Inland Revenue

You do indeed need to register with the IR Have a look here about registering as self employed: http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/pdfs/pse1.htm Its quite painless and you need to do so within 3 months of starting up. The best way is by calling them as that way they fill in the forms for you. If you need some help with your tax then would be pleased to asssit, for example if things take off it may be worth looking at using a limited company. Good luck with the launch Regards,
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James Smith
Chartered Accountant
www.jamesesmith.co.uk
01235 536 773

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Your indispensable guide to Small Business Bookkeeping, Self-Assessment & VAT

Thanks James! Smartvibes is already a limited company - next thing will be for me to figure out how best to pay myself (I hear the old £385 per month plus dividends is the key, at least until 2005). If the site is taking enough money for this to be an issue then it will be a happy dilemma!

Ah - sorry this is the trouble with trying to help on line I don’t get to ask questions, and end up assuming things which can of course lead to misunderstandings. If you are a limited company things are quite a bit more complicated, and you don’t need to register as self employed as above. You will probably already have been in contact with the IR regarding a 'CT41G' that (should have) been sent out automatically on registering your company. You also need to sort out if you want to run a PAYE system to pay out the personal allowance to you tax free. What works best in terms of a profit extraction policy will depend on your circumstances, but paying a small salary and the majority in dividends is general a sound strategy. I would suggest you do take the time to get some proper advice as you are using a ltd company. It is very easy to make a mess of all the regulations and spend a lot of time and money getting things straightened out. Sole traders can get away with muddling through until their year end, but ltd companies need to take a bit more care upfront. If you (or any other startups for that matter) would like a free consultation, then please get in contact and we can assess what you do/dont need to do at this time. Regards,
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James Smith
Chartered Accountant
www.jamesesmith.co.uk
01235 536 773

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Your indispensable guide to Small Business Bookkeeping, Self-Assessment & VAT