how does tax work?

[simon1969]

No



You may have overlooked the fact that Matthew is still at school, and has as yet had no grounding in the ways of Tax and the like. Charlie is unusual in being apparently ( sometimes ) au fait with running a buisiness at a tender age, so well done to Matthew for asking what is the way forward. I know he's unlikely to have a big tax liability, but having a word with an accountant is in my opinion the best way forward. A short chat shouldn't cost the earth, and woulkd be invaluable.


I probably have.

Not being rude here and I don't mean to offend but why couldn't he speak to the tax office they are more helpful nowadays and it's free!!!

[NKR]

Okay makes sense now.

Best place to start is www.hmrc.gov.uk and look under self employed section. Depends if you are working alone or with someone else as you could enter it as a partnership if two of you rather than a limited company.

If you have another job it becomes a little more complicated as you end up on PAYE and need to complete a tax return form to show all your income including your self employed.

If you are taking less than about £5k if memory serves correct (can't remember the exact figure) you need to complete a form that opts you out of class 4 NI due to small income.

After doing all of that the HMRC will make a complete screw up of it as their super computer understands tax even less than we do and in about ten years time it will send you a bill for a sqillion pounds even though they owe you £14.25.

Get an accountant its easier.

[Matty12]

It wasn't a joke fella just the young lad is having trouble with spelling and punctuation and he was enquiring about tax etc....
Just gave me a thought there has anyone done a joke thread that was hard to distinguish from joke/serious?

don't worry I don't mind I don't take any notice I've been though that stage all ready
but I see what you mean

[Matty12]

Okay makes sense now.

After doing all of that the HMRC will make a complete screw up of it as their super computer understands tax even less than we do and in about ten years time it will send you a bill for a sqillion pounds even though they owe you £14.25.

Get an accountant its easier.

where do I get an accountant from and I don't get the last bit

[Charlie Brown]

Is this a joke thread?

Great advice there Charlie...

...I give up!

I was referring to NKR's comment on the apparent "joke" thread.

You may have overlooked the fact that Matthew is still at school,

...Matt doesn't attend School & hasn't for years. He is home tutored where/when possible.

[Corabar Steve]

where do I get an accountant from and I don't get the last bit

yellow pages



(if you cant beat them join them)

[Excalibur]

Not being rude here and I don't mean to offend but why couldn't he speak to the tax office they are more helpful nowadays and it's free!!!

There's no reason he couldn't, and it's a good idea, but: the Tax office wouldn't be working for him, and he's unlikely to be able to have a face to face chat.

A chat with an accountant may not cost much, especially if he knows someone who has one. The tax office have no desire to minimise tax liability. Accountants have.

Either option would be a good idea for the lad.

( No offence taken, by the way. It's a forum. Differing points of view are put forward, that's what happens. )

[Charlie Brown]

IMO (won't go down well on here) but I don't see why Matt needs an account yet.

How many bookings are you doing a month? I remember you saying sometimes..none?

You charge £60. Most of it gets put back into the cancer charities you support.

Is paying £100+ for an accountant the BEST advice we can give him? Perhaps your mum could phone up the Inland Revenue. I remember speaking to them when I first started and I came under the "interest/hobby" umbrella which meant I didn't need to pay tax OR inform them.

However, if you start earning more and step out of the "interest/hobby" umbrella then you have to let them know (whether you're eligible for tax or not)

[NKR]

( No offence taken, by the way. It's a forum. Differing points of view are put forward, that's what happens. )

Yeah and sometimes the white and red roses agree on things. If this happens more than three times in a row then we will all be transported into a parallel universe.

[simon1969]

There's no reason he couldn't, and it's a good idea, but: the Tax office wouldn't be working for him, and he's unlikely to be able to have a face to face chat.

A chat with an accountant may not cost much, especially if he knows someone who has one. The tax office have no desire to minimise tax liability. Accountants have.

Either option would be a good idea for the lad.

( No offence taken, by the way. It's a forum. Differing points of view are put forward, that's what happens. )

All i know is when I visited they said I didn't earn enough a year to worry as I don't do gigs every night at the weekend e.g Fri, Sat, Sun.
Never thought of your point about tax office not wanting to minimise tax liability lol doh!!