LITRG Self Employment Guide

A guide by the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group
of The Chartered Institute of Taxation

April 2021
Self-employment:
A LITRG guide
page 1 Self-employment: A LITRG guide

Who is this guide for?
This guide is intended to supplement the material in the self-employment section of the
LITRG website. We wrote this guide to help self-employed people who want detailed
information in one accessible place and non-specialist advisers who help low-income
self-employed individuals.
The guide is split into two parts: the first considers the main areas that concern most
self-employed people with straightforward tax affairs and also covers in greater detail
more complex areas which may arise – for example, if you are claiming certain state
benefits or have additional tax obligations such as registering for the Construction
Industry Scheme (CIS) section from page 8. The second part includes general useful
information such as advice on contacting HMRC, important tax deadlines and checklists.
Please note the guide is written from the perspective of addressing the self-employed
individual rather than their adviser.
Throughout this guide, you can find details of other organisations who may be able to
help you further.
Some of the information in this guide may be new to you and can be quite technical
in nature. We have tried to simplify things as much as possible and have included top
tips to help you deal with self-employed tax affairs. We have included a case study to
illustrate how to prepare business accounts and Self Assessment tax return on page 33,
and a glossary from page 74 that explains some of the terms used in the guide.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has resulted in some temporary changes

to tax and benefits rules which may affect the self-employed including how to
complete your 2020/21 tax return. There is detailed information about these
changes on the LITRG website. In this guide we have highlighted where temporary
rule changes apply with this symbol .
page 2 Who is this guide for? Self-employment: A LITRG guide

Contents
Introduction5
Section 1
First things first 6
What is self-employment? 6
What help is available with tax status (self-employed vs employed)? 7
What are your tax and National Insurance responsibilities if you are self-employed? 7
How and when should you notify HMRC that you are self-employed? 8
What happens after you have registered with HMRC? 8
How do you register under the Construction Industry Scheme? 9
Starting to trade 10
What type of business are you setting up? 10
What business records do you need to keep? 11
Why do you need to prepare accounts? 11
What important things do you need to consider when preparing your accounts? 12
Special rules for calculating profits for certain trades and businesses 18
How to complete your Self Assessment tax return 19
What tax allowances, reliefs and other deductions are available? 22
When do you pay any income tax due? 24
Tax losses 27
What National Insurance contributions do you pay? 28
Special circumstances for calculating National Insurance contributions 29
Partnerships30
Checklist for starting a business 32
Case study on how to prepare your accounts and Self Assessment tax return 33
Growing your business 43

Taking on staff 43
Registering as an employer with HMRC 44
Reporting Pay As You Earn (PAYE) – the options 45
page 3 Contents Self-employment: A LITRG guide

Contents continued
Employment law 46
National minimum wage 47
Pension auto-enrolment (workplace pensions) 47
What is Value Added Tax (VAT)? 47
Registering for VAT 48
VAT returns 48
VAT schemes 49
Local taxes 50
Other things to consider as your business grows 52
Stopping your business 53
Notifying HMRC 53
Stopping your business – if registered for PAYE or VAT 54
Stopping your business – if claiming tax credits or universal credit 55
State benefits 56
Tax credits 56
Universal credit 59
Other state benefits 63
Additional help for those with disabilities 65

When things go wrong with your tax affairs 66
Section 2
Other useful things to know 67
Advice on how to contact HMRC 67
Digital tax accounts and Personal Tax Accounts 68
Websites for further information 68
Organisations that might be able to help you further 68
Further help and guides from HMRC 69
Some important tax allowances and rates 70
Some important tax dates 72
Glossary: important words and phrases 74
page 4 Contents Self-employment: A LITRG guide

Introduction
The last ten years have seen a large rise in the number of people who are self-
employed,1 many of whom earn a low income, perhaps working in the ‘gig economy’ and
unable to afford tax advice. Setting up a new business can be a daunting prospect and,
for many, the complex tax and benefit rules are difficult to fully understand. Therefore,
these people will often turn to other organisations to help them make sure they are both
fulfilling their obligations and receiving the benefits that they are entitled to.
For the low-income self-employed worker there have been some important changes
in the tax system in the last few years with the introduction of the trading allowance,
cash basis, and simplified expenses, as well as temporary changes because of the
coronavirus outbreak, such as the Self-Employment Incomes Support Scheme, and there
are major changes expected over the next few years due to HMRC’s Making Tax Digital
programme. The first phase of the programme, Making Tax Digital for VAT, started
during 2019 and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is due to come in from April 2023..
There are also significant changes taking place to the benefits system with the continued
roll-out of universal credit which is replacing tax credits and other benefits.
We are also concerned that some of the information provided on GOV.UK is insufficient
to enable people to fully understand their tax and benefits situation. There is less
personal help available from HMRC and a greater expectation that the self-employed
will be able to deal with their own tax affairs through online assistance rather than face-
to-face help.
As explained above, this guide has been written in two sections.
The main part of this guide aims to answer the key questions that most self-employed
people with straightforward tax affairs will have. Some sections of this guide will link
across to the self-employment guidance and coronavirus guidance on our website.
There are also parts of this guide which address more complicated tax and benefit
issues that some low-income self-employed workers may face.
The second part provides general information which may be useful to know about such
as tax deadlines, organisations that may be able to provide further help, and tax rates.
1 Estimated at 4.8 million (Trends in self-employment in the UK) in 2017 which is approximately 15% of the
UK workforce
page 5 Introduction Self-employment: A LITRG guide

First things first
This section explains what your responsibilities are from a tax perspective if you are self-
employed. We cover National Insurance contributions in our starting to trade section
from page 10.
It will address the following questions:
▶ Page 6: What is self-employment?
▶ Page 7: What help is available with tax status (self-employed vs employed)?
▶ Page 7: What are your tax and National Insurance responsibilities if you are self-
employed?
▶ Page 8: How and when should you notify HMRC that you are self-employed?
▶ Page 8: What happens after you have registered with HMRC?
▶ Page 9: How do you register under the Construction Industry Scheme?
What is self-employment?
A self-employed person is often described as running their own business or as a sole
trader. You do not have a choice over whether to be treated as employed or self-
employed for tax purposes; it depends on the circumstances.
It is important to realise that you may be neither employed nor self-employed if you
are volunteering, training or gaining work experience, or undertaking an activity on a
one-off basis. If you are a director of your own limited company then you are not self-
employed but an office holder and employee of your company.
For many people their employment status will be straightforward. However, for some
people the distinction between employment and self-employment is not as clear. Some
businesses try to exploit this by treating people as self-employed when they should be
treated as an employee. They do this to avoid operating Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and
complying with employment law. In this situation, if HMRC believe the individual is an
employee, they could assess the taxpayer for the tax that would have been due if they
had been taxed correctly as an employee – although HMRC should usually approach
the employer first.
Be wary if:
▶ you are offered work and given a choice of being an employee or self-employed; or
▶ someone you are going to work for tells you that you are self-employed – in this
case you should ensure you check this to confirm it is correct.
page 6 First things first Self-employment: A LITRG guide

Top Tip
We strongly recommend that you understand your employment status before you start
work. If you are self-employed you will have no entitlement to any employment rights,
which include things like paid holidays and sick leave. You will also have to take full
responsibility for your tax affairs.
If you are uncertain about your employment status then we cover this area in greater
detail on our page Am I employed, self-employed, both or neither? and in Further
help and guides from HMRC from page 70. Be aware that the rules which are used for
income tax and National Insurance contributions differ from the guidance used for tax
credits and universal credit purposes. So, you need to make sure you refer to the correct
guidance, depending on the situation.
What help is available with tax status

(self-employed vs employed)?
If you think that something is wrong with your employment status so that your income
tax and National Insurance contributions are not being dealt with on the right basis, you
could challenge the business that is offering you the work and ask them to put things
right. However, this may affect your offer of work.
If necessary, HMRC can help you determine whether you are employed or self-
employed by using their online tool called the Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST)
tool. It will ask you a set of questions about your situation and it will then give you an
indication of your employment status for tax. You can then print this off and show your
engager (the business that is offering you work).
If all else fails and you think your income tax and NIC is still not being dealt with correctly
by your engager, you may wish to report them to HMRC. Note that the engager is
described as the client in the questions in CEST tool and you are the worker. HMRC state
that in the event of a HMRC enquiry you can rely on a status decision produced via the
CEST tool, provided the questions are answered accurately and honestly.
HMRC are starting to challenge what they class as hobby-traders – these are people
who consider themselves as self-employed but HMRC consider they are not carrying on
a commercial trade with a view to making regular profits. An example of where HMRC
are becoming stricter with hobby-traders is in relation to losses incurred in a business
where you work fewer than 10 hours a week. Losses are explained under Starting to
trade on page 27.
What are your tax and National

Insurance responsibilities if you are
self-employed?
If you are self-employed, you are responsible for settling your own tax and National
Insurance contributions. You will need to:
▶ register with HMRC for self-employed National Insurance and Self Assessment,
▶ understand what taxes you must pay and when, and
▶ file a Self Assessment tax return.
Some business sectors, such as the construction industry, have special tax rules and
require additional registration.

How and when should you notify HMRC
that you are self-employed?
By law, you must register your self-employment with HMRC because you will be
responsible for paying income tax and National Insurance contributions on the profits
from your business. There is an exception to this if your trading income is no more than
£1,000 and you are eligible and want to claim the trading allowance (see page 22), then
you do not need to notify HMRC of your self-employment income.
We cover the various ways you can register your self-employment with HMRC on our
website: I am self-employed. How and when do I register?.
You will need to know your National Insurnce number (NINO) to register as self-
employed. This can usually be found on most HMRC correspondence, or on your
payslips if you have been employed, or you can check on your Personal Tax Account if
you have registered for one on GOV.UK (see page 67).
If you cannot find your NINO then our page on What to do if I lose or forget my National
Insurance number? explains how you can have it confirmed.
Important note:
Once you start trading you should register with HMRC as soon as possible and no later
than 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you started your self-employment.
If you do not register then you could be charged a penalty. There is further information
on how a penalty is calculated in our tax basics section.
What happens after you have registered

with HMRC?
If you have never completed a Self Assessment tax return before then after you have
registered with HMRC you will receive your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). The
UTR is a ten-digit number which you will need when completing your tax return and
corresponding with HMRC. If you have previously filed tax returns – even if it was a
long time ago – your old UTR number will become active again on registering as self-
employed.
You will then be sent a notice to complete a Self Assessment tax return for the tax year
in which you started your business unless your self-employed income for the first year
was less than £1,000. How you receive this notification will depend on whether you have
opted for electronic communications from HMRC. There are more details on the page
What happens after I register?. The notice shows your UTR number and the tax year for
which a tax return is required.
We cover Self Assessment tax returns later in this guide.
How do you register under the

Construction Industry Scheme?
If you are going to be self-employed in the construction industry, then you can choose
to register with HMRC as a subcontractor under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).
If you are a contractor engaging other self-employed workers on construction projects,
then you must register for the CIS with HMRC. Under the CIS, construction activities
include most building work such as site preparation, alterations, dismantling, repairs,
demolition, decoration and construction.

Being registered with HMRC as a subcontractor under the CIS means the contractor
(the organisation who engages you as a self-employed worker) must usually withhold
20% of the amount of your invoices (except for any amounts for materials, plant hire,
etc.) and pay it to HMRC on your behalf as an advance payment for your income tax
and National Insurance contributions. This means that only 80% of your earnings will be
paid directly to you, together with any amounts recharged for materials, plant hire, etc.
If your tax affairs have been kept up-to-date and your turnover exceeds £30,000, then
you may be able to apply to HMRC for ‘gross payment status’. This allows the contractor
to pay you in full, without withholding any amounts for tax. There is more information on
how to apply for gross payment status and the conditions which must be satisfied on
GOV.UK.
If you decide not to register with HMRC nor apply for ‘gross payment status’, then
contractors must withhold 30% as advance payments.
The sums withheld by contractors and paid over to HMRC on your behalf are then
set against your tax and National Insurance bill once the relevant Self Assessment tax
return is submitted and processed. Note that your CIS income should be reported on
the self-employment pages of your tax return, not the employment pages. Unless you
have approved ‘gross payment status’, there will often be a tax refund due, however this
may be different for the 2020/21 tax year if you have claimed the grants under the Self-
Employment Income Support Scheme.
There is general information on the CIS on GOV.UK and Booklet 340 contains more
detailed guidance. There is also a short film on YouTube produced by HMRC explaining
how to register for the CIS.
Our page What is the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)? has more detailed
information and examples showing how the CIS works. If you are registered on the CIS
and you stop being self-employed then you should contact the CIS helpline on 0300 200
3210 as soon as possible.

Starting to trade
Starting self-employment can be a very busy and exciting time. You will have lots to
think about to get your business up and running and this should include considering
what financial information you will need to prepare your Self Assessment tax return in
due course. This section discusses:
▶ Page 10: What type of business are you setting up (for example: company,
partnership or sole trader?)
▶ Page 11: What business records do you need to keep?
▶ Page 11: Why do you need to prepare accounts?
▶ Page 12: What important things do you need to consider when preparing your
accounts?
▶ Page 18: Special rules for calculating profits for certain trades and businesses
▶ Page 19: How to complete your Self Assessment tax return
▶ Page 22: What tax allowances, reliefs and other deductions are available?
▶ Page 24: When do you pay any income tax due?
▶ Page 27: Tax losses
▶ Page 28: What National Insurance contributions do you pay?
▶ Page 29: Special circumstances for calculating National Insurance contributions
▶ Page 30: Partnerships
▶ Page 32: Checklist for starting a business
▶ Page 33: Case study on how to prepare your accounts and Self Assessment tax
return
What type of business are you

setting up?
One of the important decisions you need to make when you are starting your own
business is what type of business structure to use. For example, you could decide to set
up a limited company, or a partnership, or be a self-employed individual (sole trader).
There can be some advantages and disadvantages to whichever entity you choose to
run your business as, and there are differences in the tax treatment too. For example,
companies pay corporation tax on the company profits and as the owner (shareholder)
you may pay income tax on your wages (through Paye As You Earn), and/or on your
dividends (through Self Assessment). On the other hand, if you are self-employed you
pay income tax based on taxable profits from your self-employment.
If you are unsure about what type of business structure to use, then you should consider
obtaining professional advice. Some businesses start off as a sole trader (self-
employed) and become limited companies as the business develops.
page 10 Starting to trade Self-employment: A LITRG guide

This guide focuses on being self-employed and so detailed advice in connection with
running a limited company is outside its scope. For further information on setting up a
company (incorporation) see GOV.UK.
A partnership means that the partners (owners) personally share responsibility for the
business. Partnerships can either be formed formally using a legal document called a
Partnership Agreement or informally through an understanding between two or more
self-employed people. There is information on GOV.UK about setting up partnerships.
We cover partnerships in more detail on page 30.
What business records do you need

to keep?
One of your responsibilities to HMRC is to keep adequate records of your business
income and expenses in order to prepare an accurate Self Assessment tax return.
Currently there is no standard format as to what accounting records a business will

need to keep, as it will vary depending on the size and nature of the business. However,
most self-employed people will need to keep records digitally and submit details of
business income and expenses using software when Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
is eventually implemented.
Top Tip
It is very important that you keep personal transactions separate from your business
transactions. This does not necessarily mean that you need to have a separate
business bank account (depending on your bank’s terms and conditions), but having
separate accounts can be helpful.
Our page What business records should I keep? lists examples of what type of
information you should keep, how that may vary depending on whether you use the
accruals basis or the cash basis, how long you should keep your business records and
what the penalties are for not keeping adequate business records.
▶ If you have claimed the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant then
you will have to keep some additional records to show how your business was eligible to
claim the grant(s) because of the coronavirus outbreak.
GOV.UK has a general guide to record keeping under Self Assessment and record
keeping if you are self-employed or registered under the Construction Industry Scheme
(CIS) (as a contractor).
You will need to keep additional records if you are VAT registered or employ staff.
Why do you need to prepare

accounts?
You need to prepare accounts so you can work out what profits and losses you have
made from your self-employment. This information is then used to calculate what income
tax and National Insurance contributions are due from your self-employed earnings.
There is no set format for your accounts but a typical profit and loss account is shown in
the section on page 14. The accounts need to be able to show the business income and
expenses accurately and you should choose a process you feel confident in using. Some
people use book-keeping software or spreadsheets, others will keep a manual cash
book or annotated bank statements. Your accounts are not sent to HMRC, but you will

use the information from the accounts to complete your Self Assessment tax return. You
will need to include details of your self-employed business, including your income and
expenses, on your return. Only the Self Assessment tax return is filed with HMRC.
As part of HMRC’s Making Tax Digital initiative, some self-employed businesses will
eventually be required to provide accounting information online to HMRC at quarterly
(three-monthly) intervals; however, this is not now expected to be introduced until 2023
at the earliest, and some of the details are still to be worked out.
What important things do you need

to consider when preparing your
accounts?
Below is an example of what a typical profit and loss account may look like and refers to
some questions you will need to consider when completing your Self Assessment tax
return. Remember your accounts may look different to this – that is fine as long as you
have included all the income (sales) and deducted any business expenses (costs) so you
can calculate your business profit which is used to work out any income tax and National
Insurance contributions due.
Important note:
There are two ways of preparing your accounts: either the cash basis or the accruals
basis. The profit and loss account below (ABC Services) shows the cash basis of
accounting. We also show what a profit and loss account prepared using the accruals
basis would look like (XYZ Services, see page 17).
Certain trades may have special tax rules, such as authors, artists, childminders, farmers
and market gardeners. We cover this in our section Special rules for calculating profits
for certain trades and businesses on page 18.

