Questions About Self Assessment or Anything Else - Tax Year 2023-24

Hi

I've recently set up my HR Consultancy whilst working full time so have serviced only 3 clients over the last year with minimal overheads just set up costs.  Do I need to submit a self-assessment as there are no significant transactions. Can I register the company as dormant?

I appreciate your time reaching out to the Community for assistance with self-assessment, @Laurel66.

Regarding your question about whether you need to submit a self-assessment for your HR consultancy, given the minimal transactions and overhead costs, I recommend seeking advice from a tax professional. They can provide guidance based on your circumstances while ensuring that you meet all your legal and tax obligations.

While your company may qualify as dormant due to the minimal activity, then you aren't required to file a self-assessment tax return. However, you still need to inform HMRC about your company's dormant status by submitting an account and an annual confirmation statement to Companies House.

I’m adding some resources to learn what you need to complete your tax return:

• Self Assessment for Income Tax Checklist for QuickBooks Online
• How to do a Self-Assessment Tax Return

If you need further assistance or have other questions besides submitting a self-assessment, please feel free to reach back out. I’m just a click away, @Laurel66.

I am starting childminding which requires me to be self employed. This isn’t considered a business only ‘working from home’ therefore I don’t have a separate bank account for this. As it’s asking me to link my account to track things ready for my self assessment how does this work when I use it for my own personal things aswell?

Welcome to the Community.

Let me share information about connecting bank accounts in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

In QuickBooks, when you connect your bank account, you can save time entering your data manually. It will automatically download recent transactions. QuickBooks will then categorize them for you. You only have to approve the work.

However, you can also choose not to connect your bank. You can manually enter your data into your QuickBooks Self-Employed account.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Transaction menu and select Add Transaction.
2. Enter the amount and a description.
3. Select the Select a Category menu. Select the best category to organize your transaction.
4. If you have a receipt, you can drag and drop it onto the form.
5. Once done, select Save.

For future reference, you can read these articles to help you if you want to connect with your bank:

• Connect bank and credit card accounts to QuickBooks Self-Employed.
• Categorise and match bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Don't hesitate to click the Reply button below if you need further assistance connecting your bank or entering data manually in QuickBooks Self-Employed. I'm always here to help. Have a great day.

Hello I was salaried and became freelance in October last year. Do I need to do anything by the end of January? Does anyone knows?

I know how important it is to know if you’re subject to any taxes or what should be done to comply with any of them, linda.

Since you’ve transitioned from being salaried to being a freelance worker, you’ll need to reach out directly to His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and report as self-employed.

Moreover, if you have a QuickBooks Online (QBO) subscription, you’ll need to subscribe to QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE). This is the best accounting software for self-employed business owners as it gives self-starters and small businesses the features they need to get ahead.

Once you’ve got instructions from the HMRC that will require you to submit taxes. Given that you’ve started the year as salaried in QBO, you’ll have to file this separately and file your freelance works in QBSE. Please check the articles below for references for different applications:

• Self Assessment for Income Tax checklist for QuickBooks Online
• Self Assessment for Income Tax checklist for QuickBooks Self-Employed

As always, you can ping me in the Community if you have further questions about taxes. This forum is also open for any QuickBooks-related matters. Stay safe!

Hi.  Can you tell me please how you calculate the tax due on the tax reports?  There does not seem to be any personal allowance taken into account and I cannot see where the final amount comes from.  I'm not going to exceed the 20% bracket and I've taken into account expenses and cannot see where the figure comes from

Many thanks

Hello AlisonCox1, thanks for reaching out to the Community.   The income tax figure is calculated based on the income/allowable expenses and also the information on the tax profile. We have included an article on setting up the tax profile here for more detail.

 The section where it has personal allowance amount if you have not used the amount, you would leave the figure as it is, if you have used the amount with PAYE income for example then you would amend the amount to zero. That plus the date you started Self Employment will impact the calculation.

If you are not exceeding the 20 percent and after you check the tax profile set up as mentioned above and you cannot see why the figure is calculating if you could reply with a screenshot of the tax profile and the figures calculating on the report. Or if you prefer you can DM/PM us at QuickBooks UK on any of the following: Facebook ,Twitter, Instagram. 

