Do I get a rebate? Became self employed recently

gingergirl21

Have googled the hell out of this and can’t find the answer.

I left my job at the end of July and set up my own business.

Obviously I’ll do my tax return for when it is due which isn’t for a while yet. I’ve registered as self employed etc etc.

In the meantime can I claim back the tax I paid between April and end of July as I was nowhere near the threshold?

I can see you can if you were dismissed, retired or made redundant. None of these are true for me. I just left to start my own business.

I appreciate if my profit is over the threshold I’ll pay tax but pretty sure profit will be under for the first year.

antrobus

The tax you paid under PAYE will be taken into account when you submit your 2018/19 return. The quicker you get that in, the quicker you'll get any refund due.

00ec25

I appreciate the cashflow may be tight when starting out self employment, but technically you have simply changed jobs and remain taxable, so any refund cannot be confirmed until the year has ended and the total tax position is known

if you want to try nonetheless you are entitled to contact HMRC and ask them to do a P800 calculation
(bear in mind if that leads to them giving a refund and your tax return for the year then shows you owe tax, you may be charged interest on the taxed refunded that you were not eventually entitled to have)

Dazed_and_confused

Pretty sure 00ec25 is correct, if desperate you can probably claim a repayment now if you aren't employed or claiming a taxable benefit but you will then make filing your Self Assessment return slightly more complicated.

You will have to declare the employment income, and tax deducted, but also remember to include details of the repayment HMRC send you. Otherwise your return will be wrong and you may be investigated by HMRC.

polymaff

It has been a long day here, but won't the first self-employed year end in the tax year after the one in which the employment income is reported?

Dazed_and_confused

I left my job at the end of July and set up my own business.

Given the question was asked in January 2019 I think it is safe to assume the self employment commenced in 2018:19, the same tax year the employment ended.

So it is entirely possible that the first year end would be in 2019:20, and be reportable during 2020:21 but that would not negate the need for the self employment to be included on the 2018:19 return. In one form or another.

And the op may choose a 31 March or 5 April year end for simplicity. But may not of course.

jimmo

Have to say I am amazed by all the replies.
Back in my day if you ceased employment to become self-employed you could claim a "cessation" (of employment) repayment using form P50.
Has that been done away with?

Dazed_and_confused

No. The op could do that. But they would also need to reflect any subsequent repayment on their 2018:19 Self Assessment return in due course.

Should be straightforward, the only concern would be whether they will remember to complete the Self Assessment return correctly in a year's time.

gingergirl21

Thank you. I would remember to include it. As I’m starting out still I feel the rebate would be of better use in my account than the tax man’s account. By the time I submit my year end I’ll either be in a position where I’ve still not made enough profit to declare tax or the opposite whi I actually hope will be the case as it means more success!

jimmo

OK. Make a claim.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-claiming-tax-back-when-you-have-stopped-working-p50