Are you newly self employed and you’ve started your own business? It’s important to register with the relevant authorities. Registering with HMRC should be one of the first things on your to do list.
Registering with HMRC will ensure you are properly complying with the filing requirements imposed. Problems and penalties can arise if your business is not registered with the appropriate tax authorities in a timely fashion. In this blog, we go over the main filing requirements, but it does not include all of them. So make sure you research or seek advice from an accountant for your specific business.
When you register with HMRC you will receive a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR or UTR Number). This is a code used by HMRC to identify you for tax purposes. If you have a limited company you will need to register for corporation tax, this will provide you with a UTR for your company.
You must give HMRC specific information about your company within 3 months of starting up the business. You may get a penalty if you don’t. You can do this online once you have your company UTR.
HMRC will use this information to work out when your company must pay corporation tax.
Government Gateway
First, you need to set up a Government Gateway. This will enable you to access HMRC’s online services. If you’re registering for self assessment you’d need to set up an individual account. Once this is done you can then add self assessment as a service. If you’re registering a limited company or a partnership, you’d need to set up an organisation account.
Once you’ve set up your Government Gateway you can use this account to update your address/details, find your UTR number, National Insurance number and lots more.
Helpful Tips
Once you’ve set up your Government Gateway and registered for the services you need with HMRC, we think it’s beneficial to look into the help and advice HMRC provide, for example:
HMRC App
HMRC have an app! Once you’ve downloaded the free app you can use it to check things like:
- How much Self Assessment tax you owe
- Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) for Self Assessment
- State Pension
- Get an estimate of the tax you need to pay
- Set a reminder to make a Self Assessment payment
- Track forms and letters you have sent to HMRC
HMRC Budget Planner
If you’re worried about having a large bill to pay when it comes to your self assessment tax bill, you can use HMRC’s Budget Planner. This is a tool you can use to pay weekly or monthly amounts towards your tax bill through out the year. This is a handy tool if you think you might struggle to save the money for your tax bill.
HMRC Tax Calculator
There’s also a handy tool if you don’t know how much tax you might pay. HMRC have an online calculator to help you estimate how much tax you may have to pay.
Registering with HMRC is the first task. But there’s lots of handy tools that are available once you’ve registered to help you stay on track of your business. If you need help with registering with HMRC or need help deciding on what services would best fit you and your business, give us a call today.