Advice for the self-employed
From registering with HMRC to keeping records that hold up at tax time, here's what to get right early.
This is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice for your own situation. See our Terms of Service for what BusyBee Hub does and doesn't do.
Registering as self-employed
- Register for Self Assessment
- By 5 October
- You'll get
- A Unique Taxpayer Reference by post
Keeping records HMRC accepts
- Keep records for
- At least five years after the 31 January deadline for that tax year
- What counts as evidence
- Invoices, receipts, bank statements
Staying on top of tax all year
Set aside a percentage of what you earn as it comes in rather than finding it all at once, and check a running estimate regularly so your tax bill is never a surprise. If your income's grown, remember payments on account mean you may owe more than just that year's tax when the balancing payment falls due. Digital records kept as you go hold up far better than a box of receipts sorted after the fact.
Try BusyBee Hub free for 30 days. No card required.
Try for free