ABC Services (an example using the cash
basis and not registered for VAT)
Profit and loss account for the year ended 5 April 2021 (see Note 1 below)
Tax year 2020/21 (see Note 2 below)
£ £
Sales (turnover or income) (Note 3) 15,000
Less cost of sales:
Product purchases/materials (1,750)
Gross profit 13,250
Less other expenses: (Notes 4 & 5)
Marketing 650
Rent 4,000
Travel – mileage (Note 6) 400
Working at home (Note 6) 120
Sundry 75
Capital equipment (Note 7) 1,500
6,745
Net taxable profit 6,505
Note 1: what accounting date should you use?

You will need to consider what date to prepare your accounts up to. Usually, accounts
are prepared to the same date in each year (the accounting date), so you will want to
choose a date that is convenient for you. This can be any day in the year, although from
a tax point of view, the easiest dates to choose are either 31 March (if you prefer to work
in whole months) or 5 April. Any date chosen from 31 March to 5 April inclusive will be
treated as 5 April when completing your Self Assessment tax return, to make it as easy
as possible.
Top Tip
If you want to keep things simple use an accounting date of either 31 March (if you
prefer to work in whole months) or 5 April so it matches the tax year.
It is possible to change your accounting date, but HMRC need to agree that there is a
valid commercial reason to do so. See the Can I change my accounting date? page for
further information.

Note 2: What is the tax year?
The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April, so the 2020/21 tax year will be from 6 April 2020
to 5 April 2021 and the 2021/22 tax year will be from 6 April 2021 to 5 April 2022.
If you choose an accounting date of 5 April then your accounts will follow the tax year.
So, if you started your business on 1
September 2020, when you prepare your
accounts for the 2020/21 tax year you will
use the period 1 September 2020 to 5 April
2021. In subsequent years, your accounts
will follow a complete tax year, so for the
2021/22 tax year the accounts will be from
6 April 2021 to 5 April 2022.
It is more complicated if you use a

different accounting end date (but
remember any date chosen from 31
March to 5 April inclusive will be treated
as 5 April for the purposes of your Self Assessment tax return). If you use a different
accounting date then you will need to understand basis periods which we cover in our
page What is my basis period?.
Note 3: What accounting method (accounting

basis) should I use?
You will need to decide which accounting method to use when recording your business
transactions. As mentioned at the start of this section, there are two methods: the cash
basis and the accurals basis. Not all businesses can use the cash basis, and we explain
who can use it on our Who can use the cash basis? page, but if you can use this method
then it may be the simplest way to record your business transactions.
The cash basis was designed to make accounting and completing a Self Assessment
tax return easier for small unincorporated businesses (that is, sole traders and some
partnerships). Most self-employed businesses are eligible to use the cash basis if they
have annual trading income below £150,000 (or £300,000 if claiming universal credit).
If you can use the cash basis and elect to do so on your Self Assessment tax return,
then you are allowed to account for income and expenses when you actually receive
payment or when you actually pay for a business expense. By using the cash basis you
will not need to calculate your debtors and creditors at the year-end, perform a stock-
take or estimate accruals and prepayments.
It is possible to move between the cash basis and the accruals basis (which we explain
at Note 8 below), however you must stick to the same basis for an accounting year. If
you want to move from the cash basis to the accruals basis you need to have a change
of circumstances relating to any trade carried on by you to do so, such as having a
trading loss, as there are more ways to use a trading loss under the accruals basis than
under the cash basis.
Our How do I prepare my accounts? page explains what other reasons there are for
why you may want to use the accruals basis, how different business transactions are
treated under the different accounting bases, what the eligibility rules are for the cash
basis, and how you can change between the accruals and cash basis.
Note 4: expenses allowable for tax

For a cost to be an allowable deduction when calculating your self-employment
taxable profit, it has to be wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the business.
Some expenses do not meet this test and so are not allowable business expenses for tax
purposes. Examples include entertaining customers and any personal expenses such as
drawings.

Drawings are when you take money from your business to pay for personal expenditure.
Drawings are not tax-deductible expenses and should not be included in your business
accounts as an expense.
Note
Our pages What business expenses are allowable? and Further comments on business
expenses list common business expenses and provide guidance on their tax treatment.
You may have expenses which are split between personal use and business use, such
as a mobile phone. You can claim for the amount of business usage – for example, you
could analyse your mobile phone bills over a sample period to work out a reasonable
estimate of your business use. So, after looking at your phone bills for three months, you
estimate that your phone costs are 25% business and 75% personal then you can include
25% of your total mobile phone expenses in your accounts.
Our page on I have prepared my accounts and decided which expenses are not
allowable. What do I do next? illustrates this with a numerical example on splitting
motoring expenses between business use and private use.
Note 5: pre-trading expenses

Pre-trade expenses are costs you incur before you start trading. You can usually treat
these as if the expenses were incurred on the first day you began trading, so they will be
an allowable business expense in your first set of accounts. There is more information on
pre-trading expenses including the relevant time limits on our page Can I claim for pre-
trade expenses?.
Note 6: simplified expenses

Simplified expenses try and make the calculation of certain business expenses easier
by using a flat-rate allowance. As the name suggests it can be much simpler using
these flat-rate expenses. However, depending on individual circumstances it may be
advantageous instead to claim the appropriate business portion of the expense.
Any self-employed business can use any of the simplified expenses if they want to – this
includes sole traders and most partnerships. You can use simplified expenses if you are
using the accruals basis or using the cash basis.
Note
Simplified expenses were introduced alongside the cash basis, but you do not have to
elect to use the cash basis to use one or more of the simplified expenses. Similarly, if
you have elected to use the cash basis you do not have to use the simplified expenses
rules.
There are three categories of expenses where these simplified rules can be applied and
we cover these, including the amounts of the flat-rate allowance, on separate pages of
our website. The categories are:
▶ Expenditure on motor vehicles
▶ Use of home for business purposes
▶ Use of business premises as home
There is also a simplified expenses checker on GOV.UK which is a guide as to whether

you will be better off using a flat-rate allowance compared to apportioning actual
expenses.

If you decide not to claim the flat-rate allowance for motor vehicles then you may claim
capital allowances on the business cost of your vehicle (see below).
Note 7: capital expenditure and capital

allowances
Expenses are either classed as capital or revenue. A capital expense is usually a larger
item of expenditure incurred to purchase an asset that you would expect to use in the
business for a longer period of time and which you would expect to have an enduring
benefit for the business. There is no fixed time set out in law, but you would expect that
asset to last for longer than a year. Examples include a laptop, a machine, or equipment
such as a lawnmower.
A revenue expense is something that lasts for a shorter period of time and is often
used up during your self-employment work. Examples include printer ink, repairs to a
machine, or stock to resell.
Generally capital expenses are not treated as allowable for tax in the same way as
revenue expenses are, unless you elect to use the cash basis. However, even under the
cash basis cars and motorcycles will not be treated as revenue expenses but should be
eligible for tax relief through capital allowances.
Capital allowances are the tax equivalent of depreciation. However, the allowances are
only available on certain capital assets and have to be claimed on your Self Assessment
tax return. Depending on the circumstances there are different rules for which type of
capital allowance can be claimed. Many small businesses using the accruals basis will
only use the annual investment allowance. This is a special allowance that provides 100%
tax relief on assets qualifying as plant and machinery, subject to an annual maximum,
which is £1 million from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021 then £200,000 from
1 January 2022 onwards, by allowing the full cost of the asset to be deducted from profits
(similar to a revenue expense). The annual investment allowance is not available for
cars and motorcycles.
Top Tip
Many capital items (apart from cars) will be eligible for the annual investment
allowance which means they will get full tax relief in the year you buy them. This means
the tax treatment will be similar to a revenue expense.
There is detailed information on capital allowances, including examples showing how the
annual investment allowance works on our page What capital allowances can I claim?.

XYZ Services (an example using the accruals
basis and not registered for VAT)
The profit and loss account below illustrates accounts prepared using the
accruals basis.
Profit and loss account for the year ended 5 April 2021 (Note 1)
Tax year 2020/21 (Note 2)

£ £
Sales (turnover or income) (Notes 3 16,500
and 8)
Less cost of sales: (Note 9)
Opening stock as at 1.4.20 500
Product purchases/ materials 1,750
Less closing stock as at 31.3.21 (1,000)
(1,250)
Gross profit 15,250
Less other expenses (Notes 4 and 5):
Marketing (Note 8) 750
Rent 5,000
Travel – mileage (Note 6) 400
Working at home (Note 6) 120
Sundry 75
Capital equipment (Note 7) 1,800
8,145
Net taxable profit 7,105
Note 8: The accruals accounting basis

Before the cash basis (see Note 3 above) was introduced in the 2013/14 tax year, you
had to use the accruals basis of accounting (sometimes called traditional accounting
or the GAAP ‘Generally Accepted Accounting Principles’ basis) for all sets of accounts.
The accruals basis uses formal accountancy principles to ensure that only receipts and
expenses which apply to the accountancy year are reflected in the final accounts for
that year.
Depending on the size and type of business, the records that you need to keep and
the accounting that is required may be more onerous using the accruals basis when
compared to the cash basis. This is because under the accruals basis you need to
account for sales and purchases/expenses in the period to which they relate, not when
you receive or make a payment.
This means that, depending on your business, you may need to account for stock,
debtors, creditors, prepayments and accruals.
Not all businesses are allowed to use the cash basis and some have to use the accruals
basis instead. Although it may be more complicated to use when compared to the cash
basis, there may be advantages to using it. For example, if you have interest or finance
costs of more than £500 per year you will receive more tax relief on these costs using

the accruals basis than the cash basis. It is possible to move from the cash basis to the
accruals basis as long as you have a change of circumstances (relating to any trade
carried on by you) to do so (such as making a trading loss or having higher interest and
finance costs).
There is more information on our page How do I prepare my accounts? including

examples of how to account under the accruals basis, who is can use the cash basis and
how to move from the cash basis to the accruals basis and vice versa.
Note 9: cost of sales

You will see that the profit and loss account for XYZ Services differs from the profit and
loss account for ABC Services. This is because of timing differences on when you account
for sales and expenses. Under accruals accounting, if you purchase stock to resell then
you will need to work out what stock you had at the start of your accounting period (this
is called opening stock) and what stock you had at the end of your accounting period
(closing stock). The difference is the cost of stock sold, or ‘cost of sales’. The process
where you count and value the stock is called a stock-take. Many businesses, even if
they are using the cash basis, find it useful to perform a stock-take periodically.
There is an example of accounting for stock purchases using the accruals basis on our
page How do I prepare my accounts?.
Special rules for calculating profits

for certain trades and businesses
For some self-employments there are special tax rules or additional reliefs. If you are
part of a trade organisation you may want to check whether you are claiming all the
allowances you are entitled to.
We cannot include all the available tax reliefs in this section but we have highlighted
where you can get additional information which may help you and we discuss in more
detail within this Starting to trade section.
Authors and artists: information on averaging profits over two years is on GOV.UK.
Childminders: information on expense allowances is on GOV.UK. There is an online

course for childminders on GOV.UK.
Farmers and market gardeners: information on the herd basis election for farm
animals and averaging relief is included on Helpsheet 224 on GOV.UK.
Foster carers and shared lives carers: information on Qualifying Care Relief is
explained on our page Foster carers and shared lives carers and Helpsheet 236 on
GOV.UK.

How to complete your Self
Assessment tax return
Self Assessment is the process by which you inform HMRC of what taxable income you
have earned and business expenses you have incurred during the tax year through the
completion and filing of a tax return. HMRC will use your tax return to calculate what
income tax and National Insurance contributions you owe. If you file your tax return
online then your tax is automatically calculated during the process.
This section explains about the different ways you can complete a tax return, the filing
deadlines for returns and what the penalties are if you submit your tax return after the
filing deadline has passed.
You can complete a paper tax return or complete it online using HMRC online services;
you do not have to buy software unless you want to. Although HMRC encourage you
to file online, whether you use a paper tax return or file it online is your choice – use
whichever method works best for you. Generally speaking, the deadline for filing a
paper return will be earlier than an electronic return, and this is explained in more detail
below.
Paper tax returns

You can choose to file a paper tax return. If you do not receive a return from HMRC then
you can print one from GOV.UK.
A Self Assessment tax return comprises of a core 8-page section and then additional
pages which you may have to complete depending on your circumstances (such as
being self-employed). There is a list of the supplementary pages and guides on GOV.UK.
You will need to submit supplementary pages on your self-employment. You can
complete short supplementary pages if your sales or income from the business is below
the VAT registration threshold, which is £85,000 for the 2020/21 and the 2021/22 tax
years.
If your business has sales above the VAT registration threshold then you will need to
complete the full supplementary pages which are on GOV.UK.
Top Tip
If you file a paper tax return, keep a copy of your tax return and proof of postage (ask
for a receipt at the Post Office). This might be important if there is a dispute later on.
Note
If you are filing a paper tax return and you want HMRC to calculate your tax and
National Insurance contributions then you must submit your tax return by the filing
deadline. For late-issued returns (issued after 31 October following the end of the tax
year), you should submit the paper return within two months of the date of notice if you
want HMRC to calculate your tax.

Online filing of tax returns
You may choose to complete and file your tax return online. There is software available
which you can purchase to prepare and file your tax return or you can use HMRC’s free
online system.
If you use the HMRC system, the online tax return starts with a series of questions which
result in a tailored tax return asking for more detailed information about your taxable
income and any reliefs which you may be entitled to. You will get an opportunity to
provide less detailed information if your self-employment income (sales) is less than the
VAT registration threshold, which is £85,000 for the 2020/21 and the 2021/22 tax years.
You can save your tax return online and come back later to complete it. There is also
help available for certain questions providing additional explanations and information,
and opportunities to use webchat facilities or search frequently asked questions.
If you want to complete your Self Assessment tax return online then you need to register
to do so. If you registered your self-employment business with HMRC using the online
link then you should have automatically been registered with Government Gateway (this
is the name of the centralised registration service for e-Government services in the UK)
and received a Government Gateway log-in.
If not, it is possible to register for online services using this link and select the option:
‘I want to sign up to use the online service for a tax for which the business is already
registered’.
Top Tip
It can take a few weeks to receive your log-in details from HMRC to complete your tax
return online – so do not leave it until January to register.
Filing deadlines
There are different filing deadlines depending on whether you choose to use a paper
tax return or file online. Usually Self Assessment tax returns must be sent to HMRC by the
following dates:
▶ By 31 October after the end of the tax year if you are completing it on paper;
▶ By 31 January after the end of the tax year if you are completing it online.
TAX YEAR 2020/21

(6 April 2020 to 5 April 2021)
APRIL APRIL OCTOBER JANUARY
Tax returns sent by post must be

received by HMRC by 31 October 2021
Online tax returns must be received by

HMRC by 31 January 2022

 2019/20 tax returns could be filed online until 28 February 2021 without incurring any
late filing penalties. This was because of the coronavirus outbreak. See our website for
further information.
There are exceptions to these filing dates, usually based on when you receive a
notification to file a Self Assessment tax return from HMRC. There is further information
on the page When do I have to send my tax return to HMRC?.
If you submit your tax return after the filing deadline then you may be subject to late-
filing penalties even when there is no tax due. There is an automatic penalty of £100 for
filing a tax return late and there can also be further penalties depending on when the
tax return is submitted; these are detailed in our tax basics section.
However, if you have a reasonable excuse for why you filed your tax return late
then you should appeal against the penalty. Examples of reasonable excuse include
problems with HMRC online services, bereavement or serious illness of a close relative or
coronavirus-related issues; for more information see our tax basics section.
Problems with your Self Assessment

tax return
If you submit your Self Assessment tax return then realise you have made an error, do not
worry as it is possible to amend it up to 12 months from 31 January following the end of the
tax year to which the tax return relates. If the notice to file a return was issued after
31 October, then you can amend your tax return within 15 months of that notice being
issued.
For example, if you need to amend your 2020/21 tax return you normally have until
31 January 2023 to make the amendment. This applies whether you filed a paper version
of the return or you filed online. If you did not receive a notice requiring you to file your
tax return for 2020/21 until 12 December 2021, then you can amend it up until 11 March
2023.
However, if you do need to amend your tax return to reclaim some tax you are outside
the amendment time window, you can usually still make any changes through an
overpayment relief claim, provided it is made no more than four years after the end of
the tax year.
Occasionally, HMRC may have questions regarding your tax return once it has been
submitted. If so, they will open an enquiry into a specific part or parts of your tax return
(an aspect enquiry) or review all areas of your tax return (a full enquiry). This is quite
rare but if it does happen there is information on our Enquiries, penalties, appeals,
complaints and debt page including what your rights are, the HMRC process during an
enquiry and what happens if you cannot agree with HMRC following an enquiry.

