Becoming a sole trader for earnings pocket money

moneyworrier2021

Hi all. 

Used to run a limited company where we did basic TV instals for customers. We closed it down a couple of years ago as it wasn’t secure enough of an income. 

While I’m happy in my job, I wouldn’t mind the option of making a little more pocket money that I can just put away.

so I was thinking of doing what I used to do but as a sole trader. Probably only looking to earn £200-£250 a month.

I know I would need the obvious of public liability insurance.

What else do I need to do? Do I need to register as a sole trader/ self assessment/ VAT ect

bit clueless and just weighing up whether it’s worth the hassle 

Marcon

moneyworrier2021 said:

Hi all. 

Used to run a limited company where we did basic TV instals for customers. We closed it down a couple of years ago as it wasn’t secure enough of an income. 

While I’m happy in my job, I wouldn’t mind the option of making a little more pocket money that I can just put away.

so I was thinking of doing what I used to do but as a sole trader. Probably only looking to earn £200-£250 a month.

I know I would need the obvious of public liability insurance.

What else do I need to do? Do I need to register as a sole trader/ self assessment/ VAT ect

bit clueless and just weighing up whether it’s worth the hassle 

You can earn up to £1,000 a year before you need to do declare anything to HMRC. If you're only looking at a turnover of around £3K max per year, you are miles below the VAT threshold so don't need to register for VAT (and can't charge it to customers, obviously).

Plenty of useful info: https://www.gov.uk/browse/business

moneyworrier2021

Ok, that’s a good start. I really didn’t want to get into VAT again because we used an accountant when we had our business.

I’ll have a read into your links as it’s still looking a mindfield to me,