Changing Name & Details Of Self Employment

Breezay

I know this is similar to the other thread, but it is different, I promise!

From April 2011-April 2012, I was running a relatively successful pet care business. I enrolled as self employed as that & stated I was a pet carer. I was then in an accident and now can't do it any more I've been applying for jobs but with no luck & honestly, I am quite restricted when it comes to my job choices. It really needs to be part time & office based, and they need to be ok with me having my feet up.. Otherwise I struggle to walk far & end up in pain I've been considering doing Avon to boost our income a little.. I know I probably won't make a lot, but even £40 a month would be nice!

I know Avon is a self employed role, but I'm already signed up as pet care. I still have my tax return to do for the pet care business.. & I'm a bit confused as to what to do now.

Do I need to state close of business on my tax return and then re-sign up for self assessment as an Avon Rep? Or do I continue as I am? If I need to change my name & description details, can I do it online or do I need to call up? I don't mind calling.. Just the last time I did, I ended up on hold for ages & it's a premium number! Ouch!

Advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm new to this self employed business! Of course things get more confusing if I get a part time job & carry on with Avon!

MoneySavingUser

You can complete a separate 'self-employment' form on your tax return for each self-employment - so you could do both of them technically, you'd need to tell them you had a 2nd business though

Breezay

I need to close the pet care business because I'm not bringing any money in with it anymore. The date that officially ended was 31 March 2012 & I'm yet to start anything new, so they won't be running alongside each other.
I'm not sure if I should close the pet care business & just start over with self assessment for Avon? Or if that's even possible :S

Savvy_Sue

I'm a bit confused here about a couple of things: if you are 'just' self-employed, HMRC won't care how you were earning your money, even though they have asked for your 'business name' - it would be different if you'd set up a company or a partnership.

But then you talk about needing a job where you can keep your feet up and not do a lot of walking, but you want to do Avon - how does that work? Wouldn't you be walking miles delivering and collecting catalogues?

Breezay

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I'm a bit confused here about a couple of things: if you are 'just' self-employed, HMRC won't care how you were earning your money, even though they have asked for your 'business name' - it would be different if you'd set up a company or a partnership.

But then you talk about needing a job where you can keep your feet up and not do a lot of walking, but you want to do Avon - how does that work? Wouldn't you be walking miles delivering and collecting catalogues?

I thought they asked for a business name for a reason.. & my business name is very pet care oriented.. It's not transferable. I thought I would have to change it to something else, or just my name? Also, I had to put in a description of my business. Does that not matter at all?

I can walk for approx. 1 hour & 30 mins, or 3 miles. Then I'm done for the day. I figure I'll do that in my Avon route. The problem with an office job is my feet would be down for long periods of time & my legs swell because of my injury (It only happened 7-8 months ago). To get a bus, walk to work, sit for several hours with my legs down, walk to bus stop & walk home would result in a lot more pain. Not only that, but if I've been inactive for too long, my ankles get quite stiff & I find walking very difficult. I was planning on doing mostly friends & family with Avon & branching out to streets as I can manage it. I imagine my Husband would help out as well.

InsideInsurance

Any name, description etc for a self employed person is fairly arbitrary given legally there is only you.

My wife's online self assessment form always has things wrong (first and last name reversed for example), always correct them, never have a problem, next year they come back wrong again. I believe the ability to create different businesses under the self assessment section is supposed to be an aid for you and presumably some statistical analysis they may do but for actual taxation calculations they are all added together and the descriptions etc are ignored.