Hobbie crafter and craft fair dilema

VLT

I'm after a bit of advice with regard to craft fairs.
My sister and I decorate wooden items as a hobbie usually for friends and family and personal use and were hoping to try our hand at a christmas craft stall in a church hall. When we received the booking form it states we need public liability insurance, I have read on some craft sites that unless you are registered as a business your insurance may not pay out if a claim is made against you. So my question is:-
1. Do i need to register as a business with inland revenue and keep accounts, and if so how do we do it?
Any advice much appreciated
VLT

glynisrose

No if you are trying it out you don't need to register for tax ( unless you have a full time job too!!) But it is a good idea to keep accounts, even if its just a hobby!! Anyone can get PL insurance there are many companies that do it for individuals. Many years ago I specialised in smoke bombs and other pyrotechnics and my PL insurance was £75 per year (was rather a long time ago!!) Have you got MS Office? if you have you have a copy of Excel and this is an easy way to keep track, there are software packages you can download for free and free trials of stuff but I would stick to the easy stuff for now.

lucystardust

I'd check out the HMRC website or call their helpline re the registering for tax question. It seems they use 'intent' as a key measure of whether you need to register. So if you buy materials and then price your items with making a profit in mind, you probably need to register. Even if during the tax year you think you'll only earn a bit of profit and see it more as a hobby.

Have a look on Etsy forums, there are lots of recommendations from crafters for good companies for PL insurance. Then you could give them a call or take a look at their online forms for applying for their insurance and that should answer the question about whether you need to be a registered business.