Tax

[silnarnin]

Hi all!

I've just left boots and became a locum. I'm not sure what to do regarding the inland revenue and national insurance, could you help me?

1.Should I do the self-assesment by myself or should I get an accountant?

2.How do I get a good accountant, is there a list of reputable accountants that I could choose from?

3.And what about national insurance contributions, how do I do that?

4. What receipts should I keep?

Thanks a lot in advance for your replies. I really do need advice.

[johnep]

Modi advertise every week in the PJ. They specialise in locums.
1) Must have separate business account. Banks will charge you loads, Nationwide Business Account pays YOU interest.

2) Buy Sage instant accts to keep track of paperwork.

johnep

[silnarnin]

Thanks!

Sage acct? What does it mean?

[johnep]

Sage is acctcy software co. look at www.sage.co.uk.

I have used their system for 10 years, mainly because of the invoicing function.

otherwise Modi will provide you with a simple Excel template.

johnep

[richtagg]

You need to declare yourself as self-employed with your local tax office.

You'll have to do that within 2 months I believe.

Tax is easy if you keep good records, and you'll need to even if you get an accountant. You can claim a lot of benefits from the tax man, particularly if you incorporate and become VAT registered. That means you can claim VAT back on purchases you make for your business.

You can claim for transport, clothing allowance, part of your household costs if you have a home office, among other things.

As regards to bank accounts, I think johnep has given you good advice there, it can get very complicated if you only have a personal account.

We have used sageline 50 for years too, very good package. It has gone up in price this year though! I've also used quickbooks and mybusiness-basics which do the same job but are a little bit basic (as the name suggests).

Good luck!

[johnep]

With regard to Bank accts, I was first with the Natwest. Then I had bank charges of £169 so joined Nationwide Business Investors act where they pay You interest.

It is important that your figures match the bank statement. I have three main divisions.
Cash expenses : car parks, subsistance(lunch), telephone bills, car expenses etc.keep all receipts.

Bank payments: your drawings, RPSGB fee, insurance, cptr equipment etc
Ensure cheque stubs are correctly filled in.

Bank receipts: lloyds, moss, Sdrug pay you by BACS. Cash receipts should also be put into this, not into your personal acct. Use a paying in book to keep track.

Sage enables a different ref number for each type of expense enabling you to pull figures out very easily.

Pay the help fee for the first two years, after that you should be OK.

johnep

[silnarnin]

I've registered as self-employed and went on a workshop about being self-employed by the inland revenue. I was very disappointed. I can only claim 40p per mile for the car, or use the method of actual cost (that seems very difficult for me), stationary, PDA insurance, RPSGB fees, accountant fees, books and publications.

The locum that I worked with on friday told me that I should become a limited company. And he's not the first one. But I'm afraid that it might be very difficult. I really need advice here. Is it the best thing to do? I'm grateful for everyone's opinion.

Thank you very much in advance.

[johnep]

Contact Modi. If doing full time, you could be paying tax at 40%. Become Ltd company, pay yourself minimum wage and draw rest as dividends, taxed at 19%.

Because your accountancy fees will treble, only worth doing if working full time.

If you register for VAT, the any bills you pay on behalf of business can claim back 17 1/2% VAT. Quite a sum if you buy a cptr, PDA, pay accountancy fees etc. Thsi is why you should contact Modi who specialise in locum accts.
johnep

[johnep]

Pharmacy Salaries

Visit here to how life is over the pond.
johnep

[monika]

Originally Posted by richtagg

You need to declare yourself as self-employed with your local tax office.

You'll have to do that within 2 months I believe.

Tax is easy if you keep good records, and you'll need to even if you get an accountant. You can claim a lot of benefits from the tax man, particularly if you incorporate and become VAT registered. That means you can claim VAT back on purchases you make for your business.

You can claim for transport, clothing allowance, part of your household costs if you have a home office, among other things.

As regards to bank accounts, I think johnep has given you good advice there, it can get very complicated if you only have a personal account.

We have used sageline 50 for years too, very good package. It has gone up in price this year though! I've also used quickbooks and mybusiness-basics which do the same job but are a little bit basic (as the name suggests).

Good luck!

and where do you find info about what you can deduct from the tax? IR people were not very helpful. is it some kind of secret knowledge reserved only for accountants?