What tax allowances,
reliefs and other
deductions are available?
When completing your Self Assessment tax return there are other things you will need to
consider in addition to your profits from self-employment. You will need to include any
other taxable income on your tax return such as income from a pension, employment or
savings. There are also allowances and reliefs which you may be entitled to, which may
reduce any tax you owe.
Tax allowances
Most people living and working in the UK can receive a personal allowance for tax. If
you are a non-EEA visitor to the UK, you may not be entitled to the personal allowance,
even if you are working here. Your personal allowance is the amount of income you can
earn before you pay income tax.
For the 2021/22 tax year, the personal allowance is £12,570 (for 2020/21 it was £12,500).
You pay income tax on your taxable income which is above your personal allowance.
The more taxable income you have, the higher the amount of income tax you pay. Once
your income exceeds £100,000, your personal allowance is reduced.
Married couples or civil partners may be entitled to other allowances and you can find
further details in our tax basics section.
If you qualify for the blind person's allowance, your personal allowance will be higher, as
this is an additional personal allowance for those who are severely sight-impaired. For
more information on the blind person’s allowance see our tax basics section.
Trading allowance
From April 2017, this allowance (also called the trading income allowance), allows you
to receive tax-free income of up to £1,000 each tax year from activities such as selling
home-made goods and/or miscellaneous (casual) income. If you have trading or
miscellaneous income of no more than £1,000 then you will probably not need to report
this to HMRC or pay tax on it. If the income you earn from your business is above £1,000
then you can deduct the trading allowance from your income instead of deducting your
actual expenses. Whether it is better for you to claim the trading allowance instead of
deducting your expenses will depend on your individual circumstances.
If you make a trading loss then it is advisable to not use the trading allowance but to
instead claim loss relief, because the trading allowance cannot create a loss. This will
mean you will have to complete a Self Assessment tax return.
There is more information about the trading allowance on our webpage What is the
trading allowance?.
 The trading allowance cannot be used against any grants received under the
Coronavirus Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

Example
Nisha sells home-made greeting cards. In the 2020/21 tax year her trading income is
£850 and she spent £300 on materials and advertising. Nisha will not need to inform
HMRC that she is self-employed and will use the trading allowance as her sales are
below the allowance of £1,000. This is known as full relief.
If instead, Nisha’s sales and expenses were double the example above, so she had
trading income of £1,700 and spent £600 on business expenses, she would then make
a profit of £1,100. As Nisha has income above £1,000 she would be expected to inform
HMRC and register as self-employed. Nisha can still claim to use the trading allowance
instead of deducting her expenses. This would then mean that Nisha has taxable
profits of £700 only, meaning she will not be taxed on £400 (£1,100 actual profit less
£700) which would be the case if she did not claim to use the trading allowance. This is
known as partial relief.
If Nisha had expenses of more than £1,000 it would then be better for her to not use
the trading allowance and claim all her business expenses on her Self Assessment
tax return to reduce her taxable profit. So if Nisha had sales income of £1,700 and
expenses of £1,200 and she claims the trading allowance, she will be taxed on profits
of £700 (£1,700 less the £1,000 trading allowance). In this case, it is better for Nisha to
not claim the trading allowance but include all her business expenses when calculating
her taxable profit. This would mean she is taxed on profits of £500 (£1,700 less £1,200
expenses).
Note
If you have more than one trade (or one trade and also miscellaneous income) you
still only get one trading allowance. However, you can decide how to use the trading
allowance between your different businesses/income streams as it is possible to split
the trading allowance if you choose to do so.
Pension Contributions
You may be making contributions to a personal pension scheme. A personal pension
scheme is different to the state pension which you contribute to through your Class 2
National Insurance contributions.
If you make contributions to a personal pension scheme then, subject to certain limits,
you may receive tax relief. You need to notify HMRC about your pension contributions by
including them when you complete your Self Assessment tax return.
You may receive tax relief automatically; this is called tax relief at source. For example,
suppose you are paying £50 per month, so £600 each year, to your pension provider,
which is treated as being net of basic rate (20%) tax. Your pension provider then claims
back £150 from HMRC, meaning that the total amount going into your pension scheme is
£750 per year. You can check that the basic tax rate on £750 is £150 – that is £750 at 20%.
If you do not get tax relief at source then you can claim relief for your pension
contributions on your Self Assessment tax return, subject to certain limits and restrictions.
Note
You may wish to take independent financial advice in relation to your pension savings.
You will find more details on our page Pensions and self-employment.

Student loan repayments
If you earn over a certain amount each tax year then you will usually have to make
repayments towards any student loans that you have taken out. The relevant thresholds
for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 tax years are:
▶ Income-contingent Plan 1 loans – earned income (including income from self-

employment) above £19,390 for 2020/21 and £19,895 for 2021/22.
▶ Income-contingent Plan 2 loans – earned income (including income from self-

employment) above £26,575 for 2020/21 and £27,295 for 2021/22.
▶ Repayments for postgraduate loans – earned income (including income from self-
employment) above £21,000 for 2020/21 and 2021/22.
▶ Income-contingent Plan 4 loan repayments will start from the 2021/22 tax year -
earned income (including income from self-employment) above £25,000.
▶ Other income of above £2,000 for both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 tax years which
are reported on your Self Assessment tax return such as savings or rental income (if
you have income above this threshold and the relevant loan plan threshold, all of it
including the first £2,000 will be used to calculate your loan repayments).
Usually repayments are calculated and collected through the Self Assessment system
and loan repayments are due by 31 January following the tax year. The repayments are
not included with any payments on account.
LITRG has website guidance covering student loan repayments and this covers student
loan repayments in more detail.
When do you pay any income tax

due?
You only pay income tax and National Insurance contributions (NIC) if you have made a
business profit above certain thresholds. To make a profit your income (sales) must be
more than your business expenses and capital allowances.
If your business expenses and capital allowances are more than your income (sales)
then you have made a trading loss. We cover losses as part of this starting to trade
section (see page 27).
If you file a paper Self Assessment tax return by the usual filing deadline of 31 October
following the end of the tax year, then HMRC will calculate your tax and send you a
tax calculation. This is called an SA302. You may be asked for this tax calculation if you
apply for a loan or a mortgage.
If you file your tax return using HMRC online then your tax is automatically calculated
and you can view or print off a copy of the detailed calculation.
We have referred to paying National Insurance and income tax throughout this guide
and we cover NIC in more detail below. As a self-employed person you will pay any
Class 2 NIC and Class 4 NIC due at the same time as your income tax.

Unless you are required to pay ‘payments on account’ (see below) then you usually have
to pay any tax that you owe to HMRC by the 31 January following the end of the tax year
in question. So if you owe tax for the 2021/22 tax year this is due by 31 January 2023.
Payments on account
Note
From here on, we will refer to payments of tax, but that should be taken to include your
Class 4 NIC.
HMRC may ask you to pay some tax in advance towards your tax bill for the following
tax year. These advance payments are called payments on account. You will not have to
make any payments on account if:
▶ Your Self Assessment tax bill is less than £1,000, or
▶ At least 80% of your total tax has already been paid through deductions at source
for example, through Pay As You Earn deductions from being an employee, or
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) (see page 8) deductions.
Payments on account are based on the previous year’s tax calculation with a balancing
payment due on the usual payment date, 31 January after the tax year. However, they
do not include any student loan repayments or Class 2 National Insurance contributions
(NIC); payments on account only include income tax and Class 4 NIC. So if you are
paying payments on account for the 2021/22 tax year you will pay tax as follows:
▶ 50% of the 2020/21 income tax and Class 4 NIC calculation by the 31 January 2022 (so
before the end of the 2021/22 tax year)
▶ 50% of the 2020/21 income tax and Class 4 NIC calculation by the 31 July 2022 (so
after the end of the 2021/22 tax year)
▶ Balancing payment for the 2021/22 tax year by the 31 January 2023 (plus the first
payment on account for the 2022/23 tax year).
Our page What are payments on account? shows how payments on account work in the
example of Robert.
 Due to the coronavirus outbreak, there have been some changes to how you can pay
your tax. For more information see our page How are my tax payments affected by the
coronavirus outbreak?.
HMRC should inform you whether you will need to make payments on account and how
much is due. For example, the totals due (before any payments made are deducted) are
shown on the tax calculation when using HMRC online services.
If you expect lower profits than those of the previous year, then you can apply to HMRC
to reduce the payments on account you make in the current tax year. You can apply
to reduce your payments on account any time before they are due using form SA303
(you can either post a paper version of the form or apply online). If you reduce your
payments on account too much then HMRC may apply interest on the amount that
should have been paid from the time it was due until it is actually paid. HMRC may also
charge a penalty if the reduction to the payment on account is considered excessive.
Our page What are payments on account? continues the example of Robert, showing
how to apply to HMRC for a reduction in payments on account. We also cover in detail
what you need to consider when you move to payments on account for the first time.

How to pay
There are various ways you can pay your tax and National Insurance contributions (NIC).
HMRC may send you a payslip which explains the different ways you can pay. These are
also listed on GOV.UK, along with any transaction costs.
If you do not pay your income tax and NIC on time then you could be charged a penalty
as well as late payment interest. There is further information on how the penalty is
calculated in our tax basics section.
Top Tip
It can be quite a shock to your cash flow when you first have to make payments
on account. It may help you to put a certain amount each time you are paid into a
different bank account. Our page How do I pay tax on self-employed income? contains
a section showing how you can estimate how much you need to put away to cover
your tax bill. Remember you will need to save an additional amount for the first time
you move into the payments on account system as you will be starting to pay your tax
earlier.
If you are experiencing financial difficulties then you should contact HMRC to discuss
a time to pay arrangement. You can set up a time to pay arrangement online or call
HMRC on their Self Assessment payment helpline.
There is information on time to pay arrangements on our page What if I cannot pay my
tax bill? and on the TaxAid website.

Tax losses
One of the characteristics of being self-employed is that you take a risk with your
business to make a profit or a loss. If you make a trading loss, then you can usually get
tax relief for this. How you obtain this depends on which accounting basis you are using,
the accruals basis or the cash basis. Below we link to a summary of what you can do
to use these tax losses to best effect; later in this guide we cover losses when claiming
universal credit or tax credits.
There are different types of losses which may be relieved through the tax system. This
section focuses on losses which derive from trading through your own business. If you
are a self-employed individual or a partner in a business (but not a member of a Limited
Liability Partnership or a limited partner, as restrictions may apply), you will make a loss
in your business whenever your costs (such as allowable business expenses and capital
allowances) are more than your income or sales for your accounting period.
Leo's accounting year ends on 31 March. In the year to 31 March 2021 Leo had the
following income and expenses:
Turnover/income £12,000
Allowable business expenses £14,000
Annual investment allowance £2,000
Drawings £4,000
Leo's accounting year ends in the 2020/21 tax year. Leo may consider that he has
a cash loss of £8,000 (£12,000 - £14,000 - £2,000 - £4,000), but for tax purposes
he has a trading loss of £4,000 (£12,000 - £14,000 - £2,000) as the drawings are
ignored when calculating the loss.
An example of when a trading loss may arise is purchasing stock which then becomes
obsolete and is sold at a price lower than what was originally paid for it. You work
out your loss the same way as you would work out your taxable profits for the year.
Drawings (basically cash or goods that you take from the business for personal use) are
not an allowable expense for tax purposes. If you make a loss because you have drawn
too much income from the business, then those drawings would be disregarded when
calculating your taxable trading profit or loss.
Relieving trading losses

Note
In all cases the business must be operating on a commercial basis with a view to
making profits in order to qualify for loss relief– losses from what HMRC consider a
hobby will not qualify.
Our page What if I make a loss? lists the different types of loss relief which are available,
depending on which accounting basis is used and any specific circumstances of the
business. It also shows the time limits for making a claim to relieve your tax loss and

particular points to consider including how any grants from the self-employment income
support scheme (SEISS) will interact with trading losses.
Not all trading losses will receive tax relief; there is a cap which restricts the amount of
loss relief an individual can claim. The maximum relief is the greater of £50,000 and 25
per cent of your annual income. If you spend fewer than 10 hours per week working for
your business then your loss relief may be restricted further to £25,000.
If you make a loss but you are still eligible for the trading allowance (otherwise known
as the trading income allowance) then you should consider not claiming the trading
allowance and instead make a claim to use loss relief. If you are eligible for full relief of
the trading allowance but do not use it and instead use loss relief, then you will have to
complete a Self Assessment tax return.
If you have multiple trades, each one is considered separately for loss relief purposes
so that you can choose to use one loss relief for one trade and a different loss relief for
a second trade. The interactions are complex, though, so you may wish to seek advice
from a professional tax adviser. If you are on a low income, then the charity TaxAid may
be able to help you.
Our page What if I make a loss? has examples which illustrate how these different types
of losses work. There is also a helpsheet on losses on GOV.UK.
Top tip
If you use the cash basis of accounting you are far more restricted in how you can use
any losses. If you use the cash basis and you make a loss you may want to consider
changing to the accruals basis so that you can relieve the trade loss in a different way.
This is explained on our page How do I prepare my accounts?.
To utilise loss relief you need to make a claim on your Self Assessment tax return.
However, if you want to make a claim for a previous year then you can write to HMRC
stating the name of your business, the amount of loss you want to relieve, the period it
covers and how you want to relieve the loss (such as which method of loss relief). The
loss relief entries on your tax return can be quite complicated so you may want to refer
to GOV.UK or seek extra help (as mentioned above).
Note
Even if you write to HMRC you should still make a claim on your Self Assessment tax
return and confirm what losses have been utilised.
What National Insurance

contributions do you pay?
As well as income tax you may have to pay National Insurance contributions (NIC) on
your earnings. Some NIC count towards state benefits you might receive in the future –
for example, the state retirement pension or help if you are ill and cannot work.
There is more information on state benefits in our tax credits and benefits section.
You start paying NIC at age 16 and stop paying them when you reach state pension age.
You do not pay NIC on any pension income you receive. You can find your state pension
age on GOV.UK.

There are different classes of NIC and what kind you pay depends on whether you are
employed or self-employed. If you are self-employed, you might have to pay two kinds
of NIC:
▶ A fixed amount – Class 2; and
▶ An amount calculated using your profits from self-employment – Class 4.
When you notify HMRC that you have started self-employment you will also be
registered for Class 2 National Insurance.
The table on our page What National Insurance do I pay if I am self-employed?

compares the main features of Class 2 and Class 4 NIC.
Small Profits Threshold for Class 2 NIC

As explained in the table on our page What National Insurance do I pay if I am self-
employed?, you do not have to pay Class 2 NIC if your profits from self-employment
are below a minimum threshold, called the Small Profits Threshold. The Small Profits
Threshold is £6,515 for the 2021/22 tax year (£6,475 for 2020/21).
However, even if you have profits below the Small Profits Threshold you may choose
to pay Class 2 NIC in order to protect your eligibility to some state benefits, such as
the state pension, contributory-based employment and support allowance, maternity
allowance and certain bereavement allowances, especially if you are not entitled to
National Insurance credits (see below). There is further information including why you
may want to pay your Class 2 NIC before it is due in our section How and when do I pay
my Class 2 and Class 4 NIC?.
If you have profits below the Small Profits Threshold and want to pay Class 2 NIC, but
not necessarily before the due date, then you can opt-in to pay it voluntarily on your
Self Assessment tax return. This will be the method to use even if you are eligible for full
relief under the trading allowance (see page 22) and would usually not be required to
register your self-employment and complete a Self Assessment tax return.
National Insurance credits

If you do not earn enough profits from your self-employment to pay Class 2 NIC then
you might be given ‘National Insurance credits’ – for example, you are a parent of a
child under 12 years old and are registered for child benefit.
These credits mean that your NIC are covered for the time that you do not pay them
yourself. You can find out more about National Insurance credits and whether you are
eligible on GOV.UK.
Special circumstances for

calculating National Insurance
contributions
Some people or trades have special rules for National Insurance contributions (NIC). We
explain these as they apply to Class 2 NIC and Class 4 NIC below.
Class 2 NIC
Married woman entitled to reduced rate contributions: you do not need to
pay Class 2 NIC if you joined this scheme before it ended in April 1977. There is more
information on our page What National Insurance do I pay if I am self-employed? and
you may also want to consider whether to pay Class 2 NIC.

Exam markers will usually have tax deducted at source as if they are an employee
and also need to pay Class 2 NIC if their profits are above the Small Profits Threshold
(see page 29). There is further information on GOV.UK.
Share fishermen: the Class 2 NIC rate is £3.70 per week for the 2021/22 tax year; see
GOV.UK for more information.
Voluntary development workers: the Class 2 NIC rate for these individuals is £6.00
per week for the 2021/22 tax year; there is more information on GOV.UK.
Class 4 NICC
Authors and artists may elect to average their profits over two years. This will also
affect their Class 4 NIC. There is more information on Helpsheet 234.
Farmers and market gardeners may also elect to average their profits. This will
affect their Class 4 NIC. Helpsheet 224 contains further information and explains how to
make a claim.
Exam markers will usually have tax deducted at source as if they are an employee
and will also need to pay Class 4 NIC if their profits are above the minimum threshold of
£9,568 for the 2021/22 tax year (£9,500 for 2020/21). There is information on
GOV.UK. If this is the case, you may need to notify HMRC using the additional
information section on your Self Assessment tax return, as your Class 4 NIC will not be
calculated automatically using HMRC online services.
Partnerships
Some businesses are partnerships; this means that the partners (owners) personally
share responsibility for their business.
Partnerships can either be formed formally using a legal document called a Partnership
Agreement or informally through an understanding usually between two or more
people, although companies can be partners as well as individuals. There is information
on GOV.UK about setting up a partnership.
If you are based in Scotland, partnerships are known as firms and unlike the rest of the
UK have a different legal personality from the individuals who formed it.
Being in a partnership means that you prepare accounts and allocate any taxable
profits or losses according to the profit-sharing ratio. For example, if there are four
equal partners you will each get a quarter share of the taxable profits (or losses).
There are additional responsibilities to running a partnership and these include:
▶ Your partnership can only elect to use the cash basis if all the business partners use
the cash basis in any other businesses they run and the combined sales (turnover)
is less than the cash basis entry threshold of £150,000 for non-universal credit
claimants. There is more information in our section Who can use the cash basis?.
▶ You will need to complete a partnership tax return as well as Self Assessment tax
returns for the individual partners (see below).
▶ If the partnership is VAT registered then you need to notify HMRC when either a new
partner joins or a partner leaves.
 If one or more partners have claimed the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
(SEISS) grants then there may be additional information to include on the partnership
tax return as well as the Self Assessement tax returns for the individual partners. For
more information see our coronavirus section on our website.

