Advice on registering for self-employment

[PixelDan]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is doing well? Looking for a bit of advice as I'm a tad lost at the moment.

I began working with a startup company in June of 2017 with the expectation of being fully employed. That later changed, and I became a freelancer/contractor within the company. Three months ago they announced to the team that they were closing up shop, leaving everyone out of work.

I was told by the accountant (of the company) that, as I was self-employed, I had up until October 5 in my business’s second tax year to register. I had a look at the gov.uk website at the time, which also stated that.

I'm going to register as self-employed tomorrow, ahead of the deadline of October 5. I earned less than £12,000 working with the company and had a number of expenses (including one-off transportation costs, working from home costs, etc). I had no other income during my time with the company.

However, my partner and I have recently set up a limited company. She's employed full-time and I'm going to be working on the business itself. Will my previous self-employment affect this at all? I believe I can simply register as self-employed and tick the "director" box - is that correct?

As she's working with another company full time, she'll be working very little for the company itself (other than on weekends). Is there anything she'll need to tick in regards to her other employment when registering as self-employed?

We're going to hire an accountant to handle this moving forward, but I'd appreciate any advice anyone could offer ahead of time

 

[Scalloway]

Will my previous self-employment affect this at all? I believe I can simply register as self-employed and tick the "director" box - is that correct?

Being self employed and being on a company payroll are two completely separate things. They only come together when you work out your tax due on your self assessment.

Is there anything she'll need to tick in regards to her other employment when registering as self-employed?

As a company director she is not self employed, she will be on PAYE for her earnings from the company. Any earnings from the company will automatically be taxed at 20% as she has another PAYE job.

 

[PixelDan]

Thanks, Scalloway. Appreciate your response. I'm going to be booking some appointments with some local accountants today. In the meantime, I'd appreciate any input on the following...

Should I go ahead and complete the self-employment form now, considering I worked as self-employed during my time with the aforementioned company? Do I simply ignore the "Please tick if you are a director" box and fill out the SA1 in addition to registering a self-employed? Or do I simply need to take care of the self-employment form alone for the time being?

 

[Scalloway]

If you are a director of your limited company then tick the company director box on the SA1 if you wish. There is no legal obligation to register for self assessment just because you are a company director.

 

[PixelDan]

As such, I can simply register as self-employed to take care of my previous pay from my freelance work and leave it at that? Then I can pass things over to an accountant moving forward?

 

[Scalloway]

Yes.

 

[P19Johnson]

Hello, I was in a similar situation to yourself when I was setting up my company, I checked with a solicitor where I stood and they explained it to me.

Might be worth giving one a call? Hope this helps!!

 

[Newchodge]

You register as self employed from June 2017 and complete a self assessment tax return for 2017-18 by January 2019. You were not a company director during that period, unless your ltd company started before 6 April 2018.

If you are going to be an employee of the limited company you tell HMRC that you ceased to be self employed on the date that your previous company closed. You will need to complete self assessment for 2018-19 by January 2020, including the (ended) self employment any PAYE income from the limited company and any dividends from the limited company. That is the point to declare that you were a director from the date the ltd company set up.

Working for your own limited company is not the same as being self employed.