Mystery Shopping Thread 25 *PLEASE READ THE OP FIRST**PLEASE NO CLIENT NAMES OR FEES

MysteryMan00

Mr._Bigglesworth wrote: »

I'm new to all this and I've read through the beginning of the thread and just wanted confirmation on the tax i should be taking off of any profit.

I'm on a £34k salary in my main job ... so i should be looking at 40% of the profit i make from jobs to be parked away for my tax return?

The threshold for higher rate is higher than that. For 2014/15 it is:

Personal allowance (£10,000) + Basic rate band (£31,865) = £41,865

So unless you make a ton, it's likely to be 20% tax. Mileage claims and use of phone/computer etc will soon eat into fees, so profit may be low even if you do lots of work.

Tudorc1

MysteryMan00 wrote: »

The threshold for higher rate is higher than that. For 2014/15 it is:

Personal allowance (£10,000) + Basic rate band (£31,865) = £41,865

So unless you make a ton, it's likely to be 20% tax. Mileage claims and use of phone/computer etc will soon eat into fees, so profit may be low even if you do lots of work.

I don't think you are quite right there Mystery Man.

To quote the Gov.UK website:

Income Tax rates and allowances - GOV.UK

If your taxable income's over £31,865 above your Personal Allowance, you pay: 20% basic rate tax on the first £31,865. 40% higher rate tax on taxable income between £31,865 and £150,000. 45% additional rate tax on taxable income over £150,000.



Therefore above £31,865 you would be liable to 40% tax - you are wrong to add the £10,000 personal allowance on to the basic rate tax threshhold.

I agree however that the profit will not be high after expenses and on a small number of jobs.

MysteryMan00

Tudorc1 wrote: »

I don't think you are quite right there Mystery Man.

To quote the Gov.UK website:

Income Tax rates and allowances - GOV.UK

If your taxable income's over £31,865 above your Personal Allowance, you pay: 20% basic rate tax on the first £31,865. 40% higher rate tax on taxable income between £31,865 and £150,000. 45% additional rate tax on taxable income over £150,000.



Therefore above £31,865 you would be liable to 40% tax - you are wrong to add the £10,000 personal allowance on to the basic rate tax threshhold.

I agree however that the profit will not be high after expenses and on a small number of jobs.

No, you have misread/misunderstood what you have read and pasted. This is a common point of confusion and arises because people don't (understandably) know the definitions of tax terminology that is used. Many journos don't either so articles can use incorrect terms. HMRC get them wrong too when they are writing colloquially on their website in an attempt to make tax 'less taxing'.

The title of the section of the tax tables says the 0-31865 band is applied to taxable income. Taxable income is income after deduction of the personal allowance. So when it says it starts at 0, it doesn't mean nought nought - it means you start counting after the PA has been deducted.

This tallies with what you pasted:
"If your taxable income's over £31,865 above your Personal Allowance"
Not above zero - above your personal allowance.

If you read before the part you pasted, there is an example showing PA coming off, then the £31k count starting.

Hope this clarifies what is (as I say) a common misunderstanding.

If anyone would like to continue the party I can also explain about the 10% dividend tax credit and the tale about VAT and Jaffa Cakes!

I get plenty of invites to parties!

Macadamia

MysteryMan00 wrote: »

No, you have

If anyone would like to continue the party I can also explain about the 10% dividend tax credit and the tale about VAT and Jaffa Cakes!

:rotfl::rotfl:

Mystery man 00 is correct in his calculations and explanations.

It's £31865 plus whatever your personal allowance is before the pinch of 40% higher rate tax.

Larac

[QUE=Macadamia;66838529]:rotfl::rotfl:

Mystery man 00 is correct in his calculations and explanations.

It's £31865 plus whatever your personal allowance is before the pinch of 40% higher rate tax.[/QUOTE]

I have always understood that 40 % kicks in at the 42k mark. If your are working FT and treating MS work as an extra income then IMHO you are not going make mega amounts as there is a limit to jobs you can do at the weekend and is dependent on how flexible your day job is as there are alot of weekday assignments.

Nebulous2

Larac wrote: »

If your are working FT and treating MS work as an extra income then IMHO you are not going make mega amounts as there is a limit to jobs you can do at the weekend and is dependent on how flexible your day job is as there are alot of weekday assignments.

I work full time, but my work pattern is very flexible. That isn't uncommon nowadays. I'm also based in a town centre, so can nip out and do an assignment at lunchtime.

I'd say the two main limiting factors for me are the amount of jobs available locally and the time I'm willing to commit to doing them. Those are more restricting than my ability to meet the timescales asked.

Macadamia

Larac wrote: »

[QUE=Macadamia;66838529]



It's £31865 plus whatever your personal allowance is before the pinch of 40% higher rate tax.

I have always understood that 40 % kicks in at the 42k mark.
(The quotes are playing up today - and I don't have the skill to correct them!)

Larac's right in that for most people - 40% kicks in about £42K, but it is worth remembering the threshold depends on what your personal allowance is.


I hope everyone has a splendid week!

purplemusky

Can anyone tell me when you get paid from RA? Or even where to look on their website when you will get paid. I can see my completed visits but nothing about payment for it? Thanks

Louisdf

purplemusky wrote: »

Can anyone tell me when you get paid from RA? Or even where to look on their website when you will get paid. I can see my completed visits but nothing about payment for it? Thanks

Around the 10th of the following month
But a visit I did on August 29th wasn't paid until October 13th

purplemusky

Louisdf wrote: »

Around the 10th of the following month
But a visit I did on August 29th wasn't paid until October 13th

Thanks will keep checking.