Side Hustles and Hassles!
HMRC are always looking at what they are now calling your side hustle.
On Facebook they have even put up posts about what to do if you are starting a new side gig or hustle. You will definitely need to tell HMRC about any extra income you earn on top of say your main job!
There are lots of ways that you might decide to make some extra cash outside of your main job and that could be by delivery work, online selling, to being an Avon lady or a gardener for example. You may not believe that these extra hours you are working constitute to trade, as many dog breeders have found to the recent last few years.
Net profits from breeding dogs have been high, particularly in the COVID period and we have dealt with many dozens of these and have become somewhat experts in the dog and cat breeding world.
It’s fair to say that virtually all of our clients deemed it to be a hobby and the love of dogs was their main motivation in breeding them. This could well be as an aside to keeping some puppies for themselves to improve their own breeding standard for their showing activities.
HMRC have gone back to the source and obtained details of puppies sold through the insurers Petplan and Agria for example, so they are sitting on this information before they ever write to you.
Likewise, they are working alongside Ebay and Vinted to establish those people earning money from trading through those online platforms.
If you think you may be deemed to be trading, call us and we will go through the various badges of trade to establish whether the income that you are earning on the side really is a trade and subject to income tax.
You need to get help as soon as possible to avoid any tax surprises so what sort of questions should you ask yourself?
Are you buying or making things to sell, because if so, this definitely constitutes trading.
Are you delivering or driving outside of your day job? This could be using a van or on your bicycle? Anything from Evri to Deliveroo and this is definitely likely to be deemed taxable earnings.
You might be involved in the growing need for dog walking or online tutoring for children and again HMRC view is that this is taxable income.
Lately we are seeing lots of content creators or influencers or people working through platforms like Only Fans and again these are being brought into the Tax net by HMRC.
Any queries give us a ring and we will try to put your mind at rest and if you need to do a tax return we can do that for you.
If you have been earning money from these sorts of ventures over the past two or three years there is a simple and efficient method of settling your liabilities through a voluntary disclosure and we can talk to you about this and give you a fixed price quote.
Contact Andy on 07879 464577 or Lindsay on 07584706664
