thinking of getting second job. advice on tax etc needed.

[tara4now]

hi. im a childminder and things are really slow at the moment. ive had 4 children leave due to starting secondary school etc. i could really do with getting another part-time job but dont know the tax implications etc. at the moment i dont earn enough from childminding to pay tax. if i got another job it would be classed as my second job wouldnt it,and i think i would have to pay tax. would the employer do this or would i do it with my income from childminding? sorry about all the queations, but i want to know if getting a second job will be worth it!

Your employer would probably put you on the basic code as you can't declare it as your only job for the Tax Year and then you would claim any adjustment(ie overpayment if your cm income was less than the threshold) in April 2008 by sending in a tax return.

When you are employed, your employer deducts your tax and NI on your behalf. You will need to complete a P46, on which you state if the job is your only job or not. I would expect that you will be taxed at Basic Rate. For simple calculation - take your gross pay and deduct 25% of it... then you won't be that far out what your take home pay is likely to be.
You can of course use online calculators to give you a better idea - such as ListenToTaxman (select 07/08 tax year, enter BR in the tax code box - then it will calculate without tax free allowances).

Example: if you earned £100 per week, you take home £83.15. If you earned £200 per week, you take home £150.15 (thus why I say use 25% as it's close enough!)