Working PT time as web designer from home and self employed help

acharris

Hi all, I maybe starting a job after Xmas where a company is looking for some casual web designer to work 16 hrs a week from home and they say that I got to go self employed.

I know that I got to notify Inland Revenue and I now that my NI stamp is £2 something a week to pay. What I want to know is what do I have to keep in order for me to full out my self assessment form each year?? Is it just my payslips from the company or is it back records to show what is paid in each month.

Also would this be better to full out on line, and would I need an account for this type of work. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Anthony

richt71

acharris wrote:

Hi all, I maybe starting a job after Xmas where a company is looking for some casual web designer to work 16 hrs a week from home and they say that I got to go self employed.

I know that I got to notify Inland Revenue and I now that my NI stamp is £2 something a week to pay. What I want to know is what do I have to keep in order for me to full out my self assessment form each year?? Is it just my payslips from the company or is it back records to show what is paid in each month.

Also would this be better to full out on line, and would I need an account for this type of work. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Anthony

2 things come to mind. If you work part time for the company for any length of time then you shouldn't be self employed but employed by them under the new rules and regs. You definitely won't get a pay slip if you're self employed. You usually invoice them for all work done then they'll pay you and you pay your NI and tax. You'll need a seperate account for all these monies to go into. You should notify the tax office.

Kilty_2

Yeah if you are self employed and do a lot of work for the same company then HMRC start getting suspicious.

3plus1

Do not register as self employed.

If you are registered as self employed and only work for one company, you get slammed for IR35. I've seen it happen to a lot of contractors, and it's not pretty. This company wants you to be self employed so they don't have to pay your NI, holidays, etc. All that stuff. It's really not in your interest. Especially when you're going to get HMRC investigating you.

If you want to work for lots of different people, then going self employed is the right solution. But definitely not if you're just going to work for this one company.

Hope that helps.

[Deleted User]

This website may be useful - tho it refers to artists, most people include designers

http://www.artquest.org.uk/manage/selfemployment/29238.htm

Why be self employed?
Current research shows that artists are three times more likely to be self-employed or start their own micro-enterprises than any other sector of the UK population. The fact is that very few artists make a living purely from sales of their work. In order to function as a professional artist, you need to be able to manage your finances. A good way of doing this is by acquiring self-employed status.

Many artists make a living from a mixture of sales, commissions, workshops, teaching, arts administration, residencies and other creative work. Establishing your practice and gaining recognition is aided by being able to legitimately charge for your artworks and other services.

Artists have nothing to fear from self-employment if they take time to understand how to go about it and keep appropriate records. Many artists find themselves better-off financially being self-employed, as it allows them to apply for short-term opportunities. Organisations such as local authorities, arts organisations, galleries, schools and colleges cannot legally pay artists unless they have self-employment status. Otherwise your 'employer' will have to deduct emergency tax at source which can be a difficult and lengthy process to get back from the Inland Revenue. An added bonus is that artists can claim back a huge amount of expenses against their tax bill by simply keeping receipts when purchasing materials and services necessary to their practice - you might end up not paying any tax at all on your income.


How to go about it
Despite the benefits, registering as self-employed or as a business should not be rushed into. Many artists survive on a mixture of benefits and part time work, and stepping into official 'trading status' is a big step. Remember: it is perfectly legal to be an 'employee' of an organisation or company (e.g. having a part-time job working in a shop or restaurant) and continuing to work self-employed outside of this.

Many creative people actually rely on a small, regular income from a job that enables them to build up alternative sources of income. It is useful to have a part-time job during the first years of trading for increased financial support before becoming more established as an artist.

From the moment you decide to register for self-employment, allow some time before commencing; this is called the 'pre-start-up' period and could last between 8 and 12 months.

Whether you are receiving benefits or not, it will be useful to follow this step. Contact the Enterprise Agency (see list of Agencies below) in your area. Enterprise Agencies can offer free training and advice about business start-ups. Some even distribute funds. It is highly advisable that you attend a short course or seminar at an Enterprise Agency about the issues in setting up before you register. If you are claiming benefits, Enterprise Agencies can still help you. A number of Agencies are listed below: if you cannot find anone in your borough, contact your nearest one and ask them to direct you or contact Business Link for London (see below).

When you decide to go freelance/self-employed you will need some basic skills in marketing, accounting, financial matters, tax issues and invoicing. You also need to find out about legal areas such as copyright (the Artquest copyright pages in the Copyright and Licensing section of Legal could help as a first stop, or contact the Designers and Artists Copyright Service - see https://www.dacs.org.uk), Design Right, Health & Safety Regulations (see the Health and Safety information in the Legal section) and insurance issues (see the Insurance section in Legal). If you are starting a business you will also need to write a business plan.

Writing a business plan may seem rather irrelevant to the notion of artistic endeavour, but it will make you think through your ideas and identify weak points in the future before they become ingrained in your business. Think of it like this; you wouldn't start a journey without planning a route, arranging stop-off visits and acquiring money and food. A business plan is like planning for the journey you are about to make in business, and it pays to think of it carefully and thoroughly. It could take between six and twelve months to develop one properly. Don't let the thought of this put you off - many artists and craftspeople develop a new insight to their practice and creative abilities through undertaking this process.

During this time you will establish what kind of business you are going to be. For example, you may be a sole trader (individual), a partnership (two to fifty people), a co-operative or a limited company. More information on how to set up an organisation is in the Forming an Organisation article in Legal, and business related legal advisors are in the Legal Advisors section.

There are many useful business start-up courses run by local colleges and universities targeted at creative people. Courses at the London College of Communication (Enterprise Centre) (only for former students of the University of the Arts London - email them for more information at enterprise@lcc.arts.ac.uk), Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (interdisciplinary section on their website at https://www.csm.arts.ac.uk or telephone them on 020 7514 7015 for information on short courses for business start-up), Middlesex University (https://www.mdx.ac.uk), and City University (https://www.city.ac.uk) are all recognised as being helpful. There are also established arts advice organisations that provide free or inexpensive courses for artists such as Artquest (advertised through our Artquest Training and Events pages), Space Place (https://www.spacestudios.org.uk/courses/index.asp), ACAVA (Tel: 020 8960 5015) and Shape (https://www.shapearts.org.uk). For more providers, see our Short Courses listing in Training.

Registration

Now you can register on the Newly Self-Employed Help Line (Tel: 08459 15 45 15) or by post by filling a form called a P/SE/1. You will then be given a self-employment number that will enable you to sell your work legally and work as a freelancer on commissions and short-term contracts. You should quote this number on all your invoices (bills of sales) to purchasers of your artwork or services.

Upon registration, ask about the Business Support Team (Tel: 020 7667 4827/ 4828/ 4829/ 4830). They give free advice, training and one to one advice on tax, self-employment issues, statutory requirements and all the rules and regulations governing self-employment. They will offer you a personal advisor and also offer an extremely useful publication entitled 'Cutting Through the Red Tape,' an easy to use guide for running your business.

In addition find out about your local tax office. Many area offices are quite approachable and will answer queries on tax issues and assist you with filling in your self-assessment forms. It is also worthwhile telling your tax office that you are going self-employed, as frequently they are the ones who will need your details to start your self assessment 'account'. By telling the tax office directly, you can take out the sometimes slow 'middle man' of the Inland Revenue.

ETC - more on website

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