Time to get an accountant?

whitewing

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Then why should anyone pay taxes or penalties then? Believe me, I dont enjoy it when my annual tax bill comes in or anyone else on here when they get their payslips showing how much the taxman has taken.

Perhaps we should just shut down the NHS, police, fire brigade, state pensions etc and then we can all not pay tax.

You've been earning money, pay your dues on it or leave the country really should be the only two options

I read it that way at first. Then I decided that the OP may mean that they need to know how much they would owe so that they could plan it and deal with it in a controlled fashion. Perhaps they have financial troubles anyway, which may be why a second income is needed, in which case I can understand they are worried about having had their head in the sand.

It isn't going to go away though so OP does need to do something.

ScarlettOHara_2

The longer you leave it the worse it will get. Every honest accountant will tell you that you need to comply with the tax rules - and that means fessing up about the three years trading to date. The longer you leave it the more HMRC will add on penalities if they catch up with you so sorting it out now will at least contain the problem and give you time to negotiate payment plans etc.

The value an accountant will add is helping you to mitigate the problem - making sure that you have taken into account full expenses etc. Whether that is worth more than the cost of the accountant I agree with an earlier poster is questionable for that level of turnover. It might be worth consulting one now to get the initial tax compliance sorted and then doing your own accounts from there.

stebiz

Personally, I'd start up the company (sole trader) today. No need for an accountant. Then just start putting enough aside each month. Let the Inland Revenue know straight away that you have started trading. I'd forget about the 3 years previous.