[dickie dickenson]

Just wondered if anyone could give a bit of advice please , hubby started his own window cleaning buisness april of last year we have never run a buisness always worked for other people, just been told now is the time to do our tax returns  dont have a clue !!! hubby does the cleaning and its my job to do all the paper work any advice on where i start would be greatly appreciated thanks

[Tom White]

I did mine back in July, but I think the dates are:

30 Sep - if you submit them online.

31 Jan - if you submit the paper return.

Your hubby should've declared himself as self employed to the tax man (just phone the self employed help desk) and he should automatically be sent a tax return (I think; it's been a long time since I did this myself) which will tell him the dates he must send the return back.

[Mike #1]

If your hubby only started April 2012 then  he is not due to do a tax return until your year end which is April 2013 .

You will receive a notification from HMRC when his tax return is due to be done this gives you the option to do a paper tax  return or register to do it online on the HMRC website .

And you will have till January 2014 to file his tax return and make any payments on account. Mike

[Tom White]

Mike's right, ignore me.

I seem to remember getting a big whacking bill for my tax 'cos I'd not put anything aside for the first 18 months! 

[Ian101]

Just wondered if anyone could give a bit of advice please , hubby started his own window cleaning buisness april of last year we have never run a buisness always worked for other people, just been told now is the time to do our tax returns  dont have a clue !!! hubby does the cleaning and its my job to do all the paper work any advice on where i start would be greatly appreciated thanks

Was it April 2011 or april 2012 - if what you typed is accurate then it was April 2011.

If so you need to have registered with HMRC already.

Suggest you set up an "account" with the governemnt gateway as well.

http://www.gateway.gov.uk/Default.aspx

with this you can do all the tax stuff you could ever wish to 

[Ian101]

or if you want the easy option then find a local accountant / bookkeepper to do all this for you .... obviously this wil cost.

Just dont make my mistake of not agreeing fee costs before he starts ... I didnt and get stung for £1050 so now do it all myself.

loads of free info out there.
tax people very helpful

you just need the time and peace and quiet to do it in.

if you have loads of screaming kids running around then you will never get it done 

[bobplum]

or if you want the easy option then find a local accountant / bookkeepper to do all this for you .... obviously this wil cost.

Just dont make my mistake of not agreeing fee costs before he starts ... I didnt and get stung for £1050 so now do it all myself.

loads of free info out there.
tax people very helpful

you just need the time and peace and quiet to do it in.

if you have loads of screaming kids running around then you will never get it done 

or as ian and myself,as well as others,google sageone.com and do it on line,£7.00 a month

[Ian101]

£7 !!!! you been ripped off im paying a fiver 

[dickie dickenson]

Thankyou for your relpys sorry i wrote it wrong it was april 2012 we started the buisness so if i have read your replys right it wont be till april of 2013 that our returns need doing , we did register with HMRC so they should send us the info out as to when and what shouldnt they? i think ive got the jest of the incoming and outgoings its the petrol allowance i cant get my head round.... i have had a look on that "Goverment Gateway" site too  could you please tell me if i register as a orginisation or a indivdual ? , Begining to think it might be best to get a accountant for our 1st years returns what with all the startup costs to take into account too !!!! oooohhh no my head is hurting just thinking about it .

[Ian Lancaster]

I've always used an accountant, even all the years I was an individual self employed operator.  For the very modest outlay (we still only pay £250 a year) all worries are taken care of.

Look in your local paper or ask other tradespeople in your area.

[Ian101]

Thankyou for your relpys sorry i wrote it wrong it was april 2012 we started the buisness so if i have read your replys right it wont be till april of 2013 that our returns need doing , we did register with HMRC so they should send us the info out as to when and what shouldnt they? i think ive got the jest of the incoming and outgoings its the petrol allowance i cant get my head round.... i have had a look on that "Goverment Gateway" site too  could you please tell me if i register as a orginisation or a indivdual ? , Begining to think it might be best to get a accountant for our 1st years returns what with all the startup costs to take into account too !!!! oooohhh no my head is hurting just thinking about it .

prob best to get an accountant ... certainly for 1st year ... if you show a loss which is quite easy in year 1 with all the things you need to buy as well as allowances available then you can get a refund from any tax paid the previous year ... your accountant can sort this out for you.

[g.brookes]

i agree with ian.  asking window cleaners tax questions is like asking an accountant how to clean a window.  we can give you a rough idea but a lot of the information may be wrong or out of date.  my advice would be to use an accountant for the first few years.  if you dont find it too taxing (tee hee) then start doing it yourself after that once youve learnt all the useful tricks