Partnership tax return
If you run your business through a partnership then you will need to complete a
partnership tax return as well as individual Self Assessment tax returns. The nominated
partner for the partnership is responsible for completing and filing the partnership tax
return.
The filing deadlines are the same as for an individual’s Self Assessment tax return.
However, there is no facility to complete a partnership tax return using HMRC’s free
online system. Therefore, you can either file a paper return, for which the usual filing
date is 31 October after the end of the tax year or file online, using commercial software,
by 31 January following the end of the tax year.
If a paper partnership tax return is not received from HMRC it can be found, with a
guide on how to complete it, on GOV.UK.
Leaving a partnership
If you are leaving a partnership then you must notify HMRC on the partnership tax
return and on your individual Self Assessment tax return.
If you were the nominated partner (see above) then HMRC must be informed who the
new nominated partner for the business is, either on the partnership tax return or by
writing to HMRC at: HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS.
We recommend you keep a copy of the letter and proof of postage from the Post Office.
If the partnership is VAT registered and you are a partner leaving the partnership then
you must inform HMRC within 30 days using form VAT2 otherwise you may be charged
a penalty.
If the partnership is ceasing to trade, so none of the partners are continuing to run the
business, then the nominated partner must complete a final partnership tax return and
the individual partners must also file Self Assessment tax returns. You should inform
HMRC as soon as possible.
Upon the cessation of a partnership there may be capital gains tax matters to address
which are beyond the scope of this guide and professional tax advice may be required.

Checklist for starting a business
The following is a list of points to consider during your first year of being self-employed
relating to income tax and National Insurance contributions. This checklist does not
include any considerations of any coronavirus business support grants – there is further
information on our website.
Task Completed
Consider whether you are self-employed or employed.
Notify HMRC that you are self-employed and the date you started
trading.
If you are working in the construction industry – register for the

Construction Industry Scheme.
If in a partnership – choose who will be the nominated partner and

notify HMRC.
Choose an accounting date for your business.
If claiming tax credits – notify the HMRC tax credits team of any
change in your employment status and income. Registering your self-
employment for tax purposes with HMRC does not mean HMRC are
also informed for tax credits purposes too – you will need to contact
the HMRC tax credits team separately.
If claiming universal credit – notify DWP of any change in your

employment status and income.
If you are claiming any other benefits you should also notify the
relevant government department and/or your local authority.
Are you preparing your accounts using the cash basis or the accruals
basis? Keep business records showing your income and expenses.
Do you have any pre-trading expenses? Include these in your

business records. Make sure you can separately identify them from
other general expenses due to the different tax treatment. (These are
treated as a business expense incurred on the day you start to trade.)
Are you using the simplified expenses rules for mileage, working
at home or premises used both as a home and a business? Keep
business records showing your usage.
Are you using any special elections for your trade such as herd basis or
averaging?
Decide whether you want to pay your Class 2 NIC before the due date
(to protect yourself if you need to claim any qualifying benefits such as
maternity allowance).
Decide whether you will file your Self Assessment tax return on paper
or online.
If you employ staff – notify HMRC to register for PAYE.
If your sales are above the VAT registration threshold or will be in the
next 30 days – notify HMRC to register for VAT.

Case study on how to prepare your
accounts and Self Assessment tax return
This case study is intended to bring together some of the areas already discussed and
show how a newly self-employed person with fairly straightforward tax affairs could go
about organising their accounts and tax.
Where there are decisions a taxpayer could make – for example, a choice of accounting
year-end – we have chosen what we consider would be the simplest for most people.
However, this may not be appropriate in all cases and therefore we recommend that
each self-employed person considers the relevant factors in relation to their own
business and personal circumstances.
Ruby
Ruby decides to set up her own ironing business in September 2020. She already has
an ironing board and iron but decides to spend £350 on leaflets advertising her new
business.
Using the checklist for starting a business, Ruby makes the following decisions:
Task
Ruby decides she is self-employed as

Consider whether you are self-employed she is taking a financial risk starting the
or employed. business and can decide how much work
she can do and when to work.
At the start of October Ruby notifies

HMRC that she started trading on
10 September 2020. She is confident
that she will earn more than the trading
Notify HMRC that you are self-employed
allowance so will need to notify HMRC.
and the date you started trading.
She has not had to complete a Self
Assessment tax return before so HMRC
will inform her of her Unique Taxpayer
Reference (UTR) number.
Ruby thinks that her business will be

steady all year round so there is not a
particular time during the year when she
will be excessively busy. The simplest date
Choose an accounting date for your
for Ruby to choose for her accounting
business.
year-end is 5 April 2021. This means that
Ruby will have a short accounting period
in the 2020/21 tax year from
10 September 2020 to 5 April 2021.

Task
If claiming tax credits – notify the HMRC

tax credits team of any change in
your employment status and income.
Registering your self-employment for
tax purposes with HMRC does not mean Ruby has two children and claims tax
HMRC are also informed for tax credits credits, so she contacts the HMRC tax
purposes too – you will need to contact credits team to let them know that she is
the HMRC tax credits team separately. now self-employed.
If claiming universal credit – notify DWP
of any change in your employment status
and income.
If you are claiming any other benefits

you should also notify the relevant
Ruby does not claim any other benefits.
government department and/or your
local authority.
Ruby’s business is one which is eligible to

use the cash basis. As Ruby has only a few
expenses each month and does not have
Are you preparing your accounts using any interest costs nor does she envisage
the cash basis or the accruals basis? Keep her business will make a loss, she decides
business records showing your income to use the cash basis as this will be simpler
and expenses. to prepare her accounts and tax return.
Ruby sets up a cash book to keep records
of when she is paid and her business
expenses.
Yes, Ruby has her iron and her ironing

Do you have any pre-trading expenses? board which she paid for personally
Include these in your business records. before she started her business. The
Make sure you can separately identify ironing board would cost £25 to replace,
them from other general expenses due and a second-hand iron similar to hers is
to the different tax treatment. (These are £70 on an online auction website. Ruby
treated as a business expense incurred on includes these expenses, totalling £95, as
the day you start to trade.) if she had incurred them on
10 September 2020.
Ruby wants to keep her book-keeping

as simple as possible and so decides to
use the simplified expenses rules for both
Are you using the simplified expenses mileage and working at home.
rules for mileage, working at home or
premises used both as a home and a She keeps records of the number of hours
business? Keep business records showing she works from home each month. Ruby
your usage. uses her car to collect and deliver clothes
to her customers. She notes each business
trip with the date, her destination and the
number of miles she travels.

Task
Decide whether you want to pay your Ruby decides that she will not pay any
Class 2 NIC before the due date (to Class 2 National Insurance contributions in
protect yourself if you need to claim any advance as she is uncertain whether she
qualifying benefits such as maternity will have profits above the Small Profit
allowance). Threshold. Ruby has not decided whether
she will pay voluntary Class 2 NIC yet.
Ruby decides to file her tax return

online as she will be able to see her tax
Decide whether you will file your Self
calculation straight away, she checks
Assessment tax return on paper or online.
to see if she has been registered to use
HMRC online.
Ruby is confident that her sales will not be

If your sales are above the VAT
above the VAT registration threshold as
registration threshold or will be in the next
she keeps a running total of what she has
30 days – notify HMRC to register for VAT.
invoiced each month.
At the end of Ruby’s accounting period, 5 April 2021, she looks at what business records
she has kept. These are shown below:
Sales
Month Amount invoiced £ Amount paid £
September 2020 295 295
October 370 370
November 530 530
December 615 615
January 2021 530 530
February 480 450
March 660 480
April (1-5) 60 30
Total 3,540 3,300

Expenses
(Ruby pays for all her expenses by cash, debit card or direct debit)
Month Description Amount paid £
September 2020 Pre-trading expenses (iron and ironing 95

board as above)
Advertising 350
Mobile phone (see note below) 10
October Advertising on social media 35
November Mobile phone (see note below) 10
December Mobile phone (see note below) 10
January 2021 Advertising on social media 35
February Mobile phone (see note below) 10
March New ironing board 85
April (1-5) New iron 250
Advertising on social media 15
Holiday deposit 200
Total 1,135
In addition, Ruby calculates that she has travelled 320 business miles. She works at
home for 30 hours a month during September and October, but 55 hours per month for
November to March.
When calculating the proportion of her mobile phone costs which relates to her
business, Ruby worked out that usually she spends about 40% of her call time and
texts on work. Her monthly fixed contract is £25 per month, so Ruby calculates
that her business cost is £10 per month (£25 x 40%). Ruby should re-evaluate this
periodically to see if the business proportion changes as her business grows.
Using this information Ruby puts her profit and loss account together.

Ruby’s Iron for Style
Period ended 5 April 2021
2020/21 tax year
£ £ Notes
Ruby is using the cash basis so she

Sales 3,300 includes the sales she has actually
been paid for by 5 April 2021.
Less expenses:
This is the total of advertising costs:

Marketing 435
(£350 + £35 + £35 + £15)
This is the amount of business usage

Mobile phone 70
Ruby calculated (see note above).
Ruby has driven 320 business miles,

she uses the simplified expenses
Travel – mileage 144 mileage rate of 45p per business mile
(£0.45 x 320 = £144)
Ruby calculates this expense using the

simplified expenses rule:
Working at home 110 2 months at 25-50 hours rate is £20 (2
x £10) + 5 months at 50-100 hours rate
is £90 (5 x £18) = £110
This includes the pre-trading expenses

for the iron and the ironing board and
Capital equipment 430 the new equipment purchased in 2020
(£25 + £70 + £85 + £250)
See note below on the trading

1,189
allowance
Net profit 2,111
The expense in April of £200 for a holiday deposit is not included in Ruby’s business
accounts as it is personal expenditure so would be classed as drawings.

Trading allowance
Ruby considers whether she should claim the trading allowance. Her sales income is
more than £1,000 so she can make a claim for partial relief only. As her expenses are
more than £1,000 she is better off claiming her business expenses of £1,189 instead of
making a claim for the trading allowance. If Ruby had fewer business expenses, say
£200 less giving her total business expenses of £989, then she should make a claim
for partial relief on her tax return to use the trading allowance of £1,000 instead of her
actual business expenses.
Now that Ruby has her accounts she can complete her Self Assessment tax return online
with HMRC.
Ruby completes the initial questions to tailor her tax return. She has no other taxable
income and only has to complete the self-employment questions (please note Ruby
has not claimed any coronavirus business support grants. For more information on how
to complete your tax return if you have claimed any grants including SEISS – see our
website).
Extracted relevant questions from

Self Assessment tax return Answer Notes
Was your turnover £1,000 or Yes This question is to check whether

more in total from all self- Ruby can claim full relief using the
employments? Please check help trading allowance.
before selecting.
Did you have an annual turnover No As Ruby’s turnover is less than

of £85,000 or more? £85,000 it would be simpler for
her, later on in her tax return,
to include her expenses as a
single total value rather than as
a detailed breakdown showing
the separate individual costs (see
below).
Please select the circumstances None of Ruby uses the online help facility
that apply to your self- these apply for help with any questions that
employment. If none of them she does not understand.
apply, please select the box 'None
of these apply'.
▶ I am a foster carer or adult

placement carer.
▶ I wish to make an adjustment
to my profits chargeable to
Class 4 NIC.
▶ I am a farmer, market
gardener or a creator of
literary or artistic works and
I wish to claim averaging
adjustment.
▶ I am a practicing barrister.
▶ I have changed my accounting
date.
▶ The results of my accounts,
made up to a date in the year
to 5 April 2021, have been
declared on a previous return.

Ruby’s Iron
Business name
for Style
Description of business, trade or Ironing

profession service
Postcode of your business address XZ12 2AB
Has your business name, description,

address or postcode changed in the last 12 No
months?
If your business started after 5 April 2020,

10.09.2020
enter the start date DD MM YYYY
If your business ceased before 6 April

2020, enter the final date of trading DD
MM YYYY
Date your books or accounts are made up

05.04.2021
to
Ruby checks the online

Did you use the cash basis, money actually help to be sure she has
received and paid out, to calculate your Yes used the cash basis
income and expenses? correctly.

Turnover – takings, fees, sales or

£3,300.00
money earned by your business
Any other business income not

already included above
Trading income allowance Ruby decides not to claim the

(optional) trading allowance.
This is automatically calculated.

Total business income £3,300.00
How would you like to record your

expenses? As Ruby’s turnover is less than
£85,000 it would be simpler for
▶ as a single total value As a single her to include her total expenses
▶ as a detailed breakdown total value rather than separate the individual
costs.
This is the total cost of marketing,

mobile phone, mileage, working
at home expenses and the capital
Total allowable expenses £1,189.00 equipment (as Ruby is using the
cash basis the capital equipment
is treated in the same way as a
revenue expense).
Net profit £2,111.00 This is automatically calculated.
You can claim capital

allowances for the purchase and
improvements to equipment and Ruby reads the notes and working
machinery such as vehicles, tools, sheets link and is confident that
computers, business furniture used her capital purchases are eligible
in your business. as revenue expenses as she is
If you've completed 'Trading using the cash basis.
income allowance' do not
complete the next three questions.
Goods and/or services for your
own use
Net business profit for tax

£2,111.00 This is automatically calculated.
purposes
Any other business income not

already included
Total taxable profits from this

£2,111.00 This is automatically calculated.
business

Ruby is not exempt from Class 4

as she is UK tax resident and aged
between 16 and state pension age.
Are you exempt from paying Class
No (This question does not mean that
4 NIC?
Ruby does not need to pay any
because she has earned below
the minimum threshold of £9,500.)
Summary for Ruby’s Iron for Style

Business income: £3,300.00
Total allowable expenses: This is automatically calculated.
£1,189.00
Ruby checks this summary with
Profit or Loss: £2,111.00
her own accounts to make sure it
Capital allowances: £0.00
agrees to her records.
Balancing charges: £0.00
Adjustments: £ 0.00
Adjusted profit or loss (before any
set-offs): £2,111.00
If your profits are £6,475 or more

you must pay Class 2 NICs.
If your profits are less than £6,475
you do not have to pay but if you
want to pay voluntarily, please
see the section below.
For 2020 to 2021, Class 2 NICs are
£3.05 a week.
Your self-employment record Ruby decides not to pay Class 2
shows you owe: Class 2 NIC NIC voluntarily, as she is entitled
amount: £94.55 No to National Insurance credits
because of the age of her children
If your profits for 2020 to 2021 are for whom she claims child benefit.
less than £6,475: You may want
to pay Class 2 NIC voluntarily to
protect your entitlement to State
Pension and certain benefits.
Before you decide please check
help to find out how not paying
may affect you.
Select Yes if you want to pay
Class 2 NIC voluntarily.
 If you received a grant or grants under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
(SEISS) in the tax year you are completing a return for, you will need to report this on the
return. For more information, see our website.
Ruby will see and be able to print both her tax calculation, which is automatically
calculated by HMRC, and her Self Assessment tax return. Ruby will have no tax to pay as
her taxable income (£2,111) is less than the personal allowance (£12,500 for the 2020/21
tax year).

Ruby will have no NIC to pay as she decided not to pay any voluntary Class 2 NIC and
her profits are below the Class 4 Lower Profits Limit.
Ruby checks her tax calculation and tax return and is confident it is accurate to the best
of her knowledge. She then submits her tax return using HMRC online and waits for
confirmation that HMRC have received it. She prints off a copy of the submission receipt
from HMRC.
Ruby keeps a copy of her tax return and tax calculations and all her business records
until 31 January 2027.
Paper tax return

Ruby could complete a paper tax return rather than complete one online. However, she
would need to be aware that there are different filing deadlines for paper tax returns.
Ruby would still need to prepare her accounts as shown above but instead of
completing her return online she would complete a main tax return (SA100) and self-
employment (short) (SA103S) supplementary pages. The returns and supplementary
pages are on GOV.UK (along with the guides to complete the tax returns).

Growing your business
Some people who are self-employed may not want to or are unable to grow their
business and take on additional responsibilities such as employing workers. However,
many businesses start off as one person, who is self-employed, and as the business
grows they find there is too much work so they decide to employ new staff or change the
structure of their business. This can be an exciting time for the business but with it comes
additional obligations and responsibilities.
In this section we cover areas you will need to consider if you decide to take on staff,
these include:
▶ Page 43: Taking on staff
▶ Page 44: Registering as an employer with HMRC
▶ Page 45: Reporting Pay As You Earn (PAYE) to HMRC
▶ Page 46: Employment law
▶ Page 47: National minimum wage
▶ Page 47: Pensions auto-enrolment (workplace pensions)
This section also explains about Value Added Tax (VAT), including the following:
▶ Page 47: What is Value Added Tax (VAT)?
▶ Page 48: Registering for VAT
▶ Page 49: VAT returns
▶ Page 50: VAT schemes
▶ Page 52: Other things to consider as your business grows
Finally, this section covers what local taxes you may have to pay and also other things to
consider as your business grows. If the business outgrows being a sole trader then you
may decide to enter a partnership, or incorporate so that the business is run through a
limited company.
There is information on partnerships in the previous Starting to trade section and

GOV.UK has information on incorporating a new company. If you are considering
changing business structure from being a sole trader you may want to consider getting
professional tax advice and look at our page, working through a limited company.
Taking on staff
If you hire extra help in your business, you will need to consider whether you will become
an employer as a result. That will depend on the employment status of the person(s)
working for you.
For tax law purposes, there are two types of status we need to think about.
▶ Employee (where a person essentially ‘serves’ their employer).

