Taking on a self Employed person

aandp_2

My business has grown and I`m now in need of a part time person to help me. I am a dog walker - pet visitor.

My friend is a registered self employed photographer and is in need of extra work through the winter.

My questions are

Does she have to let HMRC know she is also doing dog walking as well as photography

Can she claim mileage from her home to my house or clients to start work she lives 23 miles away

Claim for her clothes e.g boots, waterproofs

doningtonphil

She doesnt need to let hmrc know.

I imagins she will be invoicing you for the time she spends working for you.

There is a 'risk' that if the majority of her income is from doing your work that she may need to become an employee. But that is probably small. Hmrc website has a questionnaire to help someone decide if they should become an employee.

nomunnofun

doningtonphil wrote: »

She doesnt need to let hmrc know.

I imagins she will be invoicing you for the time she spends working for you.

There is a 'risk' that if the majority of her income is from doing your work that she may need to become an employee. But that is probably small. Hmrc website has a questionnaire to help someone decide if they should become an employee.

I am sorry but I cannot agree with this. A self-employed photographer cannot issue an invoice for dog walking! Even if he/she was able to issue an invoice it would be regarded as a separate business altogether and declared accordingly on the tax return.

However, it would appear from the information provided that the op is taking on an employee. (The op controls the working hours, rate of pay etc. There are several other criteria). A lot will depend on the amount paid per week as to whether the op will be required to register as an employer and perhaps we need more details.

Either way the photographer should, in my opinion, be declaring that he/she has another job, not claiming expenses or issuing invoices under the photography business.

zygurat789

nomunnofun wrote: »

I am sorry but I cannot agree with this. A self-employed photographer cannot issue an invoice for dog walking! Even if he/she was able to issue an invoice it would be regarded as a separate business altogether and declared accordingly on the tax return.

However, it would appear from the information provided that the op is taking on an employee. (The op controls the working hours, rate of pay etc. There are several other criteria). A lot will depend on the amount paid per week as to whether the op will be required to register as an employer and perhaps we need more details.

Either way the photographer should, in my opinion, be declaring that he/she has another job, not claiming expenses or issuing invoices under the photography business.

HMRC cannot stop people from earning money in any way they can. The photographer can issue invoices for dog walking but of course it is a separate business and needs to be declared separately in a tax return.

As is usual for people who are seeking answers to a complicated question, the OP asks the wrong questions. The first, and the one with the most far reaching consequences is "Is the photographer employed or self employed"

Try the two addresses below and see how the circumstances pan out

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employment-status/

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/working/intro/empstatus.htm

Prothet_of_Doom

Google IR35.

Does the self employed person have liability insurance that relates to the type of work they are carrying out. Do they control their own work. Can they turn down work, can they subcontract it to another person or employee of their business (subsitution is a good indicator). Are the expences they incur part of the price they charge. (I've travelled to Germany on behalf of one client, and it was agreed upfront that my price for that job was based on how much I estimated I could get the travel for, at my risk if I was wrong)

I think and Believe they are not an employee, they should claim tax relief at 45p a mile from thier place of business, which seems to be their home, and they should charge a rate (whether hourly or per job) which includes it. You should not refund travel exes.

They should also ensure that their car insurance covers this particular business use.

If she needs PPE (Safety shoes, BS EN spec safety glasses, gloves, protective chemical suit, dog bags, etc) then she should provide it, and claim tax relief. - Personally if it were me, I'd have a coat with the name of my photography business on the front and back, and give out business cards to any dog walkers that stopped to chat.
Normal clothes do not get tax relief. You should not provide, but her rate should reflect her business costs and her need to show a profit.

If she were a ltd company, then she'd need to change the company details on the companies house listing for her company, adding the additional business interests. Not sure how it would work with self employed. Do HMRC have a record of the different self employed strands to your business, or do they just see it as income, and costs on the self assessment on line forms?

chrismac1

I am sorry to say but there is a right load of drivel in some of these threads. Firstly, it is quite common to have more than one type of business in a set of accounts, whether you are the website designer and hog roast business I am currently doing the accounts for, or the integrated energy producers and energy suppliers we all hear about, and more or less every other FTSE company too.

She can simply edit the box "type of business" to "photographer and dog walker" on her tax return. If only small beer, she could do it as a one-liner under "other business income".

Personally I think it is better to split the two sources of income, so in the accounts I am working on the sales are split into "website design" and "hog roasts" though this will not appear on the tax return.

As for being an employee, I've never heard such drivel in my life. Doubtless you are asking your friend "Can you do a dog walk on Monday?" and she is perfectly free to say "Sorry I am photographing a wedding that day." How much less of an employee do you want someone to be?

PlutoinCapricorn

You register as a sole trader. This can be an umbrella for several different income streams.

There is such as thing as a 'portfolio worker', a new way of describing an odd job man, which covers many types of activity.

If I were an intermittent dog walker and a window cleaner, I would keep separate records for myself and merge them when submitting my tax return. If both activities grew very large, I would submit both sets of figures separately on the tax return.

nomunnofun

chrismac1 wrote: »

I am sorry to say but there is a right load of drivel in some of these threads. Firstly, it is quite common to have more than one type of business in a set of accounts, whether you are the website designer and hog roast business I am currently doing the accounts for, or the integrated energy producers and energy suppliers we all hear about, and more or less every other FTSE company too.

She can simply edit the box "type of business" to "photographer and dog walker" on her tax return. If only small beer, she could do it as a one-liner under "other business income".

Personally I think it is better to split the two sources of income, so in the accounts I am working on the sales are split into "website design" and "hog roasts" though this will not appear on the tax return.

The question that was asked by the op was:

Does she have to let HMRC know she is also doing dog walking as well as photography

The second poster maintained that the op did not and I replied accordingly that I did not agree with this. We both know that this new source of income (and associated expenses) would skew the figures from the previous year and everyone can do without a HMRC enquiry.

Of course, one can rebrand the business as a photograher/dog walking venture but that does mean that we have also informed HMRC.

I have also said that the employee/self-employed position is not clear and that we need more information - there could be a case for employment and, at the moment, we can agree to differ.

PlutoinCapricorn

There is a box on the tax return that can be used to explain anything that might otherwise trigger an enquiry e.g. sharp drops/rises in income/expenses.

Many self employed people experience good and bad months and years so their income fluctuates.

chrismac1

Is there a conspiracy on this site by some posters to make things as awkward and complex as possible?

1. Even if this were to affect profits by £5k - unlikely - there is pretty much nil chance of that fact alone leading to an enquiry. £30k maybe, £5k no way.

2. The employment / self-employment issue is a complete red herring for this sort of business. Granted HMRC like to try their best to brainwash 99% of the population (the 1% being the HMRC top managers and I kid you not) into thinking they are all employees. The Tribunals throw that HMRC drivel out when the cases get there in exactly the same way I am throwing out these daft posts.

antrobus

chrismac1 wrote: »

Is there a conspiracy on this site by some posters to make things as awkward and complex as possible?
....

Let me think ...... I'm not sure about the conspiracy bit, but there are some posters ....