Going Legit

What started out asa hobby a few months back has blossemed into £150 + a month income stream, so lo and behold its time I started filling in my tax returns, declaring myself self employed and crying as the good ol' government takesa cut of my wages.

I am off to see an accountant tomorrow who will sort me out and get my taxes sorted soon after that, but I was just wondering if anyone else had any advice for when tehy took the plunge into legal trading ?

(I will be a self employed trader!)

 

Consult an attorney as well as an accountant to see what business entity will best suit your circumstances.

 

Congrats ThisIsOli. It sounds like you have done really well in a short space of time.

 

How can you survive with 150/month?
Don't you need to pay rent/gas/utility bill etc ?

 

I will definately be a Sole Trader, i have looked into it quite deeply and taxes wise its most efficient for me.

Currently Self Employment will be ontop of full time employment, but I am planning on restarting my Freelance writing career to give me a boost towards being able to quit my current full time job to dedicate myself!

The good thing about having self employed and full tiem employee status is that it gives me some pretty sweet tax breaks though (Until money really starts to roll in!)

 

do you make money on blogs? i think you're just excited earning the bucks on your spare time? goodluck anyway!

 

Nah I do have a business plan for it all and I am on track so far, I am looking to make this a full time income!

 

I dont see how 150 a month is anything to be happy about.

Thats equivalent to what in USD? $250?

 

About $300, but in teh tiemframe going from nothing I am prety happy about ti, because it is a 'real' amount, not just a few dollars here and there.

$300 is enough to show that my basic principals work and CAN be duplicated to multiply my income.

 

Personally I would forget all about the accountant (unless you are really crap with figures) as it just adds an extra cost to the business. I would sign up at hrmc.gov.uk and file the return myself, it is not as complicated as a lot of people would have you believe.

You said you have only been running for a few months, so legally you probably wont need to file anything until next year. The new Tax year begins on the 6th of April when you will be asked to file your taxes for the previous year.

Filing your return online also allows you more time to do it, whereas the paper version has to be filed much earlier so they can calculate them.

Also a little tip, make sure you put money to one side to cover your Tax. Whilst they will ask you to file for the previous years earnings, they will also use those figures to estimate the next years earnings and charge you both.

HTH

 

You have to file as a trader within three months of starting business in the UK, and I get free accounting and legal advice, I have quite a few accounting and lawyer friends, useful on occasions!

 

Its more the general advice a good accountant gives than just filling out the paperwork for you. I agree that £150 is pretty significant but because of that the accountant may give you a deep discount (thinking if you grow the business they will have a repeat customer)

When I started my first business my accountant helped me for free. It built loyalty and much of his advise helped me grow.

 

Yeah I will be paying later on if it becomes very successfull, I don't personally mind that though, whats a few hundred quid for someone to sort out your finances every year, he has already shown me how to get a tax rebate this year worth several hundred british pounds

 

No to be nosy but where are you based ThisIsOli?
(i.e. London etc etc) ^_^

 

Congrats, it is a pain in the butt to have to pay taxes but means your doign well.

 

Good for you by going legit. As previously stated, if you're paying taxes, that must mean you're making money. Best of luck to you!

 

Hehe the good thing is in my first year of trading I will actually be paying a lot less tax ontop of my normal job!

I am from York though

 

My LLC was filed Sept. 11th. I am officially a small business owner. JamesMichael Solutions, LLC. It's feels good.