Going Freelance / Self-Employed

Aryndeneth

A friend of mine has set up their own events business. They're not yet in a position to take on employees but every now and then they're going to need an extra pair of hands at certain events. As it's an area I'm experienced in we've discussed me helping out with this. My friend prefers that they pay me directly into my bank account and I take responsbililty for paying my own tax etc. I don't in theory have an issue with this except I don't really know where to start. Can I just complete an online tax self-assessment or do I need to register myself as a business and send invoices? We're looking at a max of one event a month at £30 a time so I'd really like to pursue the simplest possible solution. Not paying is not an option

Just to clarify, I already work full-time so my tax allowance is against my current salary.

TBagpuss

you may not need to file a tax return,if your untaxed income is going to be less than £2,500 https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/who-must-send-a-tax-return.

You may, however, want to check out whether you will be covered under your friend's insurance

Savvy_Sue

And you should check your employer doesn't have a problem with you doing other work.

mikecc

Don't bother with a LTD company, the statutory costs of registration and accounting will seriously dig in to the income, plus be a time burden.

Avdic

£30 for an entire event seems a bit low? How many hours of work is that?