accounts and tax return

rjh090384

Hi

I'm self employed for the past year. I employed an accountAnt / tax return person this year to save me a bit of hassle when it came to doing accounts.

However I'm not bringing in a huge amount of income so wondered if I could do it myself.

I currently record expenses on a spreadsheet and the same with income. I'm bringing in around £1200 a month.

I do not understand the tax return at all lol it might as well be in french. I was reading today about tax return software that will do it for you by Asking questions in plain English!

My question is, is there software that I could input "accounts" into and It will just do its thing and do my tax return at the end of year?

Thanks

Savvy_Sue

It would be worth seeing if HMRC are doing any seminars in your area which would help you understand the tax return, although actually I'd hope that if you asked your accountant to explain it to you in words of one syllable that they would do so - after all, you're responsible for the return, even if they've prepared it, so if you DON'T understand how it works then you don't know what you're signing!

So my advice, work on understanding a bit more ...

colino

With your turnover you really should be mastering it yourself and filling in a Short Return. The guide that comes with the return makes it very straightforward and unless you have a very complex business (and you keep decent records!) filling it in properly will fill a boring Sunday afternoon.

rjh090384

Thanks very much. I will try next year and hope I don'. !!!! it up. I keep very good records of expenses etc just the jargon is overwhelming

InsideInsurance

99% of the self assessment tax return is very straight forward, it was designed to be done by yourself, hence its name. There are just a couple of last questions at the end which are more technically worded.

There are free courses run by Business Link and HMRC so if you are concerned, get yourself on one of these

nzmegs

Self assessment is easy - just give it a try. But bear in mind that if you have anything more complicated than basic payments and income you might find it better to get an accountant. they might actually save you money if you have loads of expenses.

For me, I earn about 15,000 a year and my expenses are about £500. So it isn't worth me getting help. My husband earns closer to ££60,000 with £20,000 in expenses - so an accountant could really help with avoiding too much tax as there is more leeway.

rjh090384

Thanks. I do have a lot of expenses. Petrol professional fees insurance etc. Most of it is ggetting my head around what I can put as expenses

Savvy_Sue

rjh090384 wrote: »

Thanks. I do have a lot of expenses. Petrol professional fees insurance etc. Most of it is ggetting my head around what I can put as expenses

Then it's well worth while looking at what your accountant currently does and does not put down, and asking a few 'why' questions if you don't understand!

goldtop

If you have all your information on an excel spreadsheet then you are half way there. The self assessment is fairly easy and there is detailed information online. HMRC do webinars that cover most things (they rarely do seminars these days apparently).

If you do find it all a struggle then as a sole trader you don't need to pay an accountant to do the accounts and self assessment. If you do need professional assistance find a local bookkeeper that is qualified to do self assessments which will cut the cost. As one myself (and i'm not trying to sell myself here) but we understand the different capital allowances and know the different things that can be claimed and are around half the price.

rjh090384

Thanks very much. I got my first one through and basically im 2000 down so he was able to tell me what to do about that which I wouldn't hAbe known about so I've learnt something new. Will know for next year