self -empl nat ins contributions
self -empl nat ins contributions
Author
Discussion

markcoznottz

Original Poster:

7,155 posts

255 months

Thursday 27th December 2007
quotequote all
Im a self employed sole trader, a sub contractor if u will, i do my own tax online, is it true that if my actual profit is below £500 for the year, then i dont have to pay any national insurance contributions at all?

markcoznottz

Original Poster:

7,155 posts

255 months

Thursday 27th December 2007
quotequote all
edited to say £5000 profit a year not £500.

Eric Mc

125,802 posts

296 months

Thursday 27th December 2007
quotequote all
How do you live?
What other sources of income did you have in the tax year in question?

On the NI front, the answer is yes, if your net taxable income for 2006/07 from Self Employment was below £5,035, there is no liability to Class 4 National Insurance.

supersingle

3,205 posts

250 months

Tuesday 20th May 2008
quotequote all
Sorry to drag this up. Just done my tax return online and was surprised to see 8% of my profit disappear in class 4 NI contributions. I'm already paying the £28 quaterly contributions. Have the rules changed? I'm now no better off than PAYE with none of the security of employment. :miffed:

Eric Mc

125,802 posts

296 months

Tuesday 20th May 2008
quotequote all
Nope, Class 4 NI has been around for years.

You should have been made aware of the Class 4 NI liability by your accountant right at the start.

supersingle

3,205 posts

250 months

Wednesday 21st May 2008
quotequote all
I don't have an accountant. I have ten fingers of my own.wink

I don't think an accountant would pay for himself with the money I earn. Maybe if I had a greater income they might be more useful. I've heard of all sorts of fancy avoidance schemes, people taking dividends and so on.

I'm just a bit hacked off with a bigger tax bill than I expected. It certainly isn't worth being self employed for financial reasons. Oh well, at least I don't have a boss. biggrin


Eric Mc

125,802 posts

296 months

Wednesday 21st May 2008
quotequote all
And have you taken into account the Payments on Account system?

This effecively will add another 50% of your 2007/08 tax bill onto what you need to pay in January.

Also, being Self Employed, have you availed of all the Capital Allowance and allowable business expenses you might be entitled to?

Finally, dividends only apply to limited companioes, not self-employed individuals.

Accountants aren't hired to help a businessman count. They are hired to help a businessman wade his way through the sometimes complex tax (and other) legislation and to ensure that allowable tax reliefs are not missed - as well as perhaps assist with non-tax business matters too.

supersingle

3,205 posts

250 months

Wednesday 21st May 2008
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
And have you taken into account the Payments on Account system?

This effecively will add another 50% of your 2007/08 tax bill onto what you need to pay in January.

Also, being Self Employed, have you availed of all the Capital Allowance and allowable business expenses you might be entitled to?

Finally, dividends only apply to limited companioes, not self-employed individuals.

Accountants aren't hired to help a businessman count. They are hired to help a businessman wade his way through the sometimes complex tax (and other) legislation and to ensure that allowable tax reliefs are not missed - as well as perhaps assist with non-tax business matters too.
I pay via CIS so my complaint was that I thought the taxman owed me more than he did. Still got a nice rebate though. smile

I'm not having a dig at accountants. I know they are knowledgeable and can save people money. I've used an accountant in the past but at the moment I don't think the cost would outweigh any savings. I'm fairly organised and like to be independant. When do you think the authorities will make it mandatory to use an accountant to file a tax return?

Btw I've heard of self employed people starting companies so that they can pay themselves via dividends at a lower tax rate. This might have changed with the increase in tax on dividends though.

DavidY

4,492 posts

315 months

Wednesday 21st May 2008
quotequote all
supersingle

A couple of things, as EricMc says you don't get dividends as self employed, but you can from a limited company

Historically I have found that accontants have saved me money in the long term and I don't begrudge paying them their fees. This year my accountant made savings greater than his bill, so as far as I'm concerned thats money well spent. I too have 'been around the block' a bit having been self employed, had several limited companies, have a wife who is self employed, but will always make use of the correct available professional advice.

A good accountant for simple self employed accounts, especially where the [person is very organised will only charge a few hundred pounds to make up the acconts/tax return, I'd be really surprised if you didn't save at least that amount.

davidy

Eric Mc

125,802 posts

296 months

Wednesday 21st May 2008
quotequote all
The tax on dividends has not increased as far as I was aware (although the Revenue are getting a bit jittery about dividends per se).

supersingle

3,205 posts

250 months

Wednesday 21st May 2008
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
The tax on dividends has not increased as far as I was aware (although the Revenue are getting a bit jittery about dividends per se).
Sorry, I'm getting mixed up. Tax on capital gains has gone up.

Eric Mc

125,802 posts

296 months

Wednesday 21st May 2008
quotequote all
No it hasn't. It has just changed. For some it might turn out higher - for many others, it might turn out to be less.

Before 5 April 2008, Capital Gains Tax was charged at the individuals highest rate of Income Tax - usually 40%. However, assets held over certain periods of time were eligible for either Indexation Relief or Taper Relief or even both.

Since 6 April 2008, Capital Gains Tax is fixed at 18% for non-business assets and 10% for Business Assets and the old Indexation and Taper Reliefs have been abolished.