As an independent sales representative (eg, Avon), it’s tempting to think of the commission element as being your “income” for tax purposes. After all, that’s the only bit you get to keep. But the way it’s viewed for tax purposes, is that you’re buying the products from Avon at 70-100% of the selling price, and…
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Tax is changing! But not for everyone. Here’s a quick reminder of what’s changing this year and for whom. 2026-27 (tax year starting 6th April 2026) Making Tax Digital (MTD) only starts on 6th April 2026 if the total self-employed and rental income (before expenses) shown on your 2024-25 tax return was over £50,000. If…
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The short answer is – yes, you can – but here are some factors to consider: Which tax system are you in? If you’re in Self Assessment, spreadsheets are absolutely fine. You can keep your records in a spreadsheet and manually transfer the totals onto your tax return once a year. If HMRC have moved…
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The run up to yesterday’s budget was chaotic. Widespread scaremongering about tax rises and VAT registration threshold drops caused a lot of uncertainty, but the 2025 Autumn Budget could have been a lot worse for self-employed people. Income tax, National Insurance and VAT The freeze in income tax and National Insurance (NI) thresholds has been…
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A brief history of Self Assessment Self Assessment was first introduced in 1995-96. At that point, the tax system changed from working on a “preceding year basis of assessment” to a current year basis, which reduced the delay between a sole trader earning the profits and finding out how much tax was due. Under the…
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