Self Assessment Basics for UK Freelancers

Who this session is for

The session is aimed at UK freelancers, sole traders, and the self employed, including people who run a side income alongside a PAYE job and people who suspect they should have filed a Self Assessment but have not yet. It is delivered in Russian and aimed at the Russian speaking community in the UK, but the rules covered are HMRC rules and apply to anyone with UK self employment income. Tanya keeps the focus on the practical questions that come up most often in client work: whether you need to file, what counts as income, and where the money is usually lost.

When you have to file a Self Assessment

You are required to file a Self Assessment in the UK if any of the following applied to you in the tax year:

• Self employment income over £1,000 (the trading allowance threshold)
• You became a director of a UK company
• Untaxed savings, dividend, or other investment income above the relevant allowances
• Foreign income that was not taxed at source in the UK
• Income above £50,000 while you or your partner claimed Child Benefit (the High Income Child Benefit Charge)
• Rental or other property income
• Capital gains above the annual exempt amount

The personal allowance of £12,570 is the figure most people remember, but having income below it does not automatically remove the filing requirement. The trigger is the source of the income, not only the amount.

Deadlines and what HMRC fines for

The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. The paper return deadline is 31 October following the end of the tax year. The online return deadline is 31 January. The same 31 January date is also when the balancing payment for the prior tax year is due, alongside the first payment on account for the next year. The second payment on account is due on 31 July.

Under the current HMRC penalty regime, a late return triggers an automatic £100 fine even where no tax is owed. Daily £10 fines start three months after the deadline and accrue for up to ninety days. Further fines apply at six and twelve months, calculated as a percentage of the tax due or a minimum amount, whichever is higher. Late payment interest runs separately from filing fines.

Where freelancers usually overpay

Most overpayment is not about complex planning. It comes from straightforward expenses and allowances that did not get claimed:

• Home office costs, either the simplified flat rate or a proportional share of household bills based on rooms and hours used
• Business mileage at the HMRC approved rates
• Mobile phone and internet costs apportioned for business use
• Professional subscriptions and trade body memberships
• Software, hosting, and digital tools used for the work
• The trading allowance applied incorrectly (it cannot be combined with actual expenses)
• Trading losses that were not carried forward or set off against other income
• Class 2 National Insurance paid voluntarily where it was not required
• Expenses already paid through a limited company being double counted on the personal return

We will go through each category with the specific numbers and what HMRC expects to see in the records.

What you will leave with

You will leave with a checklist of triggers so you can confirm whether you need to file, a list of the most-missed allowable expenses for freelancers, and the current deadlines and fine structure on a single page. A written summary of the session, the slide deck, and the recording are emailed to every registrant the day after the live event.