[Haideez]

Hello Blue Room,

I was a full time AV Technician who quit late last year to become self employed and pursue contractor/freelance work. Since leaving my full time job I have done approximately 6 days work for my previous company as a self employed contractor (ie I invoice them directly and am responsible for the tax NI etc) and the rest of my work has been through a recruitment agency for which I have been paid through a contractor umbrella company. This umbrella company treats me as an employee for taxation purposes, I am paid through PAYE so tax and NI is taken out at the point of payment and also they factor in expenses for the days worked.

So given that for this financial year I've worked mostly as an employee with a handful of jobs done as self employed - is it worth using the services of an accountant to do my tax return which I am now obviously required to do given my self employed status? I have talked to other freelancers who say they spend a small fortune on their accountant but it's worth it as a good accountant can save you more money than they cost you - which I could appreciate if I had done a whole years worth of work as a contractor and invoiced my clients directly - but given my circumstances is it worth it? Or is there a service for people like myself who haven't done a full years work as self employed but could use some help filling out their tax return that doesn't cost as much as a dedicated accountant? Any help much appreciated.

[timsabre]

In my opinion having done it both ways, it's worth paying for the accountant. It doesn't cost me a small fortune, he just charges me a pre-arranged fixed amount. We have a brief exchange of emails and he sends me the completed tax return to sign.

If you shop around, you should be able to find someone who fits in with what you need. I "interviewed" 4 different accountants which was quite amusing. 3 made me go to their offices while they looked disinterested and tried to understand what my business was about. The 4th turned up at my office having already researched my business on the internet and with some ideas for running it more efficiently. He got the job, and still has 15 years on.

[kerry davies]

I would check with HMRC just for this first year as they are quite prepared to give advice on filling out your self-assessment forms. They have always been really good with me and I have never had such complexity as to need an accountant. It varies with what you do, how many clients and for how long the periods of work may be as to whether an accountant actually can save you anything.

This!I presume you have seen and the HMRC self assessment site has useful info as well but wait a few weeks and call the HMRC/SA helpline before rushing into things. Right now they will be so busy it is unreal.

Your umbrella company has used your Tax Code and should give you the necessary PAYE forms (my pension provider does) so there is almost nothing that you can claim for as self assessed but again HMRC have always told me that I can claim for more than I had realised so it is worth talking to them.

Tim is right for those self-employed under normal circumstances but in your circumstances it may not be cost-effective to hire an accountant this year. You have plenty of time to research before the first deadline anyway.

[timsabre]

kerry davies, on 12 April 2012 - 12:09 PM, said:

I would check with HMRC just for this first year as they are quite prepared to give advice on filling out your self-assessment forms. They have always been really good with me and I have never had such complexity as to need an accountant. It varies with what you do, how many clients and for how long the periods of work may be as to whether an accountant actually can save you anything.

I've had the opposite experience with HMRC, one day you ring up and they tell you one thing, the next day they tell you something completely different. I had to record all calls to them to prove what they had said when they later denied it.

[Haideez]

Hi Tim & Kerry, thanks for your replies. Some good food for thought.

[MrBoomal]

Accountant lite ?
You need one of those brass ones with the green lampshade.

[cfmonk]

I would say do it yourself. It's pretty darn easy, I assume you have applied for exemption from Class 1 NICs as your SE earnings are below around £5,600. If that's the case then you just tell them how much you earned, any costs come off it and you pay tax on the rest. My form only took me half an hour and I am employed by two companies, self employed with two different jobs and receive rental and interest income.