Many of my clients are still employed whilst they set up their self-employment business and have concerns about their employer somehow finding out about this through the tax system, and how being self-employed and employed affects the taxes they pay. When you are in paid employment, your employer will be sent a PAYE code, and [...]
Late filing and late payment penalties for tax
February 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
HMRC fines and penalties are tough. If your tax return is late, you will receive a £100 fine regardless of whether you actually owe any tax or not. If you are 3 months late filing your return, you will receive an automatic fine of £10 per day up to a maximum of £900. Should you get [...]
Can I claim for my travel costs to save tax?
February 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
You can claim 45p per mile (up to 10,000 miles and then 25p thereafter [2011-12 rates shown]) as an expense against your business for all business travel made in your own car, whether you are operating as a sole trader or a limited company. If you are a sole trader, you could claim capital allowances, and [...]
Tips for completing your self-assessment return
February 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The deadline for getting your self-assessment tax return to HMRC is 31st January after the end of your tax year for online filing, or 31st October for filing by post. Here are my top tips for getting it right. I would always recommend getting professional advice if your affairs are complex. This complies with the [...]
Cars – what to claim as expenses to save tax
February 21, 2013 by 2 Comments
Often an area of some confusion for my clients, is the question of what to claim for car expenses. Should we be putting our petrol bills through the accounts, or is there another way of claiming these expenses? The answer is that, as a sole trader, you have 2 choices, either to claim the business proportion [...]
Payments on account – double whammy
February 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
If you are a sole trader, you may well have already come across payments on account. But if you are a fairly new sole trader, please read on to make sure you are prepared for what many see as a double whammy of tax on their profits. Payments on account arise when you have an [...]
Universal tax credits – impact on the self-employed
October 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The tax credits system is to be replaced with the Universal Credit which will be introduced from 2013. This new system is likely to be less favourable for the self-employed than the current Working Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits system for the following reasons: The proposed new system will assume a level of income [...]
