Tax Returns info for Self Employed

[VenalWinfrey]

Silly question I know but have been scouring HMRC and cannot make head nor tail of it! I am now registered as self employed, was previously employed by a company. I quit my full time job end of March this year (tax was deducted PAYE as normal) but my self employed work overlapped - i.e. this started in January this year. Therefore I know that I will owe a small amount of tax on my self employed earnings from Jan-Mar of this year. My question is basically, when does this amount have to be paid by? It seems to suggest January 2008 for money due end of tax year Mar 2007, is this correct? Also, will a tax return automatically be sent to me to fill in, or do I need request one? Sorry, I know I can call up my tax office and get this confirmed, and will do next week, but I was just hoping someone might be able to confirm for me now!

I'm keeping all records of my invoices/receipts etc. and don't think I'll have a problem filling out the forms, just a bit unclear on dates, and don't want to post it off late in case I incur charges!

Thanks for any help on this all.

[Dassie]

First and foremost you must speak to HMRC and REGISTER as self-employed. It not only has implications for tax but your N.I. contributions

[VenalWinfrey]

Thanks - this was done at the start of the year!

[dot.hawkes]

i have done my mates self assessment tax return for the last 3 years, previously i have put it in before the end of september so that they do the calculations, if you send it in after january you pay a fine, but this year i put it in in early may (they only had the forms then they told me) and the rebate came mid june. send it in now, why let them keep any money they owe you, they say they will pay interest but never seem to.

[antiguru]

The short answer to your main question is you�ll pay in Jan 08 and July 08 for tax in the year 06/07. Now you�re self employed HMRC may also sting you for advanced tax for a tax year not yet complete, but let�s not worry about that now�..

As this is the first year you�ve registered to be SE, I expect that they will send you a paper return unless you�ve registered for online tax returns, in which case they�ll send you a letter to remind you to do it. If you haven�t had any of these so far I recommend you register for online services (it takes a day or two to set up, so don�t leave it until September). This means you�ll get an instant calculation. Whichever method you choose, you�ll fill in one return with pages relating to self-employment as well as the normal bit. It�s all pretty straightforward.

I�ve just done mine as a SE for the 3rd year, always with a PAYE bit too.

Hope this helps.

(PS � this isn�t a silly question. You should see some we get��..)

[VenalWinfrey]

Thanks VERY much for the advice, that helped a lot! I just feel a bit like a small boat sailing out into the unknown as a SE person.... never done it before. But it's quite exciting!

Thanks for the help.