Self Employment, Sole Traders & Partnerships

Am I Self Employed?

Do you work under a contract of employment, or operate your own hours and send invoices? Maybe you submit a timesheet, but get paid gross of tax. You may well be self employed. Anyone that is outside of an employment agreement (if you haven’t signed a contract of employment, you may still be employed) and is earning money for providing goods or services regularly is probably self employed

When do I declare myself as Self Employed?

As soon as you identify yourself as self employed, you should declare it to HMRC. An intention to be self employed doesn’t necessarily mean you are, however actively looking for work and being ‘open for business’ regardless of whether you have any customers yet probably means your are self employed and should declare yourself as such.

How do I declare myself as Self Employed?

You need to tell HMRC you are self employed, which usually involves registering to file a self assessment tax return.

What happens when I declare myself as Self Employed?

HMRC will update your record, and generally you will be required to prepare a tax return at the end of the following tax year. You will become liable for income tax, class 2 and class 4 national insurance, though class 2 national insurance will be abolished for the 2019/20 tax year.

Am I a Sole Trader?

If you are operating as the sole proprietor of an unincorporated business, you are probably a sole trader. A sole trader carries out a trade on their own, though you can have employees, the sole trader carries all of the risks of being in business, and has a 100% entitlement to the reward.

What is a Partnership?

A partnership is formed when two people come together to jointly own and run a business. Most partnerships are equal 50/50 split, meaning you are halving the risks and rewards of business, however a partnership can have multiple partners, or a disproportionate split. A prime example of this is when a sole trader agrees to go into partnership with an individual who doesn’t have anything to contribute other than their time. The established sole trader may have tools, equipment or goodwill that they are compensated for by way of a larger percentage of the profits.

How do I form a Partnership?

You may already be in a partnership, and not realise it. An informal partnership can exist, for example between husband and wife who own a furnished holiday let. Most partnerships are between parties that are only connected through business interest, and these partnerships are formalised through a partnership agreement. There are many template partnership agreements available on the internet, however they will need heavy doctoring for each business, and may be written for the wrong laws or be out of date.