Sole trader and employed at another job

gavynn

Hi all. Sorry if a newbie question.

I am working full time in a job but thinking of also registering as a sole trader to try a business 'on the side'.
My  question is, does having a Job affect being a sole trader or vise versa, eg taxwise, or different tax code etc, is my income regarded as both jobs combined  - how does it work,  or are they completely independent of eachother?

Thanks

Jeremy535897

Normally your allowances are given in your code, so continue to be given against your employment income. That may mean, depending on the figures, that you pay 20% (or more) tax on any self employment income, plus national insurance. Have a look at this:

https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/self-employment

Savvy_Sue

One obvious question is "what does your employer say about other employment?"

donemedosh

You can work for an employer & yourself without any problems. All you need are accounts for your sole trading which you can do yourself or have an accountant to do them for you ( I use accountant only around £300 a year & they can save you loads) Plus inform HMRC what you are doing. Tax codes etc all stat the same. I worked for years on a part time job & sole trader untill I built up my buisness to a level where I couldn't do both. Speak to a local accountant they sometimes offer a free startup advice. As for Tax you will need to add your job & sole trade wages together to see how much tax you pay.

Taxguru222

In fact being an employee and sole trader is great. You can claim losses as you setup your sole tradership against tax paid on your employment income. There are some rules/restrictions around it (e.g. can't be a hobby but has to be a real business)