▶ Self-employed (where a person runs their own business on an independent basis).
page 43 Growing your business Self-employment: A LITRG guide

The most important point to understand is that you cannot just ‘decide’ that
your worker is self-employed. Doing this can be attractive because it removes
many responsibilities from you and can save you some money. However, it is
your responsibility to check the status carefully.
The LITRG website has more detailed guidance on the general rules surrounding
employment status and information on where to get more help, including from HMRC.
Please note that it is possible to have an employee and someone who is self-employed
at the same time, for example if you engage someone to work on a particular one-off
project for your business. You need to decide the status of all your workers separately.
If you are an employer, what follows is a quick overview of some of the main
considerations. For more detailed information, we suggest you look at our Taking on an
employee section of the LITRG website.
Registering as an employer with

HMRC
If you are an employer then you will be required to collect tax and National Insurance
contributions (NIC) from your employee’s wages under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE
system and pay it to HMRC. The first thing you will need to do is register as an employer
with HMRC and get PAYE and Accounts Office references. You can register online on
GOV.UK and HMRC provide support for new employers; the phone number is 0300 200
3211 (textphone number is 0300 200 3212).
Top Tip
In rare circumstances you may not need to worry about registering as an employer with
HMRC and operating PAYE. Normally this will only be the case where your employee(s)
earns less than the NIC Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) with you and does not receive any
non-cash benefits from you. If the employee has more than one job with you, then you
consider the earnings from both together. For the 2021/22 tax year, the LEL is £120 per
week or £520 per month.
Most employers will need to operate PAYE, and if you decide to do this yourself (rather
than use a bookkeeper, accountant or payroll bureau to help you) this will include the
following tasks:
▶ Ensuring that income tax and NIC are deducted under the PAYE system and paid to
HMRC.
▶ Paying Employer Class 1 and Class 1A/1B NIC where appropriate.
▶ Sending your PAYE information to HMRC.
▶ Dealing with all statutory payments and student loan deductions if they are relevant.
▶ Reporting any benefits-in-kind to HMRC.
▶ Paying HMRC on time. If you owe HMRC less than £1,500 per month then you may
be able to pay quarterly: call the employer PAYE and National Insurance helpline –
0300 200 3401 to make sure they are happy for you to do this.
▶ Keeping accurate and up-to-date records.

▶ Giving your employee a payslip with each payment.
▶ Giving your employee an annual statement on form P60.
Reporting Pay As You Earn (PAYE) –

the options
As explained in our section above on being an employer, you will have to report PAYE
information to HMRC. To do this you will normally need to use the Real Time Information
(RTI) online system, every time your employees are paid. For online filing, a payroll
program will be required and there are several options on the market, including some
free ones.
However, provided that some conditions are met, employers can report their payroll
information to HMRC by completing and sending paper forms instead. The paper
forms will include details of your employees, the payments you make to them and their
deductions. This will only need to be done once a quarter (that is, every three months).
You should include starter and leaver details on your quarterly return forms.
You may be able to use paper filing rather than the RTI online system if:
▶ You are unable to use a computer on religious grounds.
▶ You are getting care or support services for yourself or a member of your family.
▶ You are unable to send reports electronically because you have a disability, are
elderly or are unable to access the internet.
Important note
If you use a bookkeeper, accountant or payroll bureau to operate PAYE for you, you will
not qualify for paper filing and your bookkeeper, accountant or payroll bureau will have
to submit your PAYE information online on your behalf.
For more information on the exemption from online RTI filing see our guidance for
taking on an employee.
 Because of the coronavirus outbreak, you may have received some grant payments
under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme during 2020 and 2021.

Employment law
As well as the tax status you will need to consider employment law. For employment law
purposes, there are usually three statuses we need to think about:
1. Employee
2. Worker
3. Self-employed
You can find more information about these on GOV.UK
.
Top Tip
You must look at the status of each person you hire for tax and employment law
separately, as they could have a different status for each.
Employment law status

Employees enjoy many rights under employment legislation that the self-employed
do not. For example, only employees are given protection against unfair dismissal
and receiving Maternity, Adoption and Paternity Pay, Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory
Redundancy Pay.
However, in recent years, job situations have become more complicated so that
some people do not fit neatly into either employment or self-employment status for
employment law.
As a result, a third status of a ‘worker’ was developed. The worker status is only for
employment law and is not relevant for tax law. A worker is someone who basically
undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another person.
Increasingly legislation gives rights and obligations to ‘workers’ as well as ‘employees’

– for example, the National Minimum Wage Act, workplace pensions and the Working
Time Regulations.
Example of a worker
A carpenter who works exclusively for one firm of building contractors will likely be a
‘worker’ even though he may decide his own hours and own way of working, complete
his own tax returns, pay his own income tax and National Insurance contributions
and provide his own tools. He is a ‘worker’ because the building firm has hired him
personally to do the work and it would not be acceptable for him to send a sub-
contractor or a friend in his place – even though he is otherwise quite independent of
them. If they also set his hours and work tasks each week with specific holidays and
wages, he may instead be an employee for employment law purposes. Alternatively,
if he had many clients and was only asked to do a one-off job for the building firm, he
would probably be self-employed for employment law purposes.
Workers have fewer rights than employees, but more than the self-employed (who have
very few legal protections, such as not to be discriminated against and to be provided
with a safe and healthy working environment). There has been a recent judgment
regarding Uber and workers employment law status: please see our news article.
There is no single test to determine whether a person is an employee, worker or self-

employed. All the relevant factors need to be considered. You can find out more
information about workers on GOV.UK.

National minimum wage
As an employer you will need to ensure that you at least pay the national minimum
wage (NMW). The current rates for NMW since April 2021 are shown below, the rates are
usually changed on 1 April each calendar year:
Age NMW per hour (£)
23 and over (often called the national living wage),

8.91
before 2021 this was for age 25 and over
21-22 8.36
18-20 6.56
Under 18 4.62
Apprentices (see below) 4.30
The apprentices’ NMW rate is for people on an apprenticeship, who are aged 16 to 18,
and those aged 19 or over who are in the first year of their apprenticeship. Apprentices
aged 19 or over and past their first year get the appropriate NMW for their age.
There is further information about taking on apprentices on GOV.UK.
Our guidance for taking on an employee gives an overview of the main rules and
contains further information on the NMW including complex areas such as deductions
(for example, for uniforms) and travel time.
Pensions auto-enrolment
(workplace pensions)
Every employer with at least one member of staff now has a responsibility of putting
those who meet certain criteria into a workplace pension scheme and contributing
towards it.
The process is called automatic enrolment. This is because it is automatic for staff –
they do not have to do anything to be enrolled into the pension scheme. But it is not
automatic for an employer and there are several things that the employer has to do.
We summarise the main aspects of auto-enrolment on our guidance for taking on

an employee and link to more detailed guidance on The Pensions Regulator website,
including their planning tool to help employers work out what to do and when.
What is Value Added Tax (VAT)?

VAT is a sales tax that is added to the end cost of various goods and services.
When running your own business, you might need to or choose to register for VAT. You
should then charge VAT to your customers and make regular payments of VAT to HMRC.
VAT is a complex tax that attracts strict penalties. We provide no more than an
overview here.

VAT is usually charged at a standard rate of 20%. However, certain items are exempt
from VAT or charged at lower rates such as 0% (for example, children’s clothing) or 5%
(such as household gas and electricity).
If, during the 2020/21 tax year, your sales (income from your business) are:
▶ Over £85,000 in any consecutive 12-month period ending in that year; or
▶ Expected to exceed the annual threshold of £85,000 in the next month, just looking
at that month alone
then you might need to register and submit VAT returns online.
You may also choose to register for VAT even though your sales are not over, or
anticipated to be above, the registration threshold of £85,000.
Below, we cover registering for VAT and explain about different VAT schemes which your
business may be eligible to use.
If you are a VAT-registered trader, you will normally offset the VAT you have been
charged by your suppliers against the VAT you have charged your customers. You will
then pay over to HMRC the net amount of VAT shown on your VAT return which you
submit to HMRC. If the VAT charged by your suppliers is more than the VAT you have
charged your customers, then a refund will be due to you from HMRC.
Registering for VAT

If you must register for VAT due to reaching the registration threshold, you must also sign
up for Making Tax Digital for VAT unless you are exempt.
If you register for VAT voluntarily you will be required to comply with the Making Tax
Digital for VAT rules from April 2022 unless you are exempt. The Making Tax Digital for
VAT regime requires businesses to keep their business records for VAT digitally, and
also submit their VAT return via HMRC-approved third party software or via bridging
software. There is more information on GOV.UK.
GOV.UK has further information on registering for VAT. If you do not want to register
online then you can complete form VAT1.
If you are trading as a partnership then the same registration thresholds apply. If the
partners do not want to register online then you need to complete an additional form
VAT2 (as well as form VAT1 explained above).
VAT returns
Usually you complete a VAT return once every three months, however if you are eligible
and join a VAT scheme (see page 49) then you may file your VAT returns at different
intervals.
LITRG were involved in a successful tribunal case (LH Bishop Electric Co Ltd & Others
v HMRC Commissioners) arguing against mandatory digital filing of VAT returns if you
struggle to file online due to age, disability or internet access issues. Following this,
HMRC now offer an alternative approach to filing if you cannot use computers on
religious grounds or because of your age, disability, location or for any other reason.
You should contact HMRC and apply for exemption from the Making Tax Digital
programme if you are unable to file your VAT returns online. There is more information
on Making Tax Digital for VAT on GOV.UK and the LITRG website.

Filing and payment deadlines
Unless you are registered to use a VAT scheme then the deadline to pay and file your
VAT return is one month and seven days after the end of the return period. For example,
if your quarterly VAT return period is from 1 April to 30 June, you will have until 7 August
to submit your VAT return on time and pay any VAT due. Penalties may be charged
for paying or submitting your VAT returns late, and for filing carelessly or deliberately
inaccurate returns. GOV.UK explains how these surcharges and penalties are calculated.
VAT records
Usually, you should keep all the information relating to your VAT return, such as business
invoices and receipts, for at least six years. If you are using a VAT scheme (see below)
then there may be special rules. You should check the detailed guidance on GOV.UK for
what you need to keep and how long for.
VAT schemes
Depending on the type of business and your annual sales, you may be able to choose to
use a more simplified VAT scheme. Below is a table which includes a brief summary of
some of the common schemes self-employed businesses use.
Scheme Eligibility Important notes
Submit one VAT return

annually.
Estimated VAT taxable Make advanced VAT
Annual accounting turnover for the next 12 payments during the year.
months is £1.35 million or
less. Not suitable if you
anticipate regular VAT
repayments.
Estimated VAT taxable VAT is calculated on

Cash accounting turnover for the next 12 actual cash receipts and
months is £1.35 million or payments rather than
less. based on invoice dates.
Pay VAT based on a fixed
percentage of your sales.
The percentage used
depends on the type of
business, and you may
Estimated VAT taxable also have to consider
Flat rate turnover for the next the amount of business
12 months is £150,000 expenditure incurred on
(excluding VAT) or less. ‘relevant goods’.
Do not claim VAT back on
purchases except certain
capital assets costing over
£2,000.
There are other VAT schemes, including the retail scheme, which are explained on
GOV.UK.

Further information on VAT
As you can see from the brief summary here, VAT is a complex area. Below is a list of
resources you may want to use:
GOV.UK has information on VAT including: reclaiming VAT, VAT visits and inspections,
rules for particular trades, importing and exporting and using VAT online services.
HMRC have developed webinars and e-learning resources to help you understand VAT.
A list of these is on GOV.UK.
Local taxes
Local taxes include business rates and council tax (called rates in Northern Ireland)
and are devolved taxes, so the rules vary depending on whether you are in England,
Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. We look at all the different scenarios below.
Business rates
As you are running your own business you will need to consider whether you should
be paying business rates. Business rates are charged if you are using a non-domestic
property such as a shop, warehouse, factory, office or holiday rental property. If you run
your business from your home then, in some circumstances, part of your home may be
assessed for business rates.
In England and Wales, business rates are collected by your local council. Business rates
are calculated by using the rateable value of the property, which is worked out by the
Valuation Office Agency (VOA), rather than the income of the individual or the businesses
that occupy them. It is important that you notify the VOA regarding any changes to your
business property such as if the nature of your business changes or you sublet part of
the property. There is more information on GOV.UK.
Local councils are also responsible for giving exemptions and reliefs against business
rates. For example, some commercial properties are exempt or receive relief from
business rates. These include:
▶ Some small businesses (the exemption or relief depends on the rateable value or
where your business property is – see below)
▶ farm buildings and land (excluding offices)
▶ fish farms
▶ places of public religious worship and church halls
▶ buildings used for the training or welfare of disabled people
The exemptions and reliefs available can vary depending on which devolved area your
business property is in (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).

Scotland
Northern Ireland Scottish local councils collect business
rates and the Scottish Assessors decide
the rateable value of the business
Business rates are collected by property and a ‘poundage’ multiplier
Land and Property Services. rate is applied to this to calculate
There is information on how business rates. There are reliefs for
business rates are calculated small businesses, empty buildings,
in Northern Ireland on the NI charities and properties located in
Business Info website. There rural areas or on properties which are
are exemptions from business used to provide care and training for
rates for fish farms, most farm people with disabilities. There is more
buildings and farm land and information on business rates and
charity shops selling donated available reliefs in Scotland on the
goods only. There are also mygov.scot website.
reliefs from business rates
and these are listed on the NI
Business Info website.
Wales
There are different rules for
business rates reliefs and available
hardship funds. There are more
details on reliefs for charities,
childcare providers and small
businesses on the Business Wales
England
website. There are reliefs available for business
properties, for example, if the property
is located in an enterprise zone or a low
populated rural area. There are also reliefs
▶ There have been additional rates reliefs available for small businesses, charities,
and grants because of the coronavirus empty buildings and some councils may
outbreak – see our page on help for devolved also provide hardship relief. There is further
administrations and GOV.UK (for England). information on GOV.UK.

Council tax
In England, Wales and Scotland, the local tax is called council tax and is dealt with by
your local authority (also known as councils). In Northern Ireland, a similar tax called
rates is collected by Land and Property Services. The money collected from local taxes
goes to local authorities to pay for local services such as parks, rubbish collection and
the police.
You pay council tax or rates on the property you live in. The amount varies, depending
on the size of the property and where you live. The amount you pay could be reduced if,
for example, you:
live alone
are disabled
are a full-time student.
If your income is low, you might be able to claim a council tax reduction but this can
depend on where you live and your personal circumstances. Find out more about
council tax reductions on GOV.UK.
There is also information about council tax in England, Scotland and Wales on GOV.UK.
There is more information about rates in Northern Ireland on the NI Direct website.
Working from home and local taxes

If you run your business from your own home then part of your property may be liable
to business rates and part may be charged council tax, and there may be an alteration
to the property’s council tax banding. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) considers
a number of things when deciding whether or not your property should be liable to
business rates and may visit your property as part of their assessment.
As well as considering whether your home is liable for business rates you will want to
ascertain whether you will be charged capital gains tax upon the sale of your home if
you move. There is more information on our capital gains tax page.
Other things to consider as your

business grows
Below is a list of some of the areas you may want to consider as your business develops:
Cashflow: setting money aside, for example, for expansion plans, replacing capital
equipment, paying your tax and National Insurance contributions.
Pension: considering your financial plans for the future. Will you be entitled to the state
pension? Should you obtain professional advice regarding a private pension?
Trade through a different structure: such as a company or partnership; you should

consider obtaining professional advice on what structure would suit the future plans for
your business.
Legal obligations: depending on the sector your business is in, there may be additional
legal requirements covering areas such as health and safety, data protection and
employment law. You should ensure you understand and comply with any regulations
which affect your trade.

Stopping your business
This part of the guide discusses things you need to do and be aware of if you decide
to finish trading and cease being self-employed or stop being a partner in a trading
partnership. This may happen because your business is not trading profitably, and you
are making losses or maybe you decide to sell your business to a new owner.
This section covers the following:
▶ Page 53: Notifying HMRC
▶ Page 53: Self Assessment tax return
▶ Page 54: Stopping your business – if registered for PAYE or VAT
▶ Page 55: Stopping your business - if you are claiming tax credits or universal credit
Top Tip
We recommend that you obtain professional advice if you are selling your business or
share in a partnership or if you decide to incorporate and change your legal structure
from self-employed or a partnership to a limited company.
Notifying HMRC
To tell HMRC that you are no longer self-employed, either:
▶ notify HMRC by completing this online form. We recommend that you print a copy of
this form before submitting it to HMRC.
▶ Telephone HMRC on 0300 200 3300 (text relay (Relay UK) 18001 then 0300 200
3300). Keep a note of the telephone call.
HMRC will use the date you finished trading to cancel your Class 2 National Insurance
contributions as these are calculated on the number of weeks you have been self-
employed in the tax year.
Self Assessment tax return

If you have stopped trading then you will still need to complete a Self Assessment tax
return for your final period of self-employment and make any income tax and National
Insurance payments by their respective due dates.
After ceasing to trade you may still need to complete a tax return if you have other
income which must be reported via the Self Assessment tax system. There is more
information on when you may need to complete a tax return on GOV.UK.
If you receive a notice to submit a Self Assessment tax return and you have not traded
during the tax year, and there is no other reason to complete a tax return, then contact
HMRC to confirm whether you still need to complete the return. If you do not complete
the tax return or contact HMRC then you may be subject to late filing penalties (even
if there is no tax to pay). You can contact HMRC by telephone on 0300 200 3310
(textphone: 0300 200 3319).
page 53 Stopping your business Self-employment: A LITRG guide

When completing your final Self Assessment tax return, ensure that you include all your
business income and expenses relating to your self-employment. You will also need to
consider whether you have overlap profits. These are profits which arise because you have
paid tax twice on some of the same profits from self-employment. Whether or not you have
overlap profits depends on what basis period you used when preparing your accounts.
You will receive tax relief for these overlap profits either on the cessation of trading or if you
change your accounting date. Our page How do I work out my taxable profits? explains
more about overlap profits, with an example illustrating how they are calculated.
If you have ceased trading because of financial problems and you are unable to pay
any outstanding tax and National Insurance contributions, you should contact HMRC as
soon as possible. There is more information on our page What if I cannot pay my tax
bill? and the TaxAid website has detailed guidance on debt and what you can do.
Business records
You still need to keep your business records used to prepare your last Self Assessment
tax return for five years from 31 January following the tax year for which the tax return
is made. For example, if you stop trading during the 2021/22 tax year, you will need to
submit your Self Assessment tax return by 31 January 2023, therefore you must keep your
business records until 31 January 2028.
However, in some cases you may need to keep the records longer than the above time
limit, for example where there is an ongoing investigation by HMRC you will need to
keep your records until the end of the enquiry.
Top Tip
Do not forget to notify HMRC (for tax credits) and DWP (for universal credit) if you have
stopped being self-employed. See below for more information.
Stopping your business – if

registered for PAYE or VAT
Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
You need to notify HMRC as soon as possible when you stop employing staff. You
can contact HMRC using the Employer Helpline on 0300 200 3200. Keep a note of the
telephone call.
You will also need to submit a final payroll return, making any PAYE deductions and
payments to HMRC. You will need to provide forms P45 and, if applicable, send your
expenses and benefits returns (forms P11D and P11D(b)).
If you stop being an employer then you will have to consider whether you are making
your staff redundant and any employment law implications. There is information on
GOV.UK which may help you.
If you have sold your business and your staff will continue to be employed, you will
need to notify HMRC. There is information on GOV.UK about what you need to do in this
situation.

