Am I Self-Employed?

Question

If I'm a freelance translator, and I translate from English to German or vice versa, am I considered to be self-employed and do I have to register and pay tax?

I do not have an office, nor do I do any bookkeeping. I get paid in cash (for instance, I charge £20 per hour, and if I translated for 2 hours, I'll get £40 on that particular day).
I advertise my services in newspapers and sometimes I go on for 2 days without anyone calling me, and sometimes I translate for 3 days in a row. I earn about £800 a month. I'm just not quite sure if I should register as self-employed here in Britain?

Answer 1

I don't know about UK, but here if you work for yourself using your own name then you are self employed and pay your own taxes on your personal tax number. If you want to accept checks with a company name on it then you need to get registered with a business tax ID.

Here when you work from home, a portion of your home expenses can be taken as a tax deduction as cost of doing business. Part of your rent (if your office takes up 1/3 of your home, you can take 1/3 of your home expenses as a tax deduction), electric, heat - all of your office supplies, internet (if it is critical to your business). I think you would do well to talk to an accountant (who's fee might also be tax deductible) to find out the most profitable strategy for you.

Peace!

Answer 2

if your not on paye or employed by someone who pays your tax and ni contributions from your earnings you are classed as self employed so probably a good idea to register with the tax man and stay out of trouble

Answer 3

Yes you are self-employed. You work for yourself and don't have anyone above you that you work for. If the Inland revenue finds out that you are working without paying tax then they will tax you and that can be backdated since you started doing your business.

So it may be a good idea to stay on the straight and narrow and just get an accountant and register to pay your taxes. Or maybe get some legal advice on the matter.

All the best

Answer 4

You are self-employed

Answer 5

The answer is you are self employed any one who finds there own work is classed as self employed.If you can get away without registering good luck to you

Answer 6

Yes, you are self-employed. All governments like to receive taxes owed but there are sometimes minimum income requirements in order to mandate reporting. If you are consistent in earning $800 a month you are likely required to file. Also, keep in mind that depending on your expenses (you mentioned you advertise) your net income may be low enough that reporting may not be a requirement. I recommend speaking with a tax adviser familiar with the UK tax system or a friend who is also self-employed.

Answer 7

Yes, you are self-employed.

Bend over, son, and think warm thoughts - here comes Gordon Brown's cronies...

Answer 8

Yup, you are self-employed. You're supposed to fill in a tax return once a year, you will be seeing a tax bill off that, and it will hurt somewhat. But it's better than scamming and then getting caught.

Note: failing to have evidence of your turnover can be just as bad as pretending it doesn't exist. What if the taxman says Aha! but you might have been making £8000 a month! Eh? Eh?? Keep Good Records.

Another thing about record keeping - do you count up your expenses? Depreciation of assets? How often do you buy printer ink? or a new computer? All of this can keep your tax bill low, and possibly eliminate it. If it costs you money to work, that money isn't taxable.

The good news: with that turnover, you don't have to register for VAT. You need to see about £60k p.a. before you have to bother with that.

Answer 9

Why not contact your local accountants to ask for specific advice on any taxes you should be paying and whether you need to register to pay VAT etc? I would say you are self-employed though. And for future reference don't double post questions as its against yahoo answer rules.

Answer 10

If you aren't employed and you earn money you are self employed.
The date for filing for the year to April 2006 is the end of the month. There is a fine for not filing. You also need to register within 3 months of starting business. You may also need to charge vat if you excede the threshold for vat.
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