self employed tax return

shirleyb123

Hi, I'm a very small business in bookkeeping with just one client who is part of my family.  I've not been paid since January 2019 but continue to work to try and help.  My question is: do i declare the value of invoices on tax return, or income received (if i had been paid).

oldbikebloke

is this your first ever tax return?
you have to tick a box on the tax return stating whether your accounts for the year are on the cash basis or invoice basis 
don't know what that means? Start reading here:
https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-cash-basis

shirleyb123

this is my second return, last years income was negligible but i can't remember ticking cash basis box.  Will look out for this on current form. Thank you for your help.

oldbikebloke

shirleyb123 said:

this is my second return, last years income was negligible but i can't remember ticking cash basis box.  Will look out for this on current form. Thank you for your help.

i suggest you read the link I gave you then because it will be too late to understand what you are trying to do whilst filling out the return. Ticking a box is nothing but a tick in the box, what it means is the figures in your tax return have been calculated in accordance with your selection. So you must understand the difference between cash and invoice basis, it matters because you have signed a legal declaration that your tax return is "correct", not much point attesting to that if you don't understand what you have done.

https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/self-employment/working-out-profits-losses-and-capital-allowance/how-do-i-prepare-my-accounts

https://taxscouts.com/self-employed-cash-basis-traditional-accounting/

https://smallbusinesstoolbox.uk/small-business-basics/cash-basis-accounting-uk/