Thank you to everyone that submitted questions about tax. You can find answers down below, answered by our partner TaxScouts 👇

Q: As a self-employed individual can I claim VAT back from expenses?

A: You can usually reclaim the VAT paid on goods and services purchased for use in your business. If a purchase is also for personal or private use, you can only reclaim the business proportion of the VAT.

If you are VAT-registered and make VAT returns, this is a completely different process to Self Assessment income tax, involving additional registration and additional admin. 

Q: What information will I need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return?

A: You need a record of your income and expenses. You don’t need to show documents when you file your tax return, but HMRC will ask for them if they ever audit you. You must keep records for 6 years.

Q: How does TaxScouts actually work?

A: TaxScouts is an online personal tax service. They combine easy-to-use tech with expert accountants to remove the stress from doing your taxes for a low fixed fee.

The process is simple:

1. Answer a few simple questions. And we mean a few. After a couple of minutes of answering questions online, we’ll have everything we need to start preparing your tax return. 

2. Get paired with a tax return accountant. That’s right, you’ll be matched with a real accredited accountant who is best suited to prepare your return. Plus, they’re on hand for questions whenever you need them. 

3. We file your Self Assessment for you. Once you’ve signed off your return, your TaxScouts accountant will submit your return with HMRC for you.

Q: Any mistakes to look out for when filing Self Assessment?

A:

1. Don’t forget your deadlines! What’s the deadline for getting your UTR number? And when do you need to file your return? Here’s some more information on UK tax year dates and deadlines. 

2. Don’t forget about tax reliefs. You should always keep a list of all the claimable expenses and make full use of your tax-free allowances. 

3. Remember about Payment on Account, which is especially important if you’re just starting off! Your first January payment could be 50% bigger than you think.

You can read more about the most common Self Assessment mistakes here. 

Exclusive to you 👇

Doing taxes is a massive pain. That’s why we partnered with TaxScouts to help you take the weight off with calculating, filing and claiming tax returns. Now you can focus on what matters most, your creative business.