the alt account, so I can quote figures whilst retaining anonymity!

Although I have previously done contracting and consulting, I am currently salaried and have been so for the past decade. I have been approached about a consulting/advisory/retainer type opportunity for the next ~12 months and I'm looking for the best way to go about it. I expect part of the answer will be "talk to an accountant", but part of the question is what sort of accountant? e.g. will one of the £75 per month online contractor jobbies do or do I require more specialist advice. I would of course like to minimise losses to tax/NI, and I would be happy to draw the money over a period of years, or even pay it all into pension if tax losses are otherwise too large.

Some facts which may be relevant to advice

Salary: inc bonuses I earn ~£150k a year
Quantum of consulting gig: Anticipated between £2-4k per month for around a year, lets say £30k over the period.
I already self assess, although investments are all in ISA/pension so I don't have any 'other' income.

Questions:

Is a ltd company the best way to go about this?
What's the best way to minimise tax liability, I presume dividends will play a part here though I haven't really kept up with the changes to that over the past few years
Presumably my wife, also employed separately, can be part of the business and draw some sort of dividend/salary too.
Do I/we have to draw a salary at all or can it all be dividends over several years?
What sort of insurances should I be looking at, public liability etc?
I don't believe IR35 is really a concern for this engagement, I will consider it very much outside.
What else do I need to consider?

As I say, I will engage an accountant at the appropriate time but I like to be educated prior to doing so and I appreciate the input of the PH hive mind!

Thanks in advance

[XJ75]

Do you actually need access to the money on a regular basis? If not you could just let it sit in the limited company until you shut the company down, at which point you can take the whole lot using entrepreneurs relief and pay 10% tax on the entire sum.

[Mr Pointy]

I suspect that you may get answers that point you towards operating via a Personal Services Company but I'd suggest that you also look closely at operating as a Sole Trader. If you think you are only going to be running for a year & turning over £30k I'm not sure that forming a PSC is going to be worthwhile. You might need to check if your client will accept you working as a ST though.

There is a lot of information here, although it does tend to focus on PSCs:
https://www.contractoruk.com/
https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/

Is a ltd company the best way to go about this?
Not necessarily, especially if you are only running for a year. Operating as a ST can be a lot easier in terms of administration.

What's the best way to minimise tax liability, I presume dividends will play a part here though I haven't really kept up with the changes to that over the past few years
Given you don't need the money to live on & you are a HR taxpayer look into pension payments, although this locks the money away until you are 55.

Presumably my wife, also employed separately, can be part of the business and draw some sort of dividend/salary too.
Not unless she's doing something for the money.

Do I/we have to draw a salary at all or can it all be dividends over several years?
You don't have to draw anything out but look into the tax you'll pay each year.

What sort of insurances should I be looking at, public liability etc?
Probably PL, maybe PI if anything yo do could cause a loss. If you drive to a meeting you'll need to make sure you car insurance covers business use.
https://www.caunceohara.co.uk/

I don't believe IR35 is really a concern for this engagement, I will consider it very much outside.
It's not your decision. There's a procedure that has to be followed by your client to determine the status of your relationship. This is another advantage of being an ST - IR35 doesn't come into it.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

What else do I need to consider?
Does your contract with your current employerallow you work for others?
RTI & Making Tax Digital (MTD). These are new hells that HMRC have come up with:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[worsy]

Some other considerations

Professional Indemnity & Limiting liability in the case of a huge f*** up
IR35 comes in April 21 but to Mr Pointy's point it would be good to get the engager to determine your status now in case of any gotchas later.
Could you simply use the income to top up a pension?
Accountancy fees and Companies house commitments.
Will you be supplying goods and services or just service? (VAT consideration)