Becoming self-employed and telling HMRC

gordonstights

Hi,

Has anyone become self-employed and not told HMRC within 3 months?

I am filling in the form 'Becoming self-employed & registering for National Insurance contributions and/or Tax' and it warns you if it's over 3 months since you became self-employed you may be charged £100. If you are registering late you have to explain why.

Basically I joined an existing partnership in August last year and became a self-employed partner. It's a small business and rely on an accountant to prepare our tax liabilities/returns/end of year accounts - however I assumed they would also sort out everything relating to me becoming self-employed which they haven't.

If anyone has any experience of informing HMRC and if it was outside the 3 month limit, did anything happen? Could I be in worse trouble then just a fine?

Thanks.

Mikeyorks

gordonstights wrote: »

Could I be in worse trouble then just a fine?

Unlikely ..... because you haven't passed the point at which you had to file an SA Return. So the worst should be the £100 late notification. Which I strongly suspect you won't get away with .... sorry.

But do make sure you and the accountant are in synch when it comes to filing your and the partnership SA Returns? As does get more complex / potentially more expensive if wrong .... at that juncture.

gordonstights

Mikeyorks wrote: »

Unlikely ..... because you haven't passed the point at which you had to file an SA Return. So the worst should be the £100 late notification. Which I strongly suspect you won't get away with .... sorry.

But do make sure you and the accountant are in synch when it comes to filing your and the partnership SA Returns? As does get more complex / potentially more expensive if wrong .... at that juncture.

Thank you for putting my mind at rest regarding being in more trouble than a fine, obviously I have to accept that I made a mistake and pay up if they do send me a fine. We have decided to change accountants now anyway, as the current one is very expensive. So I will make sure I get clued up about what I have to file on time.

Thanks for your post