VAT
If your business is VAT registered, then you will need to cancel the registration unless you
have sold your business as a going concern and the new owner has kept the same VAT
registration number (in which case see below for what you need to do).
You must cancel your VAT registration within 30 days of ceasing to trade or you may be
charged a penalty. You can notify HMRC online, or by completing form VAT7 which is
available on GOV.UK.
There is information on GOV.UK on what happens after you cancel your registration and
about completing your final VAT return.
If you are a partner leaving a partnership then you must inform HMRC within 30 days
using form VAT2 otherwise you may be charged a penalty.
If you have sold your business then your VAT registration may be transferred to the
new owner, if they decide to use the existing VAT registration. We recommend that
you take professional advice as there may be issues for which you need tailored tax
guidance. Both you and the new owner need to inform HMRC about the transfer of a
going concern by completing form VAT68. There is further information on GOV.UK about
transferring a VAT registration.
After cancelling your VAT registration, you need to keep your VAT records for six years.
Stopping your business – if claiming

tax credits or universal credit
We cover tax credits and universal credit in the state benefits section below.
If you have stopped trading and you are claiming tax credits or universal credit then
you will need to contact either HMRC (for tax credits) or the Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP) (for universal credit) to notify them about your change of circumstances.
When you inform HMRC that you have stopped trading for income tax purposes they
will not inform the tax credits team at HMRC – you must inform them separately. There
is information about reporting changes when you receive tax credits in the tax credits
and benefits section of our website. This guide covers tax credits and self-employment
below.
If you are claiming universal credit then you will need to inform DWP using the universal
credit helpline (telephone 0800 328 5644; textphone (Relay UK) 0800 328 1344) that
you have stopped being self-employed as soon as possible. This guide explains about
universal credit for self-employed claimants below.

State benefits
You might be able to claim state benefits if you have a low income or have children.
HMRC not only collect tax, they also pay child benefit and tax credits (see below).
Whether you can claim some state benefits depends on your National Insurance
contributions record, your income, your immigration and residence status and where
you live. The rules are different for each state benefit – just because you are entitled to
one does not mean you can claim the others. So it is important to check the rules, or get
advice, before you claim.
You have to pay income tax on some state benefits (called ‘taxable benefits’). You do
not have to pay tax on some other state benefits (called ‘tax-free benefits’). You can
see a full list of benefits and whether they are taxable or tax-free in our state benefits
section on page 62.
This section covers:
▶ Page 56: Tax credits
▶ Page 57: Universal credit
▶ Page 63: Other state benefits
Tax credits
There are two tax credits – child tax credit and working tax credit. Both are tax free.
You can claim one or both if you are entitled to them. Now that universal credit (UC) is
available across the UK, HMRC state that most people can no longer make a new claim
for tax credits unless you are a frontier worker. If you are already claiming working tax
credit and wish to add child tax credit (or vice versa) or you are routinely renewing your
tax credits award from the previous year, note that neither of those counts as making a
new claim in this context.
If you are married or in a civil partnership, or if you are living with a partner as if you are
a married couple or civil partners, you must make a joint claim. You can read about this
on our website for welfare advisers, Revenuebenefits.
You can get child tax credit if you are aged at least 16 and live in the UK and are
responsible for a child under 16 or for a young person up to the age of 20 who is in, or
has recently been in, certain types of education and training. You do not need to be
working to claim child tax credit and it is separate to child benefit. The amount of child
tax credit you receive depends on your household circumstances and income. There are
extra amounts for children who are disabled.
You can get working tax credit if you work and are on a low income. The amount of
working tax credit you receive depends on your household circumstances, your income
and also on your partner’s income if it is a joint claim. To qualify, there are restrictions
relating to both age and the minimum number of hours normally worked each week.
There is more information about tax credits on our tax credits page.
page 56 State benefits Self-employment: A LITRG guide

Tax credits and self-employment
 There is information about how tax credits may be affected by the coronavirus
outbreak on our LITRG website.
To qualify for working tax credits the self-employed activity should be organised and
regular, undertaken on a commercial basis and with a view to realising a profit, in
other words it must be a serious undertaking with the main aim and clear intention to
return a profit. There is no clear threshold level of profit or in some cases what level
of loss will be acceptable to satisfy this rule. In fact, simply making a profit does not
necessarily mean the activity is commercial, although HMRC are unlikely to look further
into whether any claim meets the test where profit from the business at least equates
to the relevant national minimums wage for the number of hours the claimant is
required to work. Each case will be determined by HMRC on its own merits by applying
a series of tests. There is information on these tests on our website for welfare advisers,
Revenuebenefits.
Activities which amount to hobbies rather than commercial self-employment will be

unlikely to meet the definition. Even if you make a profit from a hobby it does not
necessarily mean you are self-employed for tax credit purposes.
When checking to see if you are self-employed for working tax credits, HMRC will
initially compare your previous year’s income, declared for tax credit purposes, against
the number of hours you declare for your self-employment in the current year. Where
earnings fluctuate, claimants can notify HMRC of a revised current year estimate to
reflect anticipated changes in their income for the full tax year.
If the self-employment shows fluctuations in activity or profits (or losses), HMRC can look
at information covering a reasonable period which reflects the nature of the business.
As explained above, where it appears that profit from self-employed activities equates
to at least the relevant national minimum wage rate (see page 47), HMRC will generally
accept on face value that the activity meets the definition.
The self-employed activity must be organised. HMRC will look to see that the business
is run in an organised manner, with proper book-keeping, relevant insurance cover,
marketing plans, business bank accounts, tools, equipment and so on, as appropriate
and relevant to each business.
For many types of self-employment it would be advisable to draw-up and maintain

a business plan, indicating activities, expected bills and payments, client base and
advertising or other business growth options which could be presented to indicate a
clear commercial and organised approach with the intention of realising a profit and
growing the business where opportunities arise.
It may not be appropriate for all trades, vocations and professions to use a business
plan, but other business-related paperwork should be drawn-up and maintained to
ensure accurate business records are kept and can be presented to HMRC if required.
HMRC may ask claimants to provide evidence to help confirm entitlement to working
tax credit. The type of evidence will vary according to the type of business and
circumstances. Individual cases will be assessed each on their own merits but may
include a business plan, cash book, records of suppliers and advertisements placed.
The business records (see page 11) you need to keep to prepare your accounts and Self
Assessment tax return may also be used as evidence.
The activity must also be regular. By this, it seems that HMRC would expect to see
that business-related activity, performed with a view to making a profit, is undertaken
regularly throughout the period of the award.

Tax credits and trading losses
Tax credits generally follow the tax system when it comes to calculating income (profits)
from self-employment. HMRC have produced some online guidance on GOV.UK, which
explains how to calculate income from self-employment. This basically involves taking
the claimant’s taxable profit and deducting various allowed items.
The remaining figure is to be entered into the self-employment income box on the form.
If the figure is a loss, ‘0’ should be entered on the form.
Working sheet TC825, provided by HMRC, can be used to calculate income where
trading losses, gift aid and pension contributions are involved.
While the computation of trading profits and losses is the same for income tax and tax
credits, there are the following important differences in the way loss relief is calculated
between tax and tax credits. The treatment of tax losses (see page 27) for income tax
purposes is explained in the ‘starting to trade’ section. For tax credit purposes:
▶ A trading loss in a year must be set off against the claimant’s total income for that
year. Where the trader is part of a couple and a joint claim has been made, a
trading loss in a year must be set off, for tax credits, not only against the trader's
current year income but against the total joint household income of the trader and
his or her partner.
▶ Any surplus may be set off against profits of the same trade in subsequent years for
tax credits (with the exception of losses incurred before the 2001/2 and 2002/3 tax
years). This treatment is the same as carrying forward losses for tax purposes.
▶ There is no carry-back of losses for tax credits.
Note
Trading losses cannot be carried forward for tax credits unless the trade in which they
were incurred is being undertaken on a commercial basis and with a view to realising
profits.
For more details and examples on this see our website for welfare advisers,
Revenuebenefits.
Further information on tax credits

There is information on tax credits in our tax credits and benefits section, including
information on claiming with a disability, renewals, backdating a claim and under or
overpayments.
There is also detailed information on our website for welfare advisers, Revenuebenefits,
which includes childcare and tax credits, and changing of circumstances.
If HMRC decide you are not self-employed in order to claim tax credits then you can
challenge their decision through the appeal process; there is information in our tax
credits and benefits section which can help you.

Transition from tax credits to universal
credit
Tax credits and some other working-age means-tested benefits are being gradually
replaced by universal credit. Universal credit is administered by the Department for
Work and Pensions (DWP) and has been introduced gradually across the UK. It is now
available in all areas of the UK and apart from one exception, HMRC state it is no longer
possible for most people to make a brand new claim for tax credits.
Top Tip
You can find out more about the transition to universal credit on our website for
advisers, Revenuebenefits.
Universal credit
Universal credit is a state benefit generally paid monthly in arrears designed to
support working age people who are on a low income, although alternative payment
arrangements are available and claimants in Scotland and in Northern Ireland have
more options. It replaces several working-age benefits and payments, including working
tax credit, child tax credit, housing benefit (except for specified accommodation), income
support, income-related employment and support allowance and income-based
jobseeker’s allowance.
We explain who can claim universal credit on our LITRG website. You can claim
universal credit if you are self-employed, however the way your claim works is
different to being an employee, as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
receives information about an employee’s wages automatically from HMRC in most
cases. Claiming universal credit if you are self-employed can be complicated and it is
important that you understand the process and what you need to do.
Universal credit for self-employed

claimants
 There is information on universal credit and the coronavirus outbreak on our LITRG
website.
Universal credit can be more complicated to understand and deal with if you are
self-employed, as you will have more reporting obligations than claimants who are
employees only. The table on the next page lists the main areas that self-employed
claimants should be aware of.

What does this mean for Where can I get more
Issue
you? information?
Initial Rules The Minimum Income Floor There is some general

(MIF) is not applied during information about universal
Start-ups – newly self-
this time even if profits are credit and self-employment
employed claimants have
below the MIF threshold. on GOV.UK.
a ‘start-up’ period of 12
months. Claimants are Information on what counts
allowed one start-up period as self-employment is on
 Due to the coronavirus
every five years. our website for welfare
outbreak there have been
advisers, Revenuebenefits.
Rules from September 2020 changes to the universal
All new universal credit credit rules, see our LITRG
claims from gainfully self- website.
employed (see section
below) claimants will have a
12-month ‘grace period’.
Managed migration
From July 2019, all gainfully
self-employed (see section
below) claimants who are
moved in the migration
exercise from legacy
benefits to universal credit
have a 12-month ‘grace
period’.
The Department for Work The gainful self-employment There is more information
and Pensions (DWP) define test is very important on gainful self-employment
gainful self-employment as: because it determines on Revenuebenefits.
whether a person will be
(a) The claimant is carrying
subject to the Minimum
on a trade, profession or
Income Floor (MIF) and
vocation as their main
whether they qualify for
employment
a start-up period. A DWP
(b) Their earnings from adviser will meet with you
that trade, profession or to decide whether you are
vocation are self-employed gainfully self-employed.
earnings; and Being registered as self-
(c) The trade, profession employed with HMRC will
or vocation is organised, not automatically mean that
developed, regular and DWP will consider you in
carried out in expectation of gainful self-employment.
profit.
 Due to the coronavirus
The profession or vocation outbreak there have been
must be carried out in a changes to the universal
capacity other than as an credit rules.
employed earner.
If DWP decide you are not
Partnerships will be tested gainfully self-employed
to see if the partners are then you will be subject to
gainfully self-employed. conditionality rules, such
as looking for employment.
This will be explained to
you by your DWP adviser.
Even if you are not gainfully
self-employed, any self-
employed earnings will still
count as income.

What does this mean for Where can I get more
Issue
you? information?
Monthly reporting – The rigidity of monthly There is more information

Claimants must report their assessment periods means on reporting income
self-employed earnings for that the system cannot deal from self-employment on
the monthly assessment fairly with: Revenuebenefits.
period up to 7 days before
and 14 days after the end of Self-employed claimants
the assessment period. who have uneven earnings
throughout the year (for
If a claimant is a business example, farmers and
partner then the profit seasonal workers)
(earnings) is shared in
accordance with the Self-employed claimants
partnership agreement. who have big expenses
If there is no partnership (such as an annual
agreement then the profit is insurance premium), falling
shared out equally amongst in a particular month
the partners.
Earnings are calculated as Periods in which losses
Gross Profits (that is actual are made either in the
receipts minus permitted early years of the business
expenses) minus income (after the start-up period)
tax, National Insurance and or due to an unexpected
pension contributions. change (such as the loss
of a contract, or damage
from flooding resulting in a
period when the business is
unable to trade).
Minimum Income Floor If you are a universal credit There is more information
(MIF) – this is applied if claimant and your profits about the MIF on our
you are gainfully self- fluctuate during the year website for welfare advisers,
employed and in the ‘all then you may earn less in a Revenuebenefits, including
work’ requirements group monthly assessment period how the MIF works,
and have monthly earnings than the MIF threshold. If explaining the problems
which are lower than a that occurs, then for the with the MIF and exceptions
certain threshold. The purposes of your universal to the MIF.
MIF threshold is usually credit claim you are treated
calculated as the relevant as having earned the MIF
rate of national minimum in spite of what your actual
wage x 35 hours x 52/12 less earnings are. This will
a deduction for notional result in you receiving less
income tax and National universal credit than if your
Insurance contributions. actual earnings were taken
Please note, the number of into account.
hours used in this calculation
If the MIF is applied to your
may vary according to
award in an assessment
individual circumstances
period then you will not
so for example if you have
receive any benefit in
caring responsibilities the
your universal credit
MIF may be calculated
claim for making pension
using less than 35 hours.
contributions in that
assessment period.
▶ Due to the coronavirus
outbreak there have been
changes to the universal
credit rules, see our LITRG
website.

The MIF only applies to The MIF only applies to ▶ Due to the coronavirus
those who are in the ‘all those who are gainfully outbreak there have been
work’ requirements group. self-employed and changes to the universal
Those placed in other who are in the ‘all work’ credit rules, see our LITRG
groups, for example due to requirements group and website.
their limited capability for are not classed as a start-
work, will be exempt from up or are within their grace
the MIF requirement. period.
Accounting rules – How different the accounts These rules and the
DWP use a cash-based you prepare for HMRC potential differences
accounting system which are to the monthly ones between reporting for
is different to cash basis for DWP will depend HMRC and for DWP
accounting which you may on the type of business and what expenses are
be able to elect to use for transactions and whether permitted on your universal
your tax return. you are eligible and choose credit claim, are explained
to use the cash basis on our website for advisers,
All self-employed universal accounting rules for your Revenuebenefits.
credit claimants must use tax return.
the DWP cash accounting
rules for their monthly Even if your type of
reporting. business is eligible to use
cash basis accounting
for tax, there is also a
sales threshold which is
£300,000 for the 2021/22
tax year if you are a
universal credit claimant.
Surplus earnings – DWP This means that if a self- For more information
introduced complex rules employment claimant has on how surplus earnings
from April 2018 which their award terminated are calculated see our
mean excess income in due to excess income then website for advisers,
one assessment period a calculation will be done Revenuebenefits.
is carried over into the to work out their ‘surplus
following assessment earnings’ for that month
period. and the following five
months. If this person then
needs to start claiming
universal credit again
within that period, say
because their income fell
after four months, the
surplus earnings left after
those four months will
be applied to their new
claim as income, subject
to a de minimis threshold
of £2,500 (this temporary
level of £2,500 will continue
until April 2022, when it is
expected to revert to £300).
This means they will receive
either a reduced universal
credit award or potentially
no award and that will
continue until the surplus
earnings are used up.

