Self employed contractor worries

stustu92

Hi all

i was a self employed contractor during the tax year 2002-03 and for the first half or 2003-04. I had an accountant for the first year, but seeing as i finished being self employed half way through last tax year i decided to do my own tax return.
When i told the revenue i was no longer self employed, i recieved a letter from them saying i wouldn't need to pay any tax for my period of self employment during the 03-04 tax year, but i still had to file a tax return.
My question is, after filling in the return will i now be liable to have to pay more tax for this period even though i was earning the same on average as the year before?

Unbelievable_2

Did you have to make any payments on account during the 03-04 tax year? If you did and your earnings were similar in both years you will probably have paid near enough the tax you owed already.

stustu92

I started self employment in april 2002, i made a payment to the inland revenue in january 2003 but i finished self employment in october 2003. So i only made one payment to the revenue.

Unbelievable_2

It's hard to say what tax you have already paid and whether that was payment on account.

What normally happens is that the revenue assumes you will pay the same amount of tax in 03/04 as you did in 02/03. It then asks you to make some payments on account during the 03/04 year and adjusts the bill when you file your 03/04 return.

If you want to check your figures you could use the Excel spreadsheet at https://www.sa2000.co.uk. You don't have to submit the return, but if you put your figures in it will calculate the tax you owe.

Hope it helps.

sarahlouise210

as you are a contractor did you get paid via CIS vouchers? If so you will probably have no additional tax to pay (you may even get a refund by the end of the year when you submit your return) If you were using payments on account to pay your tax then you can contact the tax office to get them reduced as your income for 2003-4 is lower(Self employment wise) than 2002-3.