Can anybody advise me on being SELF EMPLOYED? DH to be precise

[MamaG]

DH is going to ahve to go self employed as of Monday

I've been made redundant

He won't be employing anybody, just pimping his ass out to anybody who will pay (well, his hands, but it doesn't sound the same does it)

What the heck do we do?
What records do we need to keep?
What can we deduct from the gross profits?

Any help much appreciated

My DH is SE

You need to register as self employed with IR

Keep everything - fuel receipts, a diary of what he did on each day, any tools/clothes/veichles/anything bought regarding work - all this can be deducted

Keep mobile bills and bank statements, pay NI monthly dd

Thansk scorp. So if he goes se as of Monday, will we have to fill in a tax return now? Or are the ones being submitted now for tax year 07/08?

tomorrow is the deadline for 07/08, so no, he won't

also if he is builder type person look into public liabilities insurance

we are se virgins

oh and you have to tell evil tax credits people at some point too

I'm no expert. [disclaimer]

I filled in some forms to register to pay NI contributions (Class 3).

There is a leaflet available on being self-employed/registering. Think is pblished by the DWP (Dept of Work and Pensions). So a google might be worthwhile.

My NICs go out monthly from my bank account. At the end of the financial year I fill in a self assessment form and any earnings over I think 7k ish are then calculated for Class 4 NICs and automatically added to the annual tax payment calculation.

You can claim loads and loads. Good record keeping is key. I don't use an accountant but will have to next year as we had a windfall which is in my name and means that will have to pay tax on savings, which hasn't been a problem thus far {wink}

But an example is that you can, if you work from home, claim a percentage of your heating/telephone/internet (if applicable) bills. I bought a laptop and I could have put that (or a proportion of that) on as a tax deductable expense. DH is self assessed (but employed) and I knwo his accountants were wanting info on his private pension. I did claim the cost of an accountant (who I used at the initial startup) as an expense since was wholly self-employment related (was about £250).

we have been SE for about 2 years now - much better IME

yes we will need insurance - any tips?

OH and I had to get public liability insurance as a freelancer (required by the "employer") which was a business expense, as were my professional membership fees.

We don't get tax credits so I didn't have to do anything about that.

You have to be fairly meticulous at keeping invoices, receipts and statements for banks/utilities. Doesn't mean you have to be on top of it all the time but if the info is in one place (even 1 dedicated drawer) it makes it easier when you have to do the self-assessment.

totally agree with pooka - keep anything and everything - we use an accountant, which we can claim back btw. (about £200 - and they file the return for you [lazy])

We keep all fuel, tools, materials, even receipts for boots and brushes!

DH got his insurance from local broker.

Its a bit scary

your dh can also 'employ' you as secetrary, and claim that back!

i thought it would be scary too, but its not

Oh this is really interesting, thanks. DP is possibly going to take the plunge and work (for someone but in a SE role, if that makes sense). If and when we discover anything pertinent I will return!

God he'd love that - telling me he was my employer

So I could take a wage, for doing all the account bits etc?

for example: we bought a van, for £xk. this will get taken off tax bill.

you could, yes, our accountant said this to us, but we dont do it.

so firstly we need to :-

1. register as self emp
2. set up a payment for NI contributions
3. get some insurnace
4. keep all receipts
5. keep copies of invoices?

This is interesting as i'm thinking of going SE, I would watch this thread but the site won't let me

yes copies of invoices, and we write down in diary daily where he has been, doing what.

Keep a record of everything. I employ DH to the tune of £5k a year which helps with tax,, keep up to date with your record keeping, an excel spreadsheet is more than enough.

Don't forget that you may also need to register for VAT, depending on how much he is likely to earn. I can't remember what the threshold is, but it's something like 45K. If he's going to earn near or more than that he will have to have a VAT number.

Good luck!

VAT is now over £60k