Selling a non-tax registered business

[boshdog]

Hi guys, I'm in a bit of a confusing situation at the moment and I'd really appreciate some advice.

2 years ago I set up a magazine and started to to distribute it as a hobby, selling advertising but only enough to pay for the printing and distribution. Because I wasn't making any profit I did not register for tax. Now I have the oppourtunity to sell the magazine for big money and I'm not really sure where I stand.

Do I need to register for tax and pay any outstanding payments from the last 2 years before I sell?

Can I sell the magazine without being tax registered?

Could I face a fine for not registering for tax until now?

I'm really not that clued up on tax and had not put much thought to it before now as the magazine had mainly been run as a hobby.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[Jayne]

Hopefully you have kept all bills, statements etc. All business's should reg' for Tax, the tax office may ask for past records, you may find you do owe tham Tax. It could be risky to sell your business without contacting tha Tax Office. There is a Tax helpline, these may help. It's best to do it all above board, they'll only catch you later. Or go and see an accountant with any records you may have.

Best Wishes

jayne

[Alpha]

Well lets take first things.

If you have run the magazine as a hobby and have genuinely not made any profits you should have registered the business for tax and NI but there will not be any to pay. However if the business has not made profits and most of the income straems are form advertising, I cannot see how on earth you can sell the magazine for anything. Sales of magazines are often dependant on regular forward contracts where revenue is from advertising.

Perhaps if you would PM me regarding the revenues and costs I could give you a better idea of what you need to do.

A word of warning though, If you have been making profits and not declaring them you are effectively evading paying tax which depending upon the revenues view of the individual case will result in a minimum of penalties and can result in imprisonment for up to 5 years for the most severe cases.

[SmallBizSoftware]

I would echo that. I have set up a small AM site (http://www.smallbizsoftware.co.uk) for a hobby and have registered for tax and NI. You can claim an exemption against class2 NICs if you expect to make less than the minimum threshold which from memory is about four grand per year. So in effect I pay no NIC or tax in advance and will put in a return at the end of the year.

Not sure what to do in your situation other than seek professional help and pay your dues.