Taken on a freelance writing gig – now what happens with tax?

mark1234567890

Hi Everyone,

I've recently managed to pick up a bit of freelance writing work which is great! I have signed a piece of paper with an agency which states that I will be responsible for my own National Insurance, taxes, pension etc. So now what do I do? I'm guessing that I will have to do a tax return so I'm keeping a record of my income and expenditure. How is this tax return completed? And how does it work if I already have a main job and this freelance writing work is just a bit on the side? Should the tax return also include my main employment income (my employer currently sorts all of that out for me under PAYE).

Any help for a confused tax novice would be appreciated.

Thanks

MalMonroe

Best thing to do is contact HMRC and ask them what you need to do. They are the experts in tax, after all! (Or so they say)  I know people who are freelance writers but that's all they do and they have to register as self-employed. All info is either on the HMRC site (have a look) or you may have to phone them. But my first step would definitely be to look at the website. 

Savvy_Sue

How much are you expecting to make from this gig? And will there be future gigs? 

If self-employed income is less than £1000, I believe that you don't have to register as self-employed. I'd start here and follow the links ...