There are many benefits of becoming self-employed – from setting your own working hours to fit around commitments – to making your own business decisions. If you’re working from home you can avoid a stressful daily commute, or you’ll have the opportunity to work on projects within the community.
You’ll also be in control of any administrative work and your finances. This includes a self-assessment submission at the end of your financial year. You’ll need to fill this in if your self-employment income was more than £1000. Need to know what to include in self-assessment? Read on…
What is self-assessment?
This is a system that HMRC uses to collect Income Tax. If you’re a company employee this is deducted automatically from your salary – if you’re self-employed you have to report it in the form of a tax return.
You’ll need to keep records such as bank account statements, and receipts to be able to work out your expenses. How much tax you pay will be calculated on the income tax band you’re in and your earnings.
How to register for self-assessment
If you’re newly self-employed you’ll need to register for self-assessment – you can do this easily online. Once your registration is accepted, you’ll receive a letter confirming your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) to enable you to set up a Government Gateway account, and an activation code which you need to finalise your details.
This online facility will allow you to access your account at any time and submit your tax
return.
What information do I need?
Before you fill in your finance online, you’ll need the following figures:
- Your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference
- Your National Insurance Number
- Details of your gross income from the tax year from your self-employment
- Record of any expenses related to your self-employment
- Any contributions to pensions or charities that may be eligible for tax relief
A brief guide to filling in the self-assessment tax return
The main section of the tax return deals with:
- Taxed and untaxed income
- Contributions to pensions
- Donations to charities
- Any received benefits such as State Pension or Child benefit
Supplementary notes cover:
- Turnover
- Expenses
- UK property income
- Capital Gains
Paying your self-assessment tax bill
Following the submission of your self-assessment tax return , you’ll be notified of how much tax and National Insurance Contributions you need to pay. The deadline for payment is 31 January. You can pay by arranging a budget payment plan through you online account and set an amount to pay on a weekly or monthly basis. Or you can pay the bill in full.
Can I get help with my self-assessment submission?
A reputable accountant in London will give you all the help and advice you need with your self-assessment submission. Outsourced accounting services are perfect for small businesses who have just started up, and partnerships, alongside giving self-employed tax return assistance.
Professional accountants will ensure that your submission is always on time, and make the most of your taxation position. All of your NIC compliance duties will be taken care of for you, and you’ll never overpay any tax. You’ll get all the support you need without any of the hassle!