We'd be happy to help you with any further questions.

Thank you for the quick reply.  I've worked out that the bill is twice what I think it should be.  Is this because you include the amount that needs to be paid on account for the next tax year?

Hello Alison, thanks for reaching back out to us again at the Quickbooks Community page, we are unsure what you mean. The income tax should only be calculated for the tax year for example 23-24 if that is the tax year you are doing. If it is double what you think it should be. Do you have any amounts in the estimated income section and if so, if you can try removing it and if the income tax figure then matches what you are expecting to see? 

Please do get back to us if you have any more questions, we will be happy to answer them. 

That sorted it!  Thank you

That is great to hear, thanks for letting us know Alison. Any other questions feel free to ask them here!

Hi,

I'm also using my personal account as well as a business one. The personal account only is connected. Is it okay, as self employed to remove this account, even though I've started using it and just enter info manually as I don't have loads of transactions?

Thank you for contacting us about managing your accounts in QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE), RFind. We're here to help you understand the implications of removing a connected bank account and provide guidance on how to proceed.

If you decide to remove your personal bank account from QuickBooks Self-Employed, it's important to note that all transactions associated with that account will also be removed. This means that any historical data linked to the account will be deleted from your QuickBooks records.

Before removing the account, you might want to export your transactions to a spreadsheet like Excel. This ensures you have a backup of your financial data outside of QuickBooks.

For more details, you can see this link: Delete bank and transactions data in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Thank you for your understanding. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're here to help you manage your finances efficiently.

Thank you. The only other thing I can think of doing is keeping the bank account connected and recording none business transactions as transfers to my personal account. This would separate my business and none business transactions. Would this be a better idea?

That's an insightful suggestion, RFind. Keeping your bank account connected and categorizing non-business transactions as transfers to your account can help separate your business and personal expenses more efficiently. This method can save you the time it takes to enter each transaction manually and can reduce the probability of input errors.

It’s important to note that QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) doesn't have the option to do internal transfers like other versions of QuickBooks. The focus is on separating business and personal transactions for easier tax categorization.

To effectively separate your non-business (personal) transactions in QBSE, you can categorize them as Personal directly.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to the Transactions menu.
2. Click on the transaction you want to categorize.
3. In the type column, select Personal to mark it as a personal expense or income source.

This approach allows you to track your transactions in real time and maintain an accurate financial overview, which is beneficial for analyzing business performance and preparing for tax season.

Whichever method you choose should align with your workflow and how you manage your finances. If you find manual entries easier due to the volume of transactions, or if keeping the account connected saves you time, select the option that best suits your needs.

Furthermore, I have also added a reference to this link that explains what we can do with QuickBooks Self-Employed: QuickBooks Self-Employed Overview.

Additionally, I encourage checking our Help articles page to learn some tips and tricks in managing your QuickBooks account. From there, you can read articles that can guide you in completing your future tasks.

We are here to ensure you have the best experience with QuickBooks Self-Employed. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need further assistance.

Thank you,

Just had another thought. If I continue with my bank account connected am I able to still enter transactions manually. For example in the case of cash payments?

Kind Regards,

Rebecca

I'm here to provide assistance and offer clarification on tracking banking transactions with RFind.

Yes, you can still manually enter transactions in QuickBooks Online (QBO) even if your bank account is connected. To record cash payments, create an expense or enter the transaction details directly into the register. This allows you to maintain accurate records in QuickBooks even for transactions that are not automatically imported from your bank account.

Furthermore, it is essential to regularly reconcile your entries to maintain accurate records. Take a look at this article to learn more about the entries that are most frequently used in QBO: Record commonly-used transactions. It’s designed to provide you with valuable insights that can help enhance your understanding and usage of the platform.

In addition, utilise these references to get acclimated to the online program processes and features:

• Get started with QBO
• Online tutorials
  
  

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you require further information or have specific inquiries about QBO. We'll get back to help ensure to provide the assistance you need.