Self-employed people must pay National Insurance contributions. But the good news is that the rate you’ll pay is lower than the rate employees pay. This is your essential guide to National Insurance for the self-employed. We’ll explore how much you have to pay, how to pay it, and what happens if you don’t pay. How…
If you’re new to the world of freelancing, then you may also be new to the world of tax returns. When you work for a company, tax is relatively straightforward – it’s just a figure that shows up on your payslip, a sum that HMRC takes off your wages each month. This arrangement is known…
Can’t pay your tax bill? Don’t worry. There are some steps you can take, whatever the issue you’re facing. If you can’t pay your tax bill for financial reasons, this post will explore the help and support that’s available. But first, we’ll look at some other issues that may cause you to miss your tax…
When you submit your tax return at the end of the financial year, you have to tell HMRC about all the income you’ve received from all sources – including self-employment, property, capital gains, and so on. This is so HMRC knows how much to tax you. “Undeclared income” is any source of money that, for…
UTR stands for Unique Taxpayer Reference. The government uses your UTR number as a means of keeping track of you for tax purposes. They can’t use your name for this, as lots of people might share the same name. Nor can they use your date of birth, for the same reason. And they can’t use…
All businesses, big and small, should offer employee benefits beyond the salary. Good employee benefits are crucial if you want to attract and retain talented and passionate staff. They’ll also help increase morale and productivity, while improving relationships between staff and management. You can read our guide to the best employee benefits. But an employee…
It’s common for people to work multiple jobs. You could have a full-time job and a second job, perhaps working evenings or weekends. Or you could work multiple part-time jobs. Many also do some self-employed work alongside a second job. All of these working arrangements can cause some confusion about the amount of tax you…
If you’re just starting out as a freelancer, then you may be thinking about managing your own taxes for the first time. In this post we’ll explain certain tax thresholds for freelancers, including the amount you can earn before paying tax. We’ll also discuss some other steps you’ll need to take if you’re starting a…
VAT is value-added tax. It’s applied to the sale of most goods and services, though certain goods and services are either exempt, or charged at a reduced rate. And unlike income tax, it’s collected by the seller. At the time of writing, the standard VAT rate in the UK is 20%. Only the most successful…
You can claim certain business expenses as part of your tax return. Only some expenses are allowable. You can read our complete guide to allowable expenses for self-employed workers. This is why it’s a good idea to keep the receipts for any purchase you make for your business. With receipts to hand, you’ll have a…