Self Employment

What makes you self employed?

If you are working for yourself, you're probably self-employed or a sole trader. Here are some other pointers to self-employment:

• if you're running a business and take full responsibility for all its costs;
• you have multiple customers/clients at the same time;
• you have full control over when, how long and where you work;
• you can also hire people to do work for you;
• you provide the main equipment for your work e.g. van and machinery;
• you sell goods or services to make a profit. 

Who will need to file a tax return?

You'll need to file a tax return if:

• you earn more than £1,000 a year (that's before any costs are taken off);
• you need to prove you’re self-employed, e.g. to claim Tax-Free Childcare or maternity allowance;
  
• you want to make voluntary Class 2 National Insurance payments to help you qualify for benefits;
• you are receiving child benefit and your income is above £50,000.

Which tax reliefs can I claim?

There are several options to claim tax relief for the running costs of your business. Here are some of what's available:

• office costs - these would be things like rent, stationery, phone, computer software and printing costs;
• travel costs - such as vehicle fuel, parking and train tickets;
• clothing costs - such as uniforms, boots and safety gloves;
• staff costs - such as wages, sub-contractor and training costs;
• cost of sales - such as materials or goods bought to sell on to customers;
• financial costs - such as insurance, bank charges and interests costs;
• advertising costs - such as website and promotions costs;
• capital allowances - such as business vehicles, equipment and machinery;
• working from home - you could claim a portion of your household bills e.g. rent and electricity.

Remember:

• you cannot claim for any of these expenses if you are claiming the £1,000 tax-free trading allowance;
• if you use cash basis, most items that would normally be claimed for as capital allowances would be claimed as allowable expenses.
• if you use an item for both personal and business use. You can only claim the portion of the costs that relate to your business e.g. if you use your phone 50% for business then you can claim 50% of the costs.

Prices start from £12.50 per month.

Self Employed? Got your figures ready?

Why not fill our tax return for the self employed. At a cost of only £60.00 inc VAT no matter your income, file your return in as little as 10 minutes. It will be checked and sent to HMRC straight away.

Should you wish to sign up for our services, please click below to fill our onboarding form or tax return form and our accountant will be in touch within two working days.