[UK Tax filter] Where to go for help with sorting self-employed tax?

October 10, 2016 12:57 PM

I've got a full time job but have landed some freelance work that will bring in multiple thousand pounds a year. I'm registering as self-employed and I've read a whole bunch around allowances/expenses etc. I've a couple of questions over the fold:

1) How much do I need to be earning before I should really hand over to an accountant? What is this likely to cost?

2) Assuming I'm doing my own tax return where can I find help with questions such as what kind of percentage is acceptable for the household cost apportionment calculations? This seems like I'd need to talk to an experienced accountant - can I pay for one-off advice? Any recommendations?

Thanks!

posted by chr to Work & Money (3 answers total)

I don't know about (1) but with (2) if it's just a couple of questions, you could try calling HMRC and asking. Their phone answering staff are surprisingly helpful.
posted by emilyw at 1:21 PM on October 10, 2016

I'm self-employed with an income that puts me well into the 40% tax band. My accountant charges me £500 a year to prepare my accounts and tax return, including dealing with expenses and the fact that I have income from rented-out property and an early-payment military pension. On the one hand you're looking for accounts on a smaller sum, but on the other you have other income to take into account and so questions will arise as to what counts as allowable expenses. As such an accountant may not charge a lot less than what I'm paying, but I wouldn't think you would have to pay more.
posted by Major Clanger at 1:40 PM on October 10, 2016

I'd call the HMRC on the questions. There are two answers to the household apportionment question. 1) add up all your utility bills and mortgage. Halve that if you have a spouse/flatmate. Work out how much of the house you use for your job. Divide the bill money by that. In my case, that's an eighth (8 rooms, one room my office) of half of the bills. 2) use the standard sum they tell you you can claim (2.5 - bother to work out 1) and find it's the same as 2) anyway).

Re accountant's fees, I hover around the limit for paying higher rate tax and my accountant charges me just under £500 pa. Worth it for the peace of mind if you're solely self employed and need to prove what you earned, but when my self-employment was a side-project, I just did it all myself.

Note: if you earn above the minimum for paying tax in your main job, you will pay tax on your whole earnings from self-employment if you see what I mean.
posted by LyzzyBee at 3:26 AM on October 11, 2016 [1 favorite]