Self-employed -- impact on registered address ?

coffeehound

Hello,

I'm going self-employed but would like to use my elderly parents' address as the formal location.  I won't be resident and no business would take place there.

Are there any consequences to doing this?  I don't know what, but maybe affecting their Council Tax or something?

Also they live in Scotland while I am in England -- any snafu potential there?

Thanks for any advice

lincroft1710

It will not affect their Council Tax.

Jeremy535897

Why do you wish to do this, and to whom would you give this address as the "formal location"? They may get post meant for you. They may get bailiffs meant for you, if you have a dispute with a supplier. HMRC will expect the address from where you carry on the business.

Sandtree

coffeehound said:

Hello,

I'm going self-employed but would like to use my elderly parents' address as the formal location.  I won't be resident and no business would take place there.

Are there any consequences to doing this?  I don't know what, but maybe affecting their Council Tax or something?

Also they live in Scotland while I am in England -- any snafu potential there?

Thanks for any advice

If you are a sole trader (aka self employed) there is no such thing as a "registered address". The business is you and so automatically where you live is where your address is.

You can give your parents address as your trading/correspondence address (ie what you put on your website, stationary, invoices etc) but that means its where post will go, irate customers turn up, bailiffs etc in the first instance until they lookup where you live and then they come to yours. As a sole trader you must legally identify yourself even if you operating under a trading style/brand name. 

DE_612183

I used my parents house as a business address years ago, and when they applied for a grant to replace an old boiler they were refused as the grant people checked companies house website - parents were not impressed! Even after I changed the address they had to wait about 6 months to apply again.

Savvy_Sue

DE_612183 said:

I used my parents house as a business address years ago, and when they applied for a grant to replace an old boiler they were refused as the grant people checked companies house website - parents were not impressed! Even after I changed the address they had to wait about 6 months to apply again.

Thanks for that: DS1 has us as his Ltd Co address, and while I don't anticipate needing to apply for any grants, it's worth having that in mind. 

What I WAS aware of is that when others are using your address for correspondence, you'd have a hard job claiming a single person discount on your council tax, when the day comes that one parent is living alone. I presume the OP's parents would have the same problem (as well as the one you highlight) in Scotland. In our case all three sons still have some 'stuff' coming here, although they have at least all come off the electoral roll, so apart from DS's company it may by that time be less of a problem. 

Sandtree said:

You can give your parents address as your trading/correspondence address (ie what you put on your website, stationary, invoices etc) but that means its where post will go, irate customers turn up, bailiffs etc in the first instance until they lookup where you live and then they come to yours. 

The arrangement we have with all three boys is that we open their post, scan it and send it on by email, so there's rarely a delay. Irate customers are unlikely for DS1, and they would in the first instance contact him through email / twitter / the websites he sells through, and he does respond. Just checked his company website and there is no address shown! Nor his ltd co number, nor his VAT no. Yes, I know they should be there, I will point this out to him. 

For the OP, if you do this, be aware that it does give your parents access to information about how well you're doing, and any problems you may have. We see one of his company bank statements, for example, which for some reason he can't access online.

Recently letters from HMRC about an unpaid tax bill were causing me a small amount of anxiety, with debt collectors being threatened. When we passed on the first few letters, he assured us that his accountant had assured him it was an error and that he (the accountant) would sort it out, but that it might take some time because HMRC moves slowly. After a few more letters, and the threat of debt collectors, I became more insistent about it, at which point the accountant did finally sort it out, I think by paying the bill while still denying that it was owed. Obviously that's for DS1 and his accountant to sort out, but are you happy for your parents to be privy to any letters sent to your company? 

An alternative could be to use your accountant as your registered office, but the question remains: why would you NOT use your own address? (And before anyone asks, when DS1 set up his company, he was itinerant, no fixed base in the UK, often abroad.)

Sandtree

Savvy_Sue said:
An alternative could be to use your accountant as your registered office, but the question remains: why would you NOT use your own address?

OP states they will be self employed, ie a sole trader, and as such there is no registered address.

A human and an incorporated entity are both legally a "person" in the eyes of the law. A incorporated entity like a limited company is not physical and therefore has to have the concept of a registered address where it notionally lives because it doesn't physically live anywhere. The OP as a natural person doesn't need a registered address because they are physical and do actually live somewhere.

Both natural and incorporated persons can choose to trade from different address from their home/registered address and similarly may have different correspondence addresses to both their home/registered address and/or trading addresses.

The OP could pay their accountants to act as their correspondence address (if they have accountants), assuming they are a services business then most will oblige for a reasonable fee (or its just part of the annual fee) but if they are selling goods remotely they are unlikely to want to have customer returns etc turning up on their door step. 

Savvy_Sue said:
Irate customers are unlikely for DS1, and they would in the first instance contact him through email / twitter / the websites he sells through, and he does respond. 

Whilst unlikely it is always possible. A friend had 2 people keep turning up at their door shortly after they moved in demanding to know something about their orders... the previous occupant hadn't updated their address on their website and clearly these two lived in the neighbourhood and thought it'd be quicker to pop round rather than email/tweet etc. 

Personally think the chances probably increase if there is no available telephone number as some do like to talk about a problem rather than write.

Savvy_Sue

Good point about the OP being self-employed rather than ltd co. I really should read threads properly. And also about the need to have an address for customer returns which actually is the right address for customers to return things to. 

If DS1's end product wasn't virtual, I'd be a lot more concerned about returns, ordering problems etc. 

coffeehound

Thanks for the replies, that's been a very useful orientation!

Mistral001

Just a general comment about business.  A business depends on trust.  Giving suppliers, customers or whoever you come into contact with regarding your business is not going to instil in them trust in you or your business.  Most of the time it will not matter, but there will be times when you have difficult customers or suppliers and those are the times when you do not want to lose trust.

MattMattMattUK

coffeehound said:

Hello,

I'm going self-employed but would like to use my elderly parents' address as the formal location.  I won't be resident and no business would take place there.

Are there any consequences to doing this?  I don't know what, but maybe affecting their Council Tax or something?

Also they live in Scotland while I am in England -- any snafu potential there?

Thanks for any advice

Do you plan on trading under English or Scottish law?

What is your actual reason for doing this, it does not seem to make any sense, especially as you are a sole trader.