Jobs on the side

[tigwig]

my hubby has just been made redundant from his bricklaying job and before he gets another job a couple of family friends want some work doing that will take approx 1 month. Would it be really wrong to not inform the tax man of these jobs because we could sure do with the extra cash. Would 3-4 weeks be realistic to tell the inland revenue he is not working at all. We are obviously not intending to claim any income support or anything while he does these jobs but I don't want to have to inform them that he is now working as a sole trader then 4 weeks later have to inform them he is employed again. It just gets really confusing when doing tax returns

[factor-fiction]

Why would he be a 'sole trader'- if he's doing short term job for someone then he'd be an employee wouldn't he?

[tigwig]

no he would be working as a self employed bricklayer. I say sole trader because when we have filled out tax returns in the past that is what it states he is a sole trader meaning he works on his own but is not actually employed by anyone.

[factor-fiction]

If he wants to earn money he has to declare it. If the aperwork is too much trouble then he can choose not to work. If he earns money and doesn't declare it and the HMRC finds out, I don't think they would thank him for saving them having to read paperwork- they would expect you to declare it.

[tigwig]

well he can't exactly choose not to work at all (I wish he could) My question is though are they likely to find out with just doing 1 job for 3 weeks? I know legally he should declare it but hell we are only talking him earning �1000 tax free on a one off basis. Before this he was working self employed then he got another job employed which only lasted 4 weeks so I have only just informed the inland revenue he is employed again thinking it would be for longer. If he does declare it I am going to have to inform them he is not employed anymore then 3 weeks later his circumstances will have changed again!

[factor-fiction]

I stand by my answer. Tax is not optional. We can all come up with reasons why we'd rather not pay it.

[tigwig]

I know but I am not talking about it being a long term basis just 3 weeks! Does that make us scum?!

[bednobs]

No one can tell you how likely it is he will be found out, he might or mightn't and only you will know hw you feel about cheating the system.
There could be more far reaching consequesnces to not declaring it than being found out out and simply being asked to stump up the tax, or alternatively everything could be okay and you'd have an extra 250 quid in your pocket.
the fact you are asking on here makes me feel you are a bit ambivalent about it, and that you would probably feel better if you did declare it. Is it really a lot of extra paperwork?
What makes you think he will just get another job in 4 weeks time anyway? What if he has to carry on taking 1 off jobs and youve started off on the bad foot of not declaring things?

[Tom Braider]

Tigwig, you know it would be wrong not to declare this income or you wouldn't be asking. Not paying your tax is like not standing your round; possible, but likely to make you unpopular. What you really want to know is, will he get caught? Who knows? But the consequences of getting caught are not worth the risk. It's certainly possible the revenue will want to know about the blank period, even if its only to check on the national insurance record. And don't discount the possibility that someone will shop him. Seems to me the worry and the guilt aren't worth it. Anyway, the tax bill on �1000 isn't going to be �250; it would be �200 even if there were no expenses to claim - and I bet there would be, Bednobs makes a good point about the future, too.

[hev]

I am a tax man so I would advise you to be upfront about money earned. It is not difficult at all on a tax return to declare self employment and employment. In the end it is down to you what you declare but bear in mind when we find out and we will it wouldn't have been worth it in the long run.

[tigwig]

hev, wouldn't my hubby have to fill out a different type of tax return for working as a sole trader paying his own tax and insurance to the normal tax return he fill out for being self employed but working for a company that pays his tax for him and he just pays NI? God this is confusing! I know in the past in one year he had been self employed and employed so he had to get 2 different types of tax return but don't know if he would need yet another type for working for himself. If that is the case then so far this tax year he has been employed, a sole trader and will go back to being self employed again if the work for himself doesn't continue which is why I asked my original question about not informing the HMRC of this to begin with

[Tom Braider]

Sounds like hubby is on the CIS system. He'll be having 18% deducted from his pay but this is NOT the equivalent of PAYE minus NIC. It's like a compulsory savings scheme, taking money off you now so that it can pay your tax bill later. There won't be a different kind of tax return; you only ever get one but there are different pages for employmet and self-employment. Hubby's two lots of self-employment can be added together if they're in the same tax year, even if there's a gap between them. Sounds to me liek you could use some help with the returns etc - why don't you phone HMRC and get an appointment at your local office?

[tigwig]

he is on the CIS system but only when he works for a company on a self employed basis, now he is working for himself so needs to sort his own tax out as well as NI which I cancelled due to him being employed on the books a few weeks back

[hev]

Tigwig only one tax return needs to be completed showing all income. Self employment and employment are listed separately. Under self employment you would list both work that is under CIS and non CIS work together as one total you would also put any tax already paid under CIS. This goes the same for employment probably only two entries need to be made one is how much money he has been paid and two how tax he has paid all details from his P60. Just read the questions on the form if it doesnt apply then move to the next question. If you get really stuck then get all your figures added up and call HMRC they will go through it with you on the phone or make an appointment to see a face to face advisor

[tigwig]

thanks hev