You don't have to register business names with Inland Revenue. All you need do is to register yourself as self employed and whatever business you decide to enter will always be kate1111 trading as Business A or kate1111 trading as Business B

All HMRC are interested in is kate1111.
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Ian

I agree, you should only register with HMRC once. If you register 2 businesses, they will allocate 2 reference numbers to you, and expect 2 tax returns each year.
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www.brighton-accountants.com

Thankyou both for the advice.

The person I spoke to at my local tax office said I still needed to register as self employed, even though I fill out tax returns as part of the partnership. I certainly don't want to fill out any more separate tax returns though. The HMRC startup phone line told me I don't need to register with them though as I'm already registered for NI. Is my local tax office wrong?

My initial thought was to not tell them, wait for next year's tax returns & just to tick the self-employed box on the tax return & fill in company names and profits etc there.

Can I assume then that I am already registered as self-employed as the partnership is a self-employed business & the only reason I fill in tax returns? And hence do nothing until I get my next tax returns?

The reason I was thinking I had to register the trading names was because the tax returns ask for this information (and partly because of the confused conversation I had with the tax office).

Kate

Any more advice, please?

All you need to do is register as a limited company!

Here me out before you blow it out the water!

It will cost a little bit more or get an accountant to do it but register as a limited company and the other business's would be subsidiaries of the main business, which is your one trading name.

This will enable you to put through cost & sales of all the business's under one umbrella company

The main advantages of incorporating your business activities in a limited company can be summarised as follows:
• The company has a legal existence separate from management and its members (the shareholders)
• Members' liability is limited
• The company's name is protected
• It has flexible borrowing powers
• The company continues despite the death, resignation or bankruptcy of management and members
• The interests and obligations of management are defined
• Appointment, retirement or removal of directors is straightforward
• New shareholders and investors can be easily assimilated
• Employees can acquire shares
• Approved company pension schemes usually provide better benefits than those paid under contracts with the self-employed and those in non-pensionable employment
• The level of premium that directors can pay is restricted but there is no limit on the overall contributions paid by the company for the directors, although there is a maximum benefit limit imposed by the Inland Revenue Superannuation Fund Office
• Taxation - sole traders, partners and partnerships pay income tax. Sole traders' and partners' income is taxed as the proprietors' income, regardless of how much profit is retained as working capital, and interest on loans to the business is taxed as their income
• Partners are liable personally and jointly for partnership tax and if a partner dies, the surviving partners are responsible for partnership tax
• Directors pay income tax and the company pays corporation tax on company profits, and with current rates of tax company profits earned and retained in the business are assessed to corporation tax at lower rates than if income tax were payable on equivalent profits earned by an unincorporated business


Good Luck

Need a good accountant give me a buzz I can get you one

Shane