If you have earned (or are likely to earn) \u00a31,000 or more in income from any mix of sales or trading (like the examples above) in a single tax year (e.g. 6th April 2024 – 5th April 2025), you MUST to register with HMRC as Self-Employed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/rachel.we-are-low-profile.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Am-I-Self-Employed.png?resize=652%2C367&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nIf you’re not sure what counts as self-employment (and what doesn’t), here’s a set of questions that might help define and make sense of it all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LINK: Am I Self Employed (slides) \u2013 Rachel Dobbs<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nCheck HMRC’s current guidence here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nHow to resigter as Self Employed with HMRC – step-by-step process<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nBut being an artist (or artworker) isn’t my main job?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Being self-employed doesn\u2019t always mean that the work you do as an artist is your \u201cmain job\u201d. You can be both employed and self-employed<\/strong> at the same time – for example you may have a job in a pub where you are paid hourly (employed via PAYE) AND<\/span> get paid to run workshops with a local organisation (self-employed). <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe vast majority of artists and artworkers have a range of different streams of income – e.g. a mix of some employed work, and different one-off or regular creative \u2018gigs\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Check whether the work you are considering doing for an organisation or individual should be considered as employed or self-employed with HMRC’S Check Employment Status for Tax<\/strong> tool<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\nHMRC – Check Employment Status for Tax tool<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
What if I do lots of different things? It’s not really a “business”…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If there are major differences between the types of work you do that count as being \u201cSelf-Employed\u201d – for example, sometimes you get paid to do specialist plumbing work and at other times you are selling artworks online – you\u2019ll need to register each of these as separate self-employed trades with HMRC. You can add extra trades once you have set up your initial account and registration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is being self- employed the only option as an artist or artworker?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Being self-employed isn’t the only way in which you can choose to work for yourself. Sometimes, being a “sole trader” (ie working on your own) also isn’t always the most logical way to be legally setup – for example if you work in a long-term creative collaboration where you work with one or more people who share money and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can also choose to work for yourself by doing any of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Setup a Limited Company or a CIC (Community Interest Company)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Setup a Business Partnership (when working over the long-term with one or more other people)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Just like being able to be both employed and self-employed at the same time, you can also be employed and\/or self-employed, AND<\/span> part of one or more business partnerships, AND<\/span> be a director of one or more Limited Companies or CICs. <\/p>\n\n\n\nJust bear in mind that you will need to process paperwork for each of these ‘legal entities’ every year<\/strong> (tax returns and accounts), and be mindful about keeping clear (and seperate) records about which streams of income and expenditure are attached to each form of employment, self-employment, company or partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat if I\u2019m likely to have less than \u00a31,000 in income from Self-Employed work during the tax year?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you have earned (or are likely to earn) less than \u00a31,000 in income from any mix of sales or trading (like the examples at the top of this post) in a single tax year (e.g. 6th April 2024 – 5th April 2025), you don’t need to register with HMRC<\/span> as Self-Employed or complete a yearly Tax Return.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere may still be circumstances where you choose to complete a tax return even if your income is \u00a31,000 or less: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- you\u2019ve made a loss (ie spent out more in Allowable Expenses than the income you have received) and want to claim relief on a tax return in future (if you carry on the same trade\/type of work)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- you want to pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions to help qualify for State Pension & some benefits<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- you want to claim Tax Free Childcare for childcare costs based on your self employment income<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- you want to claim Maternity Allowance, based on your self-employment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
You can find out more about these circumstances on the HRMC site via the link below<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nVoluntary Self Employement registration with HMRC – guidance<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nHow to register as Self-Employed – setting up as a sole trader<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
HMRC have an easy step-by-step process to register as Self-Employed here<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nHMRC – Set Up As Self Employed<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nIf you’re not sure what counts as self-employment (and what doesn’t), here’s a set of questions that might help define and make sense of it all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LINK: Am I Self Employed (slides) \u2013 Rachel Dobbs<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nIf you find these resources useful, let me know via Instagram – @RachelDobbs1<\/a>. All of the resources I produce are available to download for FREE, but if you’d like to contribute to my future projects, say thank you or just do something nice for a fellow creative practitioner, feel free to donate by clicking the button below…<\/p>\n\n\n
But being an artist (or artworker) isn’t my main job?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Being self-employed doesn\u2019t always mean that the work you do as an artist is your \u201cmain job\u201d. You can be both employed and self-employed<\/strong> at the same time – for example you may have a job in a pub where you are paid hourly (employed via PAYE) AND<\/span> get paid to run workshops with a local organisation (self-employed). <\/p>\n\n\n\n The vast majority of artists and artworkers have a range of different streams of income – e.g. a mix of some employed work, and different one-off or regular creative \u2018gigs\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there are major differences between the types of work you do that count as being \u201cSelf-Employed\u201d – for example, sometimes you get paid to do specialist plumbing work and at other times you are selling artworks online – you\u2019ll need to register each of these as separate self-employed trades with HMRC. You can add extra trades once you have set up your initial account and registration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being self-employed isn’t the only way in which you can choose to work for yourself. Sometimes, being a “sole trader” (ie working on your own) also isn’t always the most logical way to be legally setup – for example if you work in a long-term creative collaboration where you work with one or more people who share money and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also choose to work for yourself by doing any of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like being able to be both employed and self-employed at the same time, you can also be employed and\/or self-employed, AND<\/span> part of one or more business partnerships, AND<\/span> be a director of one or more Limited Companies or CICs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Just bear in mind that you will need to process paperwork for each of these ‘legal entities’ every year<\/strong> (tax returns and accounts), and be mindful about keeping clear (and seperate) records about which streams of income and expenditure are attached to each form of employment, self-employment, company or partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have earned (or are likely to earn) less than \u00a31,000 in income from any mix of sales or trading (like the examples at the top of this post) in a single tax year (e.g. 6th April 2024 – 5th April 2025), you don’t need to register with HMRC<\/span> as Self-Employed or complete a yearly Tax Return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There may still be circumstances where you choose to complete a tax return even if your income is \u00a31,000 or less: <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find out more about these circumstances on the HRMC site via the link below<\/p>\n\n\n\n HMRC have an easy step-by-step process to register as Self-Employed here<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re not sure what counts as self-employment (and what doesn’t), here’s a set of questions that might help define and make sense of it all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you find these resources useful, let me know via Instagram – @RachelDobbs1<\/a>. All of the resources I produce are available to download for FREE, but if you’d like to contribute to my future projects, say thank you or just do something nice for a fellow creative practitioner, feel free to donate by clicking the button below…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if I do lots of different things? It’s not really a “business”…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is being self- employed the only option as an artist or artworker?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
What if I\u2019m likely to have less than \u00a31,000 in income from Self-Employed work during the tax year?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
How to register as Self-Employed – setting up as a sole trader<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nLINK: Am I Self Employed (slides) \u2013 Rachel Dobbs<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n