Starting a Part Time self employed job - tax question?

perc

Hi my wife is about to leave her part time job which is PAYE and start up a part time cleaning service in our local area.

She is probably going to earn about £110 a week (£5720 a year). Expenses (petrol, materials etc) will probably run at £15 a week.

Could anyone advise what her tax implications would be. Also we are thinking about having another child next year - so would she be entitled to any maternity pay from the government at all?

Any advise would be greatly received - thanks.

Becles

She needs to ring the Self Employed Helpline and let them know she is starting self employment. Read the relevant pages on www.hmrc.gov.uk and you'll find the telephone number of the helpline on there.

She must do this within 3 months of starting up, otherwise she may be fined £100.

She needs to keep a set of accounts. It sounds like a very small business, so simple accounts showing money going in and money coming out of the business will suffice. Remember to keep all reciepts, invoices etc.

As you are planning a baby, make sure she is paying Class 2 NI which is currently £2.10 a week. You may be offered a Small Earnings Exemption Certificate, but decline this and insist you want to pay. If you don't have the certificate and pay the NI, she will be entitled to 39 weeks of Maternity Allowance at £112.75 a week. This is what I'm currently claiming! If you have the certificate, you get much less MA. I think it was £30 a week.

Your wife will have to fill in a tax return at the end of the year. However she gets her usual personal allowance which is around £5500. Therefore if she is earning around this amount, the tax bill will be quite small.