Should I have completed a self assessment

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I've been working for myself as a childminder since 19th Dec 2011.

I'm registered with ofsted. But not registered with the tax office yet.

What do I need to do and what can wait?

you have to pay your tax somehow - even if you don't earn enough to pay tax, you should still register.

contact the inland revenue self-employment people to register as self-employed, and to ask for advice on paying back tax owed for 2011-2012. Also register for self-assessment services and the government gateway (you get posted numbers and passwords). Then you will be able to do the tax return for 2012-2013 and in the future.

the system actually works quite well - gather all the data, then doing the tax return takes about 20 minutes. DON'T leave it until the deadline - do it in the summer when the revenue people aren't busy and you can always get through on the helplines.

note that registering as self-employed will trigger a bill for your NI contributions. If you earn less than £5000 you can ask not to pay these, which of course means you don't get credit towards pensions and benefits. Self-employed people pay NI at a lower rate (as you don't get holidays, sick pay etc).