Self-assessment - expenses as single figure

tyllwyd

Apologies in advance for asking a really basic question


I'm just doing my self-assessment form online, and I'm sure in the past I've been given the option to just enter my expenses as a single figure instead of giving details. I can't see that option anywhere this time - can anybody point me towards the right place to look?

purdyoaten

Did you state that your turnover exceeded £79000?

PlutoinCapricorn

Itemised expenses are only necessary when your SE income is very high - as stated above. If you answer the income question correctly, you will be presented with just three fields to complete: total income, total expenses, profit.

tyllwyd

I just went back and checked - I earned about £15K from self employment and about £33 (!) from employment and I've definitely clicked the box to say my turnover is less than £79K, but it is still coming up with a whole page of detailed questions for my expenses rather than just one box. Anything else I can try?


Will it be affected by my answers to 'are you employed under a contract for services spanning more than one year' and 'are you using the cash basis'?

PlutoinCapricorn

Turnover was definitely Annual Business Turnover in the SE section?

It sounds like a glitch to me.

tyllwyd

The 'turnover' bit was definitely right. The difference seems to be the answer to the question 'are you employed under a contract for services spanning more than one year' - if I select 'yes' (rather than 'none of the above' for that whole page of questions), then it doesn't give me the option to give my expenses as a single figure. Is that how it is meant to work?


Looking at it again, in that year luckily I didn't have any contracts which were in progress at the end of the financial year, so I can select the none of the above option, which should solve the problem.

PlutoinCapricorn

I did mine last September so it's a bit hazy, but I can't remember ever being asked that question.

PlutoinCapricorn

Are you sure that you are in the right section and not the one for contractors with companies?

tyllwyd

I do remember that question from previous years, but it's in the middle of a list so it wouldn't necessarily stand out. I am definitely in the right section - it's the same one I've been completing for the last 16 years!

redpete

Section 4, the page that asks for your SE income has the following:

How would you like to record your expenses? *

• as a single total value
• as a detailed breakdown

tyllwyd

redpete wrote: »

Section 4, the page that asks for your SE income has the following:

How would you like to record your expenses? *

• as a single total value
• as a detailed breakdown

What's confusing me is that when I answered 'yes' to the services spanning an accounting year question, I didn't get offered the option to record expenses as a single total value. I then tried again and when I answered 'none of the above' at the end of the page with the first question, I did get the option to record expenses as a single value.


I'm not sure if it is a mistake or if that's how it's meant to work? (It is slightly academic, because I have decided that 'none of the above' is the right answer, so that solves the problem.)