Help Please with Tax query

[Steve H]

Ok, so I am self employed running my business from home but not a lot is happening at the moment and things are pretty quiet. I have tried various ways to get more business but things are just not happening. I am now considering some sort of part time PAYE work just to keep me busy (Part Time because I would then still be able to run my own stuff from home)

My question is, can I be self employed and employed at the same time?

Thanks

Steve

[rog007]

Yes.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/working/intro/employed-self...

[Eric Mc]

I often wonder why people think this?

Do they really believe that there is some big bad Revenue Official out there who will come knocking on the door because you have some income taxed under PAYE and a separate busuiness as well?

It isn't that unusual. For many years my main income was as an employee and therefore taxed under the PAYE system. However, at the same time I had a small number of private clients who I looked after as a self employed accountant. Ten years ago, I went completely self employed.

[Steve H]

Thanks for the link rog. And Eric, i didnt think anything, i asked a question because i didnt know how it worked with HMRC, thanks for your advice though

[Eric Mc]

You must have had some process going on in yor head that suggested there might be a problem with having both employment and self-employment income at the same time - or else you wouldn't have raised the question in the first place.

I call that process "thinking".

As I said - there is no problem with such arrangements. You can have as many income sources as you can manage and HMRC will not mind one little bit - as long as the sources are legal and you declare the income for tax purposes.

[Steve H]

Thanks for your advice Eric. To clarify, I did ask the question because I did not know the answer, I appreciate that you are an expert in these matters but I am not. I must admit I did find your first reply a bit condescending, I have never thought of the Tax Man as a big bad person who would come knocking on my door, I just want to do things right.

Steve

[Eric Mc]

The tax man definitely CAN, on occasions, be a "big bad man" - so it's always right to be wary of him. And they can come knocking on doors - if the circumstances are serious enough.

Clients often ask me questions such as yours - and I often reply in a similar manner. However, the tone and nunaces of such an explanation come across very differentl;y in a proper one to one conversation, compared to a posting on an internet forum.

I didn't intend to be condascending.