E shop tax and insurance I NEED TO KNOW ALL please.?

Question

I am about to open an E SHOP please can anyone help me with the tax and insurance side of things.I am going to supply electrial goods eg consoles to people on line the majority of transactions will be straight from the suppliers to the customer are there any kind of insurance i need for this and also how much on average will it cost. Also what sort of tax will i need to be paying and how do i set it up.To any that can help many many thanks.

Answer 1

Just for once, the HMRC website is actually quite helpful. On their home page just now is a useful link - look on the right hand side and just follow the series of links. You can register for tax and NIC on the one form and can also use that form to request a VAT registration form, which you will need as soon as you make 61,000 in gross sales.

Keep tabs on your income and allowable expenses (make sure you have some idea of what is allowable) and reserve at least 25% of your net profits to pay tax - a separate savings account would be a good idea for that, especially if you can set it up to pay your Class 2 NIC by direct debit from that account. The 25% level assumes you don't have a day job. If you do, the amount would be at least a third.

You might find it worthwhile speaking with a chartered accountant. If you are opening an e-shop I assume you are computer-savvy so you will probably be more comfortable with bookkeeping software than many people. If you can record your transactions faithfully and fully, a competent accountant will find it much easier (and cheaper for you) to turn your figures into a set of accounts and tax return.

Answer 2

It seems you are going to act as an intermediary for others in addition to holding stock on your premises. Supposing that you are a Sole Trader, you must contact the Revenue to establish your Self Employment situation and the DW&P for National Insurance before you do anything else.
Then you should contact an Insurance Broker who will advise you on the Insurance implications.
Of course your premises are another matter and should be adequately insured to protect stock etc.
Transfer of stock between suppliers and customers that does not pass through your hands needs to be a matter between the supplier and the customer.
You might also consider the problems that could occur if stock goes missing in transfer and how this might affect your business.
Still interested in setting up?
Best of Luck.