Accountants in Burlingjobb

The trading allowance means up to £1,000 of gross side income per year can be tax-free with no return needed. Above that, registration and reporting kick in — and platforms now report seller data to HMRC, so "under the radar" isn't a strategy any more.

Payments on account catch people out because the first year effectively bills you one-and-a-half years of tax at once. Knowing that in advance changes how you save through the year — and if profits fall, we can apply to reduce the July payment rather than lending HMRC money interest-free.

Directors paying themselves a salary still need a PAYE scheme and RTI submissions, even in a one-person company. It's a five-minute monthly task with software — and a recurring penalty generator without it.

Status under IR35 turns on the reality of the engagement: control, substitution, mutuality of obligation. Contracts matter, but working practices matter more. A written status assessment for each engagement is cheap insurance.

If a return is late because HMRC asked for one you don't actually need, it can sometimes be withdrawn entirely — penalties included. And where there's a genuine reasonable excuse, appeals succeed more often than people expect. The wrong move is ignoring the letters.

Receipts win arguments. HMRC doesn't demand a shoebox of paper any more — photos in an app are fine — but every deduction needs evidence behind it. A ten-minute weekly habit beats a January archaeology dig, every time.

Every year a wave of returns gets filed in the final days of January. It works, but it's the most expensive way to do it: no time to check for missed reliefs, and any tax due lands as one surprise. Sending your records early — even unsorted — is the single best gift you can give your January self.

Timing disposals across tax years, using losses properly, and the spousal transfer rules can all legitimately reduce capital gains bills — but only before the sale. CGT planning after completion is just arithmetic.