The Mystery Shopping thread - IX

KaramelRose

Being self-employed shouldn't affect your PAYE job at all. As far as I can tell, the two remain quite seperate. I'm by no means a tax expert though but here's how I understand it...

Through your part-time job, you'll pay tax regularly. This means that about £6k of your annual income will be tax free, and you'll pay 20% tax on your earnings above that tax-free threshold. This will automatically be deducted from your salary, and you needn't think about it too much!

Any profit you make from your Mystery Shopping will then be tax-deductable at 20% for which you'd need to fill out your self-assessment tax form.

johnny_c-l

SC, I'm not sure I fully understand, but my PAYE is just done 'normally' (I only see the net amount in my bank), but I declare my MS stuff each year with the tax return. There is a section on the SA form for employments so you would put this new job in your next tax return.

dazza.mk

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

Please can I ask for some advice from the tax experts out there and also from the people who do MSing in addition to having a 'proper' job?

I've recently started a part time job and I'm being taxed on the emergency code BR. I've just rang the tax office and they won't do anything this week due to a nationwide update of their systems... :eek: Impressive, eh?! (I think it was the wrong type of snow on the server, or something ) Anyway, I was told to ring back next week and tell them that this new job (which they currently have listed as my secondary employment) is my main employment and then they will put me on code 647L. He said I should tell them this is my only employment since April (I assume he means because of the tax year).

The man on the phone wasn't very friendly so I didn't feel comfortable asking any more... but I really don't understand what the implications are? I don't want to give up MSing altogether but I don't know how to declare income from MSing (via my self assessment form?) at the same time as paying PAYE from my 'proper' job. Can anyone make it simple for me please?

You need to register as self-employed (in terms of mystery shopping), and then you would declare any mystery shopping income on the self employed pages of the tax return.

Re: your new part-time job, if you didn't give your employer a P45, did you fill in a P46? - this is in effect the 'form' to declare the information the tax office asked for.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/p46.pdf

fabsaver

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

Please can I ask for some advice from the tax experts out there and also from the people who do MSing in addition to having a 'proper' job?

I've recently started a part time job and I'm being taxed on the emergency code BR. I've just rang the tax office and they won't do anything this week due to a nationwide update of their systems... :eek: Impressive, eh?! (I think it was the wrong type of snow on the server, or something ) Anyway, I was told to ring back next week and tell them that this new job (which they currently have listed as my secondary employment) is my main employment and then they will put me on code 647L. He said I should tell them this is my only employment since April (I assume he means because of the tax year).

The man on the phone wasn't very friendly so I didn't feel comfortable asking any more... but I really don't understand what the implications are? I don't want to give up MSing altogether but I don't know how to declare income from MSing (via my self assessment form?) at the same time as paying PAYE from my 'proper' job. Can anyone make it simple for me please?

You will be taxed through PAYE for your proper job. At the end of the tax year you will receive a P60 (I think) showing your earnings and how much tax you have paid. You will need to put these figures on the employed income section of your self assessment tax return. You will still put your MSing income on your tax return.

TractorGirl327

Today's MS Quiz Question is:

Which Mystery Shopping website is currently offline due to an unexpected error?
(a) GapBuster
(b) Retail Eyes
(c) Grass Roots

Answers on a postcard to Tractorgirl please!

dazza.mk

TractorGirl327 wrote: »

Today's MS Quiz Question is:

Which Mystery Shopping website is currently offline due to an unexpected error?
(a) GapBuster
(b) Retail Eyes
(c) Grass Roots

Answers on a postcard to Tractorgirl please!

Can I phone a friend? - (not the Gapbuster office of course :A )

aplaceinthesun

Please can I ask the audience ??

Scaredy_Cat_3

dazza.mk wrote: »

You need to register as self-employed (in terms of mystery shopping), and then you would declare any mystery shopping income on the self employed pages of the tax return.

Re: your new part-time job, if you didn't give your employer a P45, did you fill in a P46? - this is in effect the 'form' to declare the information the tax office asked for.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/p46.pdf

Thanks to everyone who replied.

I'm already registered as self employed and have already filed my 2008/09 tax return (I think that's why they are listing my new job as secondary employment).

At the time I completed the self assessment form, my only income was from MSing. This tax year, I have continued to do some MSing (though not as much as now I keep missing all the jobs :mad:) but I started this new job a few weeks ago, so this tax year, not last.

Yes, I did hand my new employer a P45. I've been out of work for a few years but did one week of work last summer so had the P45 from that job, and I handed that in to my new employer. That's why I was surprised to be on the emergency tax code now.

I do already have a blank P46, which my new employer sent me, but I haven't completed it since I gave them my P45 instead. The Tax office said I didn't need to complete the P46, just ring them back next week.

The other thing that confused me was that the Tax office bloke said I should tell them this job is my only employment since April. As if he expected me to stop being self employed - and to have used a time machine to go back and stop being self employed before I started the new job.

When I fill out my next self assessment form, do I still need to list income from the job, even though that will have been taxed through PAYE? Also, what are the downsides, am I going to find MSing is not worth it if I suddenly have to pay tax on this (generally less than minimum wage) occupation??

absolutelynomoney

well I've been on both (A) and (B) this morning, so I'm voting for (C)

Scaredy_Cat_3

Typical... RE back up but now my local musical type store has gone. AND I missed all the torso shops last night. :mad::mad::mad: