Tag: accountant

Accounting for Bloggers – Part 2

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The last blog looked at some of the more common allowable expenses.  You can click on this link if you missed it.  In this blog I will look at some of the ways you can record your income and expenses. 

Most people are familiar with spreadsheets and this is possibly the easiest and most cost effective way to do it.  You can use the first page to record the income, the second page for expenses and if you wish, although not necessary, a third page as a summary. 

Continue reading “Accounting for Bloggers – Part 2” →

National Insurance Recap

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London Landscape

National Insurance Class 2 will be abolished from April 2019. So with only a year left and if you have been self employed at any point in the year, now is a good time to make voluntary payments via Class 2 in order to top up any shortfalls, if for example, you do not have your full 35 years of state pension.  This works out to be cheaper than paying the voluntary Class 3 NI.

Here is a recap on all the different National Insurance and what they mean:

Class 1

National Insurance Class 1 is the national insurance due by employed workers as long as certain conditions are met. It is paid by the employer through the payroll. Read about this in more detail in my previous post here:-

National Insurance Class 1

Class 2

Class 2 is the national insurance paid by self employed workers. You do not have to pay Class 2 if you earn less than £6,205. This is however, going to be abolished from April 2019 so you only have a short time to make any voluntary contributions to make up any gaps in your NI history. You can read more about Class 2 below:

The Pain of Class 2 National Insurance

Class 3

Class 3 National Insurance is a voluntary contribution that needs to be paid if you have gaps in your NI history. You need to pay 35 years of national insurance to be entitled to full state pension.

Why Pay Class 3 National Insurance Contribution?

Class 4

Class 4 national insurance is the NI paid by self employed workers when they have profits above £8,424. You can read more about Class 4 NI below:

Class 4 NI and your profits

 

Feel free to get in touch if you have any queries.

Tax-Return-Checklist

As usual, if you would like any further details on this or any other accountancy matters, please follow this link:

And your quarterly tax calendar for 2018 can be downloaded here:

Tax dates

 

My Top 5 Accountants on Instagram

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My top five favourite accountants on Instagram all happen to be women. It wasn’t a conscious decision to find just women but it does seem that there are more women out there starting their own business.  Maybe its the social media effect or maybe when you are so into something that is all you see.

Lately, while on Instagram, I’ve been finding quite a few accountants.  My initial thought was how is this even possible?  What kind of picture would you put up? Another P&L account. Maybe lots of numbers. Or Oooh! Look! The balance sheet balances!

However, these accountants are pretty normal and still somehow manage to make accounts look good on Instagram.  Sometimes, I wish I was starting my own accountancy practice now as it seems like a really exciting period to be a woman and become a sole practitioner.  Anyway, here’s my list of the top five (female) accountants that I have found so far:

Continue reading “My Top 5 Accountants on Instagram” →

15 simple steps to create a filing system for your accounts paperwork

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These 15 simple steps to create a filing system for your accounts paperwork are aimed at self employed sole traders. You need to keep paperwork for at least 10 years in case you ever get an enquiry from HMRC. Being organised can help your accountant turnover the work faster and also resolve HMRC enquires faster, if you were ever in that situation. Continue reading “15 simple steps to create a filing system for your accounts paperwork” →

Claiming just expenses on your tax return

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Recently I was asked if they could do a tax return if they didn’t have any sales and just put expenses through. My initial thought was why go through the whole hassle of doing a tax return and the stress of meeting the self-assessment deadline if you don’t have to? With a new business, you can go back up to 7 years to claim your expenses and if you earn less than £1000, you can receive trading allowance before you even need to declare your income.

Technically though you could claim just expenses. There are some restrictions in that you would need to prove to HMRC your business is genuine. You need to do at least 10 hours a week with a view to making a profit. Continue reading “Claiming just expenses on your tax return” →

Don’t forget your Marriage Allowance!

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The Marriage Allowance has been around since 5 April 2015. It allows you to transfer 10 % of your Personal Allowance (£1,150) to your husband, wife or civil partner – if they earn more than you. This reduces your partners tax by up to £230.

Who can apply for Marriage Allowance?

You need to meet the following conditions in order to apply for the marriage allowance:

·         You and your partner were born after 6 April 1935

·         You’re married or in a civil partnership

·         Your income is £11,500 or less

·         Your partner is a basic rate taxpayer (ie. income between £11,500 and £45,000 or £43,000 in Scotland)

If all these conditions apply, you claim can be backdated to include any tax year since 5 April 2015 that you were eligible for Marriage Allowance. You will keep getting the tax break in the future too as long as the eligibility doesn’t change.  If your circumstances do change, you or your partner can cancel the marriage allowance online.

How to apply

To apply for it online, follow this link https://www.gov.uk/apply-marriage-allowance

To apply by phone, you can call HMRC on this number 0300 2000 3300

You will need yours and your partners national insurance number and something to prove your identity.

More information

More information can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance

As usual, if you would like any further details on this or any other accountancy matters, please follow this link:

In the meantime, here is a download for next month’s tax deadlines: October tax dates

National Insurance Class 1

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Class 1 national insurance is due to HMRC if you are in employed work and are earning a salary at a certain level. Class 2 national insurance will be abolished in April 2018 leaving only a new potentially reformed Class 4 national insurance for self-employed workers.  The Class 4 NI could be changed to make it more like Class 1 NI with entitlement to state benefits that are currently available by paying Class 2 NI.  So, for that reason, I will look at Class 1 NI in more detail here. Continue reading “National Insurance Class 1” →

VAT rates in the UK

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VAT was originally introduced as a simple tax on purchases of goods and services in 1973. It was originally called the purchase tax but changed its name to VAT when the UK joined the EEC. VAT is now anything but simple.  It is an indirect tax charged on the purchase of goods and services. Most goods and services in the UK are charged at the standard rate of VAT which is currently set at 20%.  Continue reading “VAT rates in the UK” →