Taxy Type Stuff

[P.Pitstop]

Hellllpppp ! I am suffering from a bad case of baby brain and would appreciate some words of wisdom. I registered as a sole trader in july 2007 and i am really unsure of my tax deadlines which i know is very naughty. It's really just a wee paying hobby as i work as a teacher 3 days a week. Do i need to have been in business for a complete year before i file a return. The tax peeps have not sent me anything.

Michelle x

[newcrafter24]

If you registered in July 2007, then the end of your first tax year will be April 5th 2008. So the first Self Assessment tax return that you will get from HM Revenue & Customs will come out to you after 5th April 2008. You will have until approx Jan 2009 to complete your return and the period they are concerned about will be your trading activity betwen 6th April 2007 and 5th April 2008. Easiest way is to do it online and I think if you complete your SA tax form before September 30th, they do all the calculations for you.

Remember also if your earnings are going to be very low (around £4500 I think) you can apply for exemption from paying your self employed national insurance contributions but you need to complete a form. You can phone the NI self employed helpline and they will post the form out to you.

And finally if you have made a trading loss, you will get a tax refund against the tax you have paid on your paid employment (but of course we are all so successful on here that we are making lots of money!!)

[ladyluckjewellery]

Newcrafter has pretty much covered it all, but if you are going to do your tax return online it will also calculate any tax you owe even if you fill it in after the Sept date and do it later (but remember any tax you owe has to be received by HMRC by end Jan09)

I did my return for last year on 29th Jan online and as predicted, it calculated that I was owed a rebate - of 12p :sm:

[Seahorse]

OMG!I read that and it all made sense and I had that in my head before I read the help!!Could it be that business info is sinking in!!

P.Pitstop, Im seem to be in the same point of business as you.Im not looking forward to this SA form.

[P.Pitstop]

Thank you to everyone who replied you were all very helpful ! I thought I had to complete something for the start of April which was stressing me out big time..... since it's not till january i'll just go back to burying my head in the sand !!!

Michelle
x

[newcrafter24]

Just a quick add on to what I posted earlier. Self assessment can be a bit daunting if you have never done it before and although the absolute last date for sending in your SA form is going to be Jan 09, I wouldn't leave it that late. For you first time you are maybe going to want to have a go at completing it, leave it a few weeks then come back to it. It does take a bit of getting your head round and it will definitely take you some time to get all your paperwork sorted out, receipts, invoices, bank statements etc.

It isn't difficult work as such more time consuming and you have to get organised. Although nobody wants to be the class swot (!) and complete it right away, I certainly wouldn't put it to the back of your mind until Jan 09 otherwise you will have a last minute panic at the deadline.

There we go - lecture over for today!! If anybody wants any further advice please feel free to PM me - I am by no means an expert but I have done several self assessment forms and I also deal with alot of payroll/national insurance/accounts type stuff in my "Day job" as well so have a lot of general knowledge which I am happy to pass on if I can.

Christine

[Sparklez]

And finally if you have made a trading loss, you will get a tax refund against the tax you have paid on your paid employment (but of course we are all so successful on here that we are making lots of money!!)

Not always true I'm afraid, I made a loss of over £200 pounds last year. I had paid tax on my full time employment, which should all be correct, yet I ended up owing the tax man £6.66. Not a lot I know, but don't expect a refund, just cos you made a loss.

Cheers
Carol

[sunrise]

I'm in the process of filling in my tax return and dread it every year
last year I was employed , self employed and in a partnership !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so I get myself totally and utterly confused
have just managed to sort it out thanks to some lovely people at the tax office who helped me over the phone
my partnership ended this year in March so next year my tax return should be easier fingers crossed
apart from my employment I've made a loss on everything and feel really stupid filling in the form with my tiny figures but at least I'm all above board

[woodtattoos]

I also started in July last year... I should really look at my paperwork soon. I got the form a while back and shoved it in my Wood Tattoos file where its evil presence emanates even through a large wooden chest of drawers... I must dig the forms out and start completing it online. I only just made a small profit and I'm sure I haven't taken into account many costs that I probably could claim for such as a proportion of my electricity etc.

Oh well... I'll get it out on a long rainy Sunday afternoon!

Si.