Self employed hairdresser in need of advice PLEASE HELP!!!

nikkipoulton

:rotfl:Hi there, I hope some of you might be able to help me as there are so many mixed opinions about this subject!! I've just registered as a self employed hairdresser and i just basically want a low down on what I can claim and what I cant. I work full time at a salon which I drive to everyday which is owned by a girl which I work with(im not a partner she solely owns this business), its only us two in the salon. I work on the basis of everything I do I take 50% profit, so for example if I cut some ones hair for £24.00 i'll take home £12.00, so the other girl I work with gets the other 50%. Then we use a 40-60% to her ratio when I do colouring services as she is supplying me with the colours to apply with. Basically I just want to know what allowances i can claim because as I dont buy any stock really as she buys everything for the salon I dont ge alot of tax relief. I travel to and from the salon everyday but im told I cant claim for this as its not business miles only commuter miles? Can I claim for MOT'S , repairs etc for my car and how do I work this out as i've been told as its not solely for business purposes you can only claim for a certain percentage of the amount? I've just bought some new scissors, they wern't alot (£60) compares to some of my others but do i still have to claim this as capital allowance? I know i can claim for uniform, but is there an upper limit for this? If i go to a hair show etc ticket price can i claim this and would that be under a normal deduction? Sorry to post all of this its probably been posted before but i think my venture is slightly different as i work in a salon which to me everything is already supplied. pro's and con's i guess. thanks guys hope you can help P.S I havent got an accountant due to not having many expenses I thought I could save myself £200 odd quid and do my self assesment online - saying which is that easy enough to complete ? Im keeping very precise records of everything . THANKS AGAIN!

Jowo_2

There's a Cutting Tax forum on MSE where hopefully there are tax experts present that can give you guidance on what are legitimate business expenses (also, a Small Business forum, too.

I take it that you don't have an accountant that helps you with your tax return?

no-oneknowsme

[QUOTE=nikkipoulton;4252343_:D_P.S_I_havent_got_an_accountant_due_to_not_having_many_expenses_I_thought_I_could_save_myself_£200_odd_quid_and_do_my_self_assesment_online_-_saying_which_is_that_easy_enough_to_complete_?_Im_keeping_very_precise_records_of_everything_._THANKS_AGAIN!

[/QUOTE]OP states that she doesnt have an accountant as her expenses are low

Jowo wrote: »

I take it that you don't have an accountant that helps you with your tax return?

no-oneknowsme

nikkipoulton wrote: »

:rotfl:Hi there, I hope some of you might be able to help me as there are so many mixed opinions about this subject!! I've just registered as a self employed hairdresser and i just basically want a low down on what I can claim and what I cant. I work full time at a salon which I drive to everyday which is owned by a girl which I work with(im not a partner she solely owns this business), its only us two in the salon. I work on the basis of everything I do I take 50% profit, so for example if I cut some ones hair for £24.00 i'll take home £12.00, so the other girl I work with gets the other 50%. Then we use a 40-60% to her ratio when I do colouring services as she is supplying me with the colours to apply with. Basically I just want to know what allowances i can claim because as I dont buy any stock really as she buys everything for the salon I dont ge alot of tax relief. I travel to and from the salon everyday but im told I cant claim for this as its not business miles only commuter miles? Can I claim for MOT'S , repairs etc for my car and how do I work this out as i've been told as its not solely for business purposes you can only claim for a certain percentage of the amount? I've just bought some new scissors, they wern't alot (£60) compares to some of my others but do i still have to claim this as capital allowance? I know i can claim for uniform, but is there an upper limit for this? If i go to a hair show etc ticket price can i claim this and would that be under a normal deduction? Sorry to post all of this its probably been posted before but i think my venture is slightly different as i work in a salon which to me everything is already supplied. pro's and con's i guess. thanks guys hope you can help P.S I havent got an accountant due to not having many expenses I thought I could save myself £200 odd quid and do my self assesment online - saying which is that easy enough to complete ? Im keeping very precise records of everything . THANKS AGAIN!

Hi , Im by far an expert on tax (there are some wonderful posters on here thoug who will give you advice) so what I post is just my opinion on what you have said...

I would say that you would be unable to claim the costs of travelling to work as an expense as the cost of this is not covered under tax relief. If you were using your car to travel round clients homes then that would be a different matter . Travelling to your place of employment - the salon in this case would not count.

For this same reason I dont think you would be able to claim the cost of your MOT , pertrol or repairs to you vehicle as you are not actually using them for the business....you are merely travelling to your place of work in them . Put it this way , if you are claiming the costs of the car as an expense then you would need to have business cover on your car insurance policy.....

Anything you purchase to use in your business CAN be accounted for as a business expense . In this case , the scissors you bought can be included in your expenses and because you ONLY use hairdressing scissors for hairdressing , I would caluclate them as 100% business use and claim relief on the toal cost of them (£60 didnt you say?). Also , any time you pay to have them professionally sharpened this can be listed as a business expense.

Because your friend buys all of the products you use in the salon you wont have any expenses there either.

It seems that you have very few expenses . Your uniform Im just not too sure about . I remember someone saying on here that if you are self employed you can only claim tax relief on your work clothes if they are SAFETY clothing - eg , boots or overalls etc....

I agree with you when you say that for a business with very little expenses the cost of paying an accountant is un-wise . My OH is self employed and I was able to file his first return online for him last year with no trouble at all.

I know you say that you have just registered as self employed but have you registered to file your retuen online? This is by far the easiest way to file . The return will be due to be filed online by the deadline of 31st Jan 2012 and you will also have to pay any tax you owe by this same date. Because you file online HMRC will calculate your tax and class 4 FOR YOU which is great.

If you chose to file a paper return which you will send to HMRC in the post it will be due by 31st October 2011. HMRC will then do the calculation of taxi and class 4 due and inform you of how much you owe.

Have you registered to pay your class 2 NIC ok?