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.
Registering as self-employed
Register for Self Assessment with HMRC by 5 October following the tax year you started trading; miss it and you can face a penalty even if you had no tax to pay. You'll get a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) by post, which you'll need to file your return.
Keeping records HMRC accepts
Keep records of everything you sell and everything you spend, with evidence (invoices, receipts, bank statements) for at least five years after the 31 January deadline for that tax year. Digital records kept as you go hold up far better than a shoebox reconstructed in January.
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 a big bill in January is never a surprise. If your income's grown, remember payments on account mean you may owe more than just that year's tax on 31 January.
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