Going BR and self employed - no accounts, need help!

marietp30

Hi Im looking for help for my OH, I went BR last feb and we have then been saving for my OH BR fee which we now have.
The problem we have is my OH has been a self employed builder for the last 6 years but has no accounts. He has been suffering depression and this is one of the things it has affected greatly. The bank statements we used for this period are with the OR anyway as it was a joint account so I had to forward them all last year .
Does anyone know what problems this is going to occur for us and will he still be able to file for BR?

Thanks

IF

Hi marietp30, I'm not 100% sure tbh but I would ring Business Debt line. Or the Debt charity that is dealing with your husbands BR.

Business Debt line - Click here


Best Wishes
If...x

nomoreboomandbust

You are looking at a BRU/BRO for not keeping proper records.

BaldEagle

Did your OH submit tax returns over the 6 year period? Initially, it may be sufficient just to provide those figures?

marietp30

Yes a tax return has been filed every year had been paid up to date untill 2 years ago. The OR already has all the bank statements that show all payments in and out. He does not have any buisness debt only personal, we are waiting for an appt with CAB but could take weeks!

Ineedaname

I would have thought the OR would be happy with copy tax returns as those show net income. Just give them a ring and say that's all the paperwork you have as DH didn't keep his accounting paperwork.

kepar

I do not understand how you can file tax returns for a business without any accounts being done???

marietp30

He has the bank statements but what I meant by no accounts was that they have not been done by an accountant. He has all the invoices and relevent receipts etc but a lot of the time he has not earned anything. He has just received his CAB appt so hopefully we can get sorted soon.

Ineedaname

Has he been entering everything into a spreadsheet or accounts book each week/month so he can see exactly what his turnover, business expenses and gross income is? He would have needed to do that to be able to fill out his tax returns. So he should have profit & loss, cashflow and sales information to hand or how can he know if he's making a profit?

Those are the 'accounts' he needs to keep by law for the tax office to review if ever they feel the need. An accountant or bookkeeper can draw accounts up from paperwork supplied and obviously an accountant can advise on where savings can be made on tax.

But it is the self employed individual who needs to ensure that information is held somewhere for 7 years, whether at home or with an accountant.

debtinfo

ah right, not as bad as firat thought then mariet although it is better to have accounts, if he has tax returns and receipts and invoices then it should not cause any problems with the bankruptcy.

the examiner might not be to happy (i used to hate it when i got a binbag full of receipts) but he is legally ok as he has the documentation to show his income and expenditure even if it is not sorted and the info extracted

marietp30

Yes he has tax returns and reciepts etc, I take it the worst that can happen is a BRO? The thing is the debt has to be dealt with so if a BRO is put in place then it's a small price to pay for 6 years of hell.
Will he be asked to forward all the paperwork he does have?
We do have a CAB appt in a couple of weeks so my other long list of questions I'll ask there! Thanks for your help.