Losses – before April Because earnings from There is additional
2018 there was no relief self-employment have to information on the
available under universal be reported monthly using loss relief rules on our
credit for losses incurred a cash-based accounting website for advisers,
from self-employment. system, it is likely that there Revenuebenefits.
will be losses during some
From 11 April 2018, a months. Examples include
method of loss relief was when:
introduced whereby a
loss in one universal credit ▶ a large expense which
assessment period can be may have accrued over
carried forward. However, a whole year is paid in
there will also be an one assessment period.
interaction between the
loss relief and the Minimum ▶ income is received in
Income Floor rules so, in only a few months of
effect, full loss relief and the year due to the
consequently relief for nature of the business
pension contributions, will (for example, tourist
not be given. trade), so in other
months there are only
expenses.
▶ the business is
forced to temporarily
stop trading due
to unforeseen
circumstances such as
flood damage.
You can find further information on universal credit on our website for advisers,
Revenuebenefits.
There is also information on universal credit on GOV.UK and the DWP has produced a
guide on universal credit for the self-employed.
Other state benefits

The state benefits system is complicated and we cannot cover every benefit in this
guide. There is further information on child benefit, guardian’s allowance and the new
enterprise allowance below.
Apart from child benefit, guardian’s allowance and tax credits, most other state benefits
are paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or your local authority. In
Northern Ireland most benefits are dealt with by the Department for Communities and
Land and Property Services.
Tax credits and some other means-tested benefits are being replaced by universal
credit (see section above).
State benefits may be available if you have a disability that affects your mobility or you
need help with your personal care, or are on a low income and need help with your
rent and council tax. You may also be able to get help with the costs of having a baby,
prescriptions, glasses and other costs.
Some state benefits are taxable. If you get a form P60U or form P45U from DWP or
Jobcentre Plus, you should keep it safe, as you may need it in the future. You can find a
full list of benefits and whether they are taxable or tax-free on our state benefits page.

You can find out more about entitlement to other state benefits in Great Britain on GOV.
UK.
In Northern Ireland you can find out more about benefits on the NI direct website.
Child benefit
If you are responsible for a child or qualifying young person in the UK, you can claim
child benefit – you do not have to be the child’s parent.
Child benefit is a tax-free benefit; although since 7 January 2013, if you have adjusted net
income over £50,000, you may have to pay a tax charge, the High Income Child Benefit
Charge. You can claim child benefit if you are responsible for a child under 16, or if a
young person (up to the age of 20) you are responsible for is, or has recently been, in
certain types of education or training.
The High Income Child Benefit Charge applies where you, or your partner who lives with
you, have adjusted net income over £50,000 and
▶ you or they receive child benefit; or
▶ someone else gets child benefit for a child living with you, but they contribute at
least the amount of the child benefit towards the child’s upkeep.
Those who are affected by the charge can choose to continue receiving child benefit
and pay the charge or they can make an election to stop payments of child benefit,
so they do not have to pay the charge. You can find out more about this on our LITRG
website.
The amount of child benefit you get is not affected by whether you have paid National
Insurance contributions. You can claim it even if you are not working.
You can find out more about child benefit from HMRC on GOV.UK. The HMRC helpline is
0300 200 3100 (text relay 18001 0300 200 3100).
Guardian’s allowance
Guardian’s allowance is a tax-free payment, paid in addition to child benefit, for people
who are bringing up children whose parents have died. In certain circumstances you
may qualify for guardian’s allowance where only one parent has died. You can find out
more about guardian’s allowance on GOV.UK.
New enterprise allowance

If you are starting self-employment, aged 18 or over and receiving (or your partner
is receiving) either jobseeker’s allowance or employment and support allowance, or
income support if you are a single parent, or you are sick or disabled, then you may
be entitled to the new enterprise allowance. You may also be entitled if you receive
universal credit, and need help developing your business.
This allowance provides money and support to help you when you start your business.
You need to check with your Jobcentre Plus work coach to see if you qualify for the
allowance. There are more details on GOV.UK.
The weekly allowance received as part of the new enterprise allowance is not subject to
income tax or Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance contributions.

Additional help for those
with disabilities
This section considers some additional areas you may want to think about if you are
self-employed and have a disability. There is information in other parts of this guide if
you are self-employed and have a disability and are registered for Pay As You Earn
(PAYE) (see page 45) or VAT (see page 47).
Accessibility when contacting HMRC

If you have accessibility needs there are a number of different options for contacting
HMRC. For example, if you are deaf, do not hear well or have difficulty speaking, you
can contact HMRC by Relay UK. If you are blind or cannot see well, you can ask for
written materials in other formats like Braille or large print.
If you cannot deal with HMRC by telephone you can ask for a home visit.
Details of these additional services can be found on GOV.UK.
Top Tip
If you do contact HMRC in person or by telephone, keep a note of the conversation.
Write down: The name of the person you speak to / The time and date of the visit /
telephone call / The advice you receive.
If you write to HMRC, keep a copy of your letter and proof of postage (ask for a receipt
at the Post Office) and any reply you receive. This might be important if there is a
dispute later on.
Access to work scheme

The Access to Work scheme gives grants to help disabled people or people with a
physical health or mental health condition to start working or stay in work, including self-
employment. You can find out more in our disabled people and carers section.
Blind person’s allowance

If you are severely sight impaired you are entitled to an additional allowance to set
against your income – the blind person's allowance. It is £2,520 for the 2021/22 tax year.
If you cannot use all the allowance yourself you can transfer the excess to your spouse
or civil partner. There is more information about how this allowance works and how to
claim it in our tax basics section.
Relief from VAT if you have a disability

If you have mobility issues, you may be able to buy or lease a car that has been
specifically adapted for you, free of VAT. You can read more about this on our webpage
VAT reliefs for disabled and older people.
page 65 Additional help for those Self-employment: A LITRG guide

with disabilities
When things go wrong with
your tax affairs
Within the tax system there are important dates, often called deadlines. You might get a
penalty if you do not meet these deadlines, for example:
The date by which you must tell HMRC if you have any income or gains that have not
been taxed already (unless the income is fully covered by the trading allowance (see
page 22); or
▶ The date by which you must send in your Self Assessment tax return; or
▶ The date by which you should have paid your tax.
Any penalties must be paid on top of any tax that you might owe HMRC. Be aware that
there is a very tough penalty regime for tax returns that are filed late – even if you have
no tax to pay or are due a refund.
HMRC can give you a penalty if your tax return is inaccurate or if you give them inaccurate
information. HMRC can also ask you questions about your tax or information that you
have given to them. These are called compliance checks. However, it is quite rare for this
to happen. If you do not do as HMRC ask, you might have to pay a penalty. But you do
have rights and you should get help if you receive a letter asking you for information. Find
out more about compliance checks and enquiries on our Enquiries page.
Top Tip
Be careful of requests which pretend to be from HMRC. HMRC never send notifications of
a tax refund by email, or ask you to disclose personal or payment information by email.
If you are in doubt about whether correspondence from HMRC is authentic then contact
HMRC or check your Personal Tax Account (see page 67).
If HMRC make a decision about your tax or have sent you a penalty and you think it is
wrong, check if you can challenge that decision as HMRC can make mistakes. This process
is called an ‘appeal’ and usually you must appeal within 30 days. If you appeal, HMRC will
look at the decision again. You can also ask for a separate HMRC team to look again at
the decision. This is known as a statutory review (also known as an internal review).
If you cannot agree with HMRC, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. A tribunal
means that people outside HMRC look at your case and decide whether HMRC made
the right decision. If you think you have been treated badly by HMRC, you can complain.
Find out more about tax complaints and appeals in the tax basics section of our website.
HMRC have guidelines that they should follow when dealing with you, these are detailed
in The HMRC Charter. This Charter sets out HMRC’s standards of behaviour and values.
Note
If you owe money to HMRC and cannot afford to pay, it is important to talk to HMRC
about your tax debt. Your situation may not be as bad as you think, but you should act
quickly. If you do nothing at all you could face legal action. The TaxAid website has a
detailed guide on debt and what you can do.
There are two charities that may be able to help you free of charge if you are on a low
income: TaxAid and Tax Help for Older People.
When things go wrong with your tax affairs
Other useful things to know
This section includes how to find out more about the subjects this guide covers, useful
facts such as tax deadlines and tax rates, and a glossary explaining what certain words
used throughout this guide mean:
▶ Page 67: Advice on how to contact HMRC
▶ Page 68: Digital tax accounts and Personal Tax Accounts
▶ Page 68: Websites for further information
▶ Page 69: Organisations that might be able to help you further
▶ Page 70: Further help and guides from HMRC
▶ Page 71: Some important tax allowances and rates
▶ Page 72: Some important tax dates
Advice on how to contact HMRC

We have included contact details for different parts of HMRC throughout this guide and
advice on what to do when calling HMRC by telephone.
If there is no contact information listed you should contact the following general
numbers:
Telephone 0300 200 3300 (text relay

(Relay UK) 18001 0300 200 3300). If you
Income tax
are calling from abroad the number is
+44 135 535 9022.
Telephone 0300 200 3310 (textphone 0300

Self Assessment 200 3319). If you are calling from abroad
the number is +44 161 931 9070.
Telephone 0300 200 3500 (textphone

0300 200 3519 text relay (Relay UK) 18001
National Insurance
0300 200 3100). If you are calling from
abroad the number is +44 191 203 7010.
Telephone 0345 300 3900 (text relay

(Relay UK) 18001 0345 300 3900). If you
Tax credits
are calling from abroad the number is
+44 2890 538 192.
Telephone 0300 200 3210. If you are

Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)
calling from abroad the number is
helpline
+44 161 930 8706.
HMRC have services for people who need additional help (see page 64).
page 67 Other useful things to know Self-employment: A LITRG guide

If English is not your first language, HMRC will let a friend or family member translate for
you. If that is not possible, HMRC have access to an interpreter service. You should tell
HMRC when you telephone that you need help.
Digital tax accounts and Personal

Tax Accounts
HMRC want to change the way people inform them about their taxable income by
making better use of digital services. Most taxpayers now have access to their own
Personal Tax Account.
The first stage of compulsory digital reporting was introduced for VAT returns during
2019. Our page What is Making Tax Digital for VAT? explains this new digital reporting
process in more detail.
Personal Tax Accounts

Personal Tax Accounts can be accessed through GOV.UK and enable you to manage
some of your tax affairs with HMRC through an individual online account. More
functions are becoming available through Personal Tax Accounts such as finding your
National Insurance number (NINO) or filing your Self Assessment tax return.
You can see what HMRC services you can currently use through your Personal Tax
Account on GOV.UK. Also, you can sign up to receive electronic communications only but
be warned that if you choose to do this, you must check your inbox regularly to avoid
missing any filing deadlines or payments.
There is more information on Personal Tax Accounts including how to access your
account in our tax basics section.
Websites for further information

In this guide we have tried to highlight where you can go for more information and
organisations that may be able to help you.
Note
If you cannot find the information you are looking for or you would like to let LITRG know
about any problems you have experienced with the tax and tax credits system that will
feed into our work, please let us know through our Contact us page. We read every
email we receive but cannot always promise to enter into correspondence with you, due
to our limited resources.
Listed below are contact details for organisations which offer help and resources for
the self-employed. These include government departments and charity and voluntary
organisations.
Government help
GOV.UK: This is a website that provides UK government information and advice. It brings
together most public information in one place. It covers the whole of the UK, although
if you live in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales you may find their individual devolved
government websites useful. These websites are listed below.
There are links to government organisations who may be able to help you when you
start your business.

The Business Support Helpline can provide advice on running a business; there are
different helplines for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
NI direct: This is the official government website for Northern Ireland. It gives information
about important services including tax and state benefits.
The Scottish Government: This is the official government website for Scotland. It holds
information on council tax, non-domestic rates, and Scottish income tax. It also holds all
the policy type information for the devolved taxes and benefits.
The mygovscot website has information on devolved benefits. Reserved benefits

information is on GOV.UK.
The Welsh Government: This is the official government website for Wales. It gives
information about important services for which the devolved government for Wales is
responsible. If you live in Wales, GOV.UK provides information about income tax and
state benefits.
Welsh Revenue Authority: The Welsh Revenue Authority provides information and
guidance about taxes that are fully devolved to Wales such as land transaction tax and
landfill tax.
HMRC: All HMRC information and guidance is now on GOV.UK. We provide a useful
table of telephone numbers and website links for different parts of HMRC you may want
to contact.
There is additional online guidance for the self-employed on GOV.UK; we list useful
factsheets and tools in the further help and guides from HMRC section on page 70.
Organisations that might be able to

help you further
The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group website has further information for the self-
employed.
Revenuebenefits: Our sister website, Revenuebenefits, provides advisers with access

to the latest information on the range of HMRC ‘products’, including tax credits and
information and guidance on the transition to universal credit.
TaxAid: TaxAid provides advice to those on low incomes who have tax problems
that they have not been able to resolve satisfactorily with HMRC. They offer a free,
confidential service to anyone with tax questions who cannot afford to pay for
professional advice; the helpline number is 0345 120 3779 (open Mon-Fri 10am to 4pm).
Citizens Advice: Citizens Advice provides free advice for many problems including help
with debts and benefits.
The Federation of Small Businesses: This organisation helps members who run small
businesses by providing advice, financial expertise and support.
Gingerbread: This organisation supports single parent families through online advice
and their helpline.
Money Advice Service: This organisation offers free and independent advice and tools
on managing your money.
National debtline: his organisation provides free, confidential and independent advice
on debt problems.
The Prince’s Trust: his organisation helps young people (aged 30 or under) and provides
support for those starting their own business through their Enterprise programme.

Further help and guides from HMRC
HMRC provide general help and information for the self-employed.
HMRC run webinars to help the self-employed with their tax responsibilities. Further
details on when these webinars are running are listed on GOV.UK.
You can also watch videos made by HMRC on YouTube and use their e-learning guides
and sign up for their email alerts.
Employment status
There is information on GOV.UK regarding employment status, either as a general
overview or more detailed guidance.
HMRC also have an employment status manual – which offers technical guidance on
tax and National Insurance issues relating to the employment status of individuals.
HMRC can help you determine tax employment status if you are unsure of your own
status or if you want to check the status of someone you are taking on. They offer an
online check employment status for tax tool which you may be able to use to help you.
It will ask you a set of questions about the situation and at the end it will give you an
indication of the status for tax.
Important note
If you are using the tool to work out whether you need to operate PAYE for someone,
HMRC say that you should be able to rely on the tool answer, providing you answered
the questions accurately based on the actual terms and conditions under which the
person provides their services to you and the tool has been completed by you or your
authorised representative.
As such, you should print or save a copy of the enquiry and result screen so that if there
are any questions from HMRC at a later date you can show these as evidence that you
ran a tax employment status check.
Keeping business records
HMRC provide an e-learning course which covers business records.
Calculating your taxable profits
HMRC have produced Helpsheet 222 How to calculate your taxable profits; this covers
topics such as overlap profits, allowable expenses, cash basis, accruals basis, changing
your accounting date, losses, cessation of business and partnerships.
Changing accounting basis (cash basis and accruals basis)
There is more information on the cash basis in the HMRC manuals on GOV.UK which
includes examples on the transitional adjustments required when moving from one
accounting basis to another (for example, changing from the accruals basis to the cash
basis).
Simplified expenses
There is a simplified expenses checker on GOV.UK which acts as a guide on whether you
will be better off using a flat-rate allowance compared to apportioning expenses.
Completing your Self Assessment tax return
HMRC have produced Helpsheet 229 Information from your accounts; this explains how
you complete your tax return using the information from your business accounts.

Tax losses
HMRC have produced Helpsheet 227 on losses.
VAT
HMRC have developed webinars and e-learning resources to help you understand VAT,
a list of these are on GOV.UK.
Some important tax allowances and

rates
The following table shows the income tax and National Insurance rates and thresholds
that apply when you are self-employed. The figures listed below apply to the 2021/22 tax
year (6 April 2021 - 5 April 2022) and apply to England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Rates and thresholds Figures to use
Personal allowance £12,750
20% on annual taxable earnings above the

personal allowance and up to £37,700.
40% on annual taxable earnings, above
Basic, higher and additional tax rates (not
the personal allowance, from £37,701 to
including the savings rate)
£150,000.
45% on annual taxable earnings above
£150,000.
National Insurance Class 2 Small Profits

£6,515
Threshold
National Insurance Class 2 rates £3.05 per week
National Insurance Class 4 Lower Profits
£9,568
Limit
0% on annual profits up to £9,568
9% on annual profits between £9,569 -
National Insurance Class 4 rates
£50,270
2% on annual profits above £50,270
Income tax in Scotland is partially devolved and the table below shows the tax rates for
earned income which includes profits from self-employment. There is more information
in our tax basics section on Scottish income tax. The National Insurance rates and
thresholds will be the same in Scotland as England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Scottish income tax has applied since 6 April 2017. For 2021/22, the rates and bands of
Scottish income tax are as set out in the table on the next page.

