How and when should I register for taxes and employee pensions, and what filings do I need to make?
Once you start trading in the UK whether via a limited company, partnership or sole trader, you will need to register with HMRC and file taxes on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. These are activities you can do yourself, or can employ the services of an accountant on your behalf.
Key: paid for service registration required official
WHAT: The HMRC online registration process with guidance information. This enables you to report all taxes to HMRC (excluding VAT from 1st April 2019).
OTHER: HMRC-specific links for self-assessment registration and Pay as You Earn employee registration:
WHEN: Your business turnover has reached £85,000. You can register voluntarily before this point if you’d like. Or if you’re paying VAT already and need to understand the changes to filing from April 2019.
WHY: UK Law requires business with a turnover in excess £85,000 to register for VAT in line with current legislation.
WHAT: The first link is the HMRC online registration process with guidance information. The second link is a video that explains how VAT filing from April 2019 will transition to digital only submissions. Corporation tax and income tax are both scheduled for 2020.
OTHER: Changes are coming to tax filing, beginning with VAT – here’s a thorough guide: Making tax digital for VAT from Freeagent.
WHY: As well as registering for PAYE, a company must provide a workplace pension if it has employees.
WHAT: These are various providers who can set up a compliant auto-enrolment pension for employees. Nest is the government provider, but there are also many commercial low-cost firms.