Name of Band Band Rate of Scottish income tax
Starter (assuming
entitlement to the personal £12,571 to £14,667 19%
allowance)
Basic £14,668 to £25,296 20%
Intermediate £25,297 to £43,662 21%
Higher £43,663 to £150,000 41%
Top Over £150,000 46%
The full rates and thresholds for the 2021/22 tax year can be found in our useful links
section.
Some important tax dates

The following graphic shows important deadlines for HMRC when you are self-
employed.
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
)2202 lirpA 5 ot 1202 lirpA 6(
SEPTEMBER
22/1202 RAEY XAT
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER 1
JANUARY 31 January (during the tax year)
FEBRUARY
MARCH 2
APRIL 5 April (end of the tax year)
MAY
3 JUNE
31 July JULY
(following the end of the tax year)
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER 4
5
31 October 5 October
OCTOBER (following the end of the tax year)
NOVEMBER 6
30 December
DECEMBER (following the end of the tax year)
7
31 January JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
7
31 January JANUARY

Key to important tax dates diagram
31 January (during the tax year): The first payment on account for the tax year
1 ending the following 5 April is due. For example, the first payment on account
for the 2021/22 tax year is due by 31 January 2022. Not everyone has to pay these
payments on account. We explain more at When do you pay any income tax due
(page 24).
2 5 April (end of the tax year): The tax year ends on 5 April and shortly after this
date you may receive a notice advising that you must file a tax return for the tax
year just ended. If you are newly self-employed, you will need to register with
HMRC for tax and National Insurance contributions for this to happen.
3 31 July (following the end of the tax year): The second payment on account for
the tax year ending the previous 5 April is due. For example, the second payment
on account for the 2021/22 tax year is due by 31 July 2022. Not everyone has to
pay these payments on account. We explain more at When do you pay any
income tax due on page 24.
4 5 October (following the end of the tax year): The date by which you need to
notify HMRC that you have income that has not been taxed before you received
it or capital gains in excess of £12,300 (2021/22 tax year) is 5 October (unless all
your trading income is less than the trading allowance (see page 22) and you
do not want to pay voluntary Class 2 NIC). This is so that HMRC can send you
a tax return. If you are self-employed, you need to register with HMRC for tax
purposes by this date.
5 31 October (following the end of the tax year): If you are sending HMRC a paper
tax return, it must be submitted by 31 October. If you send the form after this
date, there will be a penalty even if you have no tax to pay. See our section on
How to complete your Self Assessment tax return (see page 19) for information
on tax returns for the self-employed and the options for paper or online tax
returns.
6 30 December (following the end of the tax year): If you file your tax return online,
you will need to submit it by this date if you want HMRC to collect the tax through
your PAYE tax code. You will have a PAYE tax code if you are also an employee
or receive pension income (apart from the state pension). You will not have a
tax code if you are self-employed only. Collection through your tax code may be
possible where you owe less than £3,000. If your income is more than £30,000,
even more tax may be collected through your tax code. See our website section
How do I pay the tax owed? for more information.
7 31 January (following the end of the tax year): All tax returns filed online must
have been submitted by this date, there was a one-off relaxation to 28 February
2021 for 2019/20 tax returns because of the coronavirus pandemic. If you miss
this deadline, a penalty will be charged even if you have no tax to pay or have
already paid all of the tax you owe. Also your balancing payment of tax is due at
this time. For example your balancing payment for 2021/22 is due on 31 January
2023. You may also have a payment on account to make at this time. For
example, you may have a payment on account to pay for the 2022/23 tax year
on 31 January 2023.
8 31 January (following the end of the tax year) + 1 year: If you become aware
that an entry on your paper or online tax return is incorrect, you can amend that
return up to 12 months from 31 January following the end of the tax year. For
example, if you need to amend your 2021/22 return, you have until 31 January
2024 to make the amendment. This applies whether you filed using a paper
return or completed it online.

Glossary: important words
and phrases
This is the time-period that your accounts cover. So if your

accounting period is for the year ended 31 March 2021, this
Accounting
means your accounts will be from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.
period
The accounting period can be different to the basis period and
the tax year.
Accounts are a way of showing what profit or loss a business

Accounts has made by listing the income (sales or turnover) and
deducting any business costs or expenses.
Accruals are an accounting concept you use if you prepare

your accounts using the accruals basis. Accruals are calculated
at the end of the accounting period by working out what
expenses you owe which relate to the previous accounting
Accruals period. For example, if your accounting period ends on 31
March and you have only paid your quarterly electricity bill for
your workshop until the end of January then you would need to
calculate what the electricity expense would be for February
and March and include it in your accounts.
This is a method used to prepare accounts, sometimes called

the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis
or traditional accounting. In general terms this means that all
Accruals basis income earned and all expenses which relate to the accounting
period are included in the accounts, whether they are actually
paid or not. You can use the accruals basis or the cash basis to
prepare your accounts.
The annual investment allowance (AIA) is a special capital

Annual
allowance that allows the full cost of an asset qualifying as
investment
plant and machinery to be deducted from income, subject to
allowance
an annual maximum.
An appeal is how you object to or dispute a government

decision. Government departments’ decisions are not always
Appeal right. If you think that a decision about your tax, tax credits or
other state benefits is wrong, you may be able to appeal that
decision.
This is the period for which you will be charged tax in a

Basis period particular tax year. Usually, for a continuing business this is the
12-month accounting period that ends in that tax year.
page 74 Glossary Self-employment: A LITRG guide

This is a special allowance that blind people or people with very
poor eyesight can claim on top of their personal allowance. If
you are eligible for it, you might be able to earn extra income
Blind person’s before paying income tax. If you are certified severely sight
allowance impaired and are on a local authority register in England or
Wales, or if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland and are
unable to perform any work for which eyesight is essential, you
can claim the blind person’s allowance.
Business rates are local taxes you pay if you have or use a
Business rates business property. The money raised from them is used to help
pay for services in your local area.
Capital allowances are a way of obtaining tax relief on some

Capital
types of capital expenditure. They are treated as a type of
allowances
business expense and so reduce your taxable profit.
The cash basis is a method which some self-employed

businesses and partnerships can use to prepare their accounts.
The cash basis looks at income actually received and expenses
Cash basis
actually paid in the accounting period. If you meet certain
criteria, you can elect to use the cash basis instead of the
accruals basis.
Civil partners are two people in a relationship similar to

marriage. They form a civil partnership when they legally
Civil partners register their partnership in front of witnesses. The law has
recently changed to allow any two people to register as civil
partners regardless of their sex.
Class 2 National
Insurance This is a type of National Insurance contribution paid by people
contributions who are self-employed. It is a fixed weekly amount.
(NIC)
Class 4 National This is a type of National Insurance contribution paid by people

Insurance who are self-employed. The amount due depends on the
contributions taxable profits of your business.
(NIC)
If you are unhappy about how an organisation has treated you

Complain or dealt with your case, you can complain. Most organisations
have a formal complaints procedure.
This means HMRC want to ask you questions about information

Compliance
or forms you have sent in such as a tax return or tax credits
check
claim.
This is a scheme for workers in the construction industry, where

Construction registered contractors withhold amounts from payments to
Industry Scheme subcontractors and pay the withheld sums to HMRC. These
(CIS) payments are then offset against the subcontractors’ tax
calculated under Self Assessment.

Council tax is the local property tax in England, Scotland and
Wales. You pay it to your local council (see below), and they
Council tax
use these funds to provide services. In Northern Ireland you pay
rates instead of council tax.
Councils run services in your local area. Find your local council
Councils
on GOV.UK.
Creditors are people or businesses you owe money to for

business expenses, for example suppliers of stock. You will need
Creditors
to know how much you owe your creditors at the end of your
accounting period if you decide to use the accruals basis.
Debtors are customers who owe you money for goods or

services. You will need to know how much your debtors owe
Debtors
you at the end of your accounting period if you decide to use
the accruals basis.
Department
This is the government department which is responsible for
for Work and
most state benefits in England, Scotland and Wales.
Pensions (DWP)
Devolution provides Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales with

Devolved
forms of self-government within the UK. The Scottish devolved
administrations/
government can partially set the Scottish rate of income tax
devolved
and from April 2019 the Welsh government began partially
governments
setting its own rate of income tax.
Digital tax accounts are an HMRC initiative, which is still being

fully developed. Most individuals now have a Personal Tax
Digital tax Account. It is planned that from 2023 most self-employed
accounts taxpayers will enter their accounting information online every
three months via their digital tax account so their tax and
National Insurance contributions can be calculated.
An employee is someone who works for somebody else (called

an employer) under a contract of service. An employer will
often ask an employee to sign a contract of employment –
a document which records the terms they will work under
Employee
(for example: working hours, how much they will be paid,
what happens if they are ill). There does not have to be a
written contract for your relationship to be legally counted as
employment.
An employer is a person or business who has to give work to

someone and pay them for it under a contract of employment.
Employer(s)
The employer directs and controls the work that the employee
does.

Expenses are costs which a business incurs in order to trade.
Most expenses are tax deductible but some are not including
Expenses
entertaining customers and any personal expenditure or
drawings.
This is a developing area of the economy, for those who work

on an ad hoc basis or ‘gigs’. These workers have traditionally
been classed as self-employed for employment law purposes.
Gig economy
However, this view has recently been successfully challenged
by some individuals claiming they should be reclassified as
‘workers’ for employment law.
HMRC are part of the government that deals with tax, National
HMRC Insurance contributions, working tax credit, child tax credit and
child benefit.
Income is money you receive, for example from work you do or

Income
from interest on savings.
Income tax Income tax is tax that you pay on most types of income.
An independent tribunal is a group of people who look at

Independent
appeal cases. They will look at your case if you are not happy
tribunal
with a decision about your tax or state benefits.
Land and Land and Property services are responsible for collecting rates
Property Services in Northern Ireland.
Local taxes are taxes you pay to your Local Authority (council)
Local taxes or Land and Property Services (in Northern Ireland). They pay
for local services in your community.
Losses occur in a business when your expenses are more than

Loss/Losses
your income (sales).
Married couples are two people who have got married, by

Married couples giving notice and having either a religious or civil ceremony in
front of witnesses.
You pay National Insurance contributions to HMRC if you are

National
aged 16 or over, and you are an employee or self-employed.
Insurance
You stop paying contributions once you reach state pension
contributions
age. The contributions build up your entitlement to some state
(NIC)
benefits.
Your National Insurance number is your personal reference

National
number for the whole UK system of National Insurance and
Insurance
state benefits. This number ensures the National Insurance
number (NINO)
contributions you pay are noted on your record with HMRC.
National minimum The national minimum wage (NMW) sets the minimum hourly
wage / national rates that employers must pay their employees in the UK. HMRC
living wage are responsible for enforcing the rules.

The business is owned by more than one person called
partners; sometimes partners can be companies. The partners
Partnerships personally share responsibility for the business and complete
a partnership tax return in addition to a Self Assessment tax
return for each individual partner.
This is a system of collecting and paying income tax and

National Insurance contributions if you are employed. If you are
Pay As You Earn
an employee, your employer deducts income tax and National
(PAYE)
Insurance contributions from your wages and pays them to
HMRC for you.
Payments on account are a way of paying some of your Self

Assessment tax bill in advance. You normally have to make a
payment on account if your previous year’s tax bill was over
Payments on
£1,000, unless more than 80% of your previous year’s liability
account
was covered by tax taken off at source. Tax will be taken
at source, for example, if you are employed and have tax
deducted through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system.
A penalty is a fine you might have to pay because you have

Penalty/penalties broken a rule. For example, late filing of your Self Assessment
tax return.
This is the amount of taxable income you can have each tax
Personal
year before having to pay income tax. Most people tax resident
allowance
in the UK will be eligible for this allowance.
Personal Tax This is an online system operated by HMRC on GOV.UK. It

Account allows you to manage some of your tax affairs digitally.
Prepayments are an accounting concept you use if you prepare

your accounts using the accruals basis. Prepayments are
calculated at the end of the accounting period by working out
what expenses you have paid for in advance for the following
Prepayments
accounting period(s). For example, if your accounting period
ends on 31 March and you have paid annual van insurance
until 30 June, the prepayment would be the cost of the van
insurance between 1 April and 30 June.
Profit is the amount of money you make in a business when

Profit
your income is more than your expenses.
Rates are a local tax in Northern Ireland, which you pay to Land
and Property Services, it is similar to council tax in England,
Rates
Scotland and Wales. Councils use your rates to provide local
services. This is different from business rates.
If you are within Self Assessment, you have to complete a tax

return every year to tell HMRC about your income and gains.
Self Assessment You can also claim allowances and reliefs. People have to
tax return complete a tax return if their tax affairs are complicated, for
example, because they are self-employed or they receive
foreign income.
If you set up your own business and take responsibility for its
Self-employed
success or failure, you are likely to be self-employed.

These are taxable grants available to support eligible self-
Self-employment employed individuals and partners in partnerships whose
income support business has been adversely affected during the coronavirus
scheme (SEISS) pandemic. For further information see our coronavirus
guidance.
Simplified expenses aim to make calculating some business

expenses easier by using a flat-rate allowance. There are three
Simplified areas of simplified expenses and you can choose to use none,
expenses one or all of them. The three areas are: expenditure on motor
vehicles, use of home for business and premises used both as a
home and for the business.
State benefits are paid by the UK government to people who

State benefits meet certain conditions, for example people with children or
people of state pension age.
These are loans from the Student Loans Company, a

government-owned organisation that provides loans to
Student loans students at universities and colleges in the UK. They are repaid
after graduation or on leaving your course if you earn over a
certain threshold.
There are two tax credits – child tax credit and working tax
Tax credits credit. You can claim one or both of them, depending on your
household circumstances. HMRC deal with claims for tax credits.
The tax year is from 6 April in one year to the following 5 April.
Tax year You might see the tax year written as ‘2021/22 tax year’ or just
‘2021/22’. This means 6 April 2021 to 5 April 2022.
A textphone (or Minicom) can be used by people with

hearing difficulties. It is similar to a normal telephone but has
Text phone
a keyboard and display that allows you to type and read
conversations.
This is a text service which can be used by people with hearing

Text relay (Relay and speech difficulties using the national relay service. It can be
UK) used through an app on a mobile or tablet or using Minicom or
Uniphones.
From April 2017, a £1,000 allowance is available for small

businesses. If you have total trading or miscellaneous income
below £1,000 then you will not need to report this to HMRC
Trading
or pay tax on it. If the income you earn from your business
allowance
is above £1,000 then you can elect to deduct the trading
allowance from your trading income instead of deducting your
actual expenses.
Universal credit is a single benefit run by the Department for

Work and Pensions (DWP) which combines benefits for in
Universal credit and out of work support, housing, and childcare costs, with
additional payments for people who have disabilities or caring
responsibilities.
Value Added Tax is a tax on expenditure that is charged by

VAT (Value Added registered traders. If sales in a 12-month period are more than
Tax) £85,000 (in 2021/22), the trader will most likely be obliged to
register for VAT and charge VAT on their invoices.

Images (c) Various / Shutterstock
Reproduction, copying or extracting by any means of the whole or

part of this publication must not be undertaken without the written
permission of the publishers.
This publication is intended to be a general guide and cannot be a
substitute for professional advice. Neither the authors nor the publisher
Low Incomes Tax Reform Group accept any responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting
30 Monck Street or refraining from acting as a result of material contained in this
London publication.
SW1P 2AP The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group is an initiative of the
www.litrg.org.uk Chartered Institute of Taxation (Registered Charity number 1037771)

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A guide by the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group

of The Chartered Institute of Taxation

page 1 Self-employment: A LITRG guide

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has resulted in some temporary changes

page 2 Who is this guide for? Self-employment: A LITRG guide

What help is available with tax status (self-employed vs employed)? 7

What happens after you have registered with HMRC? 8

How do you register under the Construction Industry Scheme? 9

What business records do you need to keep? 11

Why do you need to prepare accounts? 11

How to complete your Self Assessment tax return 19

What tax allowances, reliefs and other deductions are available? 22

When do you pay any income tax due? 24

What National Insurance contributions do you pay? 28

Special circumstances for calculating National Insurance contributions 29

Checklist for starting a business 32

Growing your business 43

Registering as an employer with HMRC 44

Reporting Pay As You Earn (PAYE) – the options 45

page 3 Contents Self-employment: A LITRG guide

National minimum wage 47

Pension auto-enrolment (workplace pensions) 47

What is Value Added Tax (VAT)? 47

Registering for VAT 48

Other things to consider as your business grows 52

Stopping your business 53

Stopping your business – if registered for PAYE or VAT 54

Stopping your business – if claiming tax credits or universal credit 55

Other state benefits 63

Additional help for those with disabilities 65

Digital tax accounts and Personal Tax Accounts 68

Websites for further information 68

Organisations that might be able to help you further 68

Further help and guides from HMRC 69

Some important tax allowances and rates 70

Some important tax dates 72

Glossary: important words and phrases 74

page 4 Contents Self-employment: A LITRG guide

As explained above, this guide has been written in two sections.

page 5 Introduction Self-employment: A LITRG guide

It will address the following questions:

▶ Page 6: What is self-employment?

▶ Page 7: What help is available with tax status (self-employed vs employed)?

▶ Page 8: What happens after you have registered with HMRC?

▶ Page 9: How do you register under the Construction Industry Scheme?

page 6 First things first Self-employment: A LITRG guide

What help is available with tax status

What are your tax and National

page 7 First things first Self-employment: A LITRG guide

What happens after you have registered

We cover Self Assessment tax returns later in this guide.

How do you register under the

page 8 First things first Self-employment: A LITRG guide

page 9 First things first Self-employment: A LITRG guide

▶ Page 11: What business records do you need to keep?

▶ Page 11: Why do you need to prepare accounts?

▶ Page 19: How to complete your Self Assessment tax return

▶ Page 24: When do you pay any income tax due?

▶ Page 27: Tax losses

▶ Page 28: What National Insurance contributions do you pay?

What help is available with tax status (self-employed vs employed)? 7

What happens after you have registered with HMRC? 8

How do you register under the Construction Industry Scheme? 9

What business records do you need to keep? 11

Why do you need to prepare accounts? 11

How to complete your Self Assessment tax return 19

What tax allowances, reliefs and other deductions are available? 22

When do you pay any income tax due? 24

What National Insurance contributions do you pay? 28

Special circumstances for calculating National Insurance contributions 29

Checklist for starting a business 32

Growing your business 43

Registering as an employer with HMRC 44

Reporting Pay As You Earn (PAYE) – the options 45

National minimum wage 47

Pension auto-enrolment (workplace pensions) 47

What is Value Added Tax (VAT)? 47

Registering for VAT 48

Other things to consider as your business grows 52

Stopping your business 53

Stopping your business – if registered for PAYE or VAT 54

Stopping your business – if claiming tax credits or universal credit 55

Other state benefits 63

Additional help for those with disabilities 65

Digital tax accounts and Personal Tax Accounts 68

Websites for further information 68

Organisations that might be able to help you further 68

Further help and guides from HMRC 69

Some important tax allowances and rates 70

Some important tax dates 72

Glossary: important words and phrases 74