Tax returns if you're self-employed or in a partnership
In this section:
Tax returns for the self-employed
If you're self-employed, you have to fill in a Self Assessment (SA) tax return every year. We'll send you the paper forms you'll need, or you can complete your tax return online.
You'll be asked for details about profits from your business and other income that you'll have to pay tax on - such as rental income. This is used to work out how much tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) you have to pay. You must provide the correct information and get it to us on time.
You're required by law to keep records of all relevant information. Doing this also makes filling in your tax return a lot easier.
You may decide to use an accountant, but SA is designed to be as straightforward as possible so that you can do it yourself.
On this page:
- Check that you are self-employed
- Registering as self-employed
- Forms you'll need to fill in if you're self-employed
- Self Assessment deadlines
- If you're no longer self-employed
Check that you are self-employed
The tax and NICs you'll pay depend on whether you're self-employed or an employee - so it's important to check that you really are self-employed. You're usually self-employed if you can answer 'yes' to the following:
- do you have the final say in how the business is run?
- are you responsible for meeting any losses as well as taking any profits?
- can you hire someone on your own terms to do work for you?
- do you risk your own money?
- do you provide the main items of equipment you need to do your job?
- do you agree to do a job for a fixed price regardless of how long it may take?
- can you decide what work to do, how and when to work and where to provide the services?
- do you regularly work for a number of different people?
- do you have to correct unsatisfactory work in your own time and at your own expense?
You can be self-employed for some of your work, but an employee of another business as well.
There are special rules if:
- you work through an agency
- you're a company director
- you're the secretary of a club or the holder of any other office
Then you'll normally have to pay tax and NICs as if you're an employee.
If you're still unsure whether you count as self-employed, you can contact your local HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Tax Office for help. You can find contact details on our website or you can call the HMRC Helpline for the Newly Self-Employed on Tel 0845 915 4515.
HMRC guidance on employment status
HMRC contact details - find your local office
Download leaflet IR56 Employed or self-employed? (PDF 946K)
Use the 'employment status indicator' on the HMRC website
Registering as self-employed
If you're self-employed you must register with us on form CWF1 Starting up in Business by the end of your third month of self-employment. If you don't, you could be liable for a penalty.
Read form CWF1 Starting up in Business
Forms you'll need to fill in if you're self-employed
If you're registered as self-employed we'll send you a tax return every year in April. This relates to the previous tax year, from 6 April to the following 5 April. If you use our online services, we'll send you a notice - form SA316 - to send us your tax return online.
We'll always send you the core pages of the tax return - forms SA100 and SA101. You may also have to fill in some supplementary pages, depending on your circumstances. For example:
- If you're self-employed you may need to complete either page SA103S if your turnover was below £64,000, or SA103F if the turnover was £64,000 or more.
- You may need page SA102 if you also work as an employee.
- If you are self-employed in a business partnership you will need to complete either page SA104S for partnerships that only have trading income, and taxed bank and building society interest (or alternative finance receipts); or page SA104F which covers all the possible types of partnership income you might receive. This details your share of the partnership's profit or loss.
In some cases we incorporate supplementary pages into the core pages of the tax return, and when that happens, a separate supplementary page may not be necessary.
It's best to complete and send back your tax return online. Online filing is secure and accurate and the software automatically calculates your tax. If we owe you money, you'll also get an immediate acknowledgement and faster repayment. Follow the link below to find out how to register to file online.
Self Assessment Online - find out more about the benefits and how to register
Completing your tax return - find out more
Self assessment forms - download forms from here
Keeping the right records
You must by law keep business records for at least five years and ten months after the end of the tax year the records relate to. Keep any information and documents that you may need to help you fill in your tax return or to make a claim - the records you'll need to keep depend on your specific circumstances.
Record keeping for the self-employed - learn more
Self Assessment deadlines
There are four key deadlines for sending in your tax return and paying any tax due:
- 31 October - this is the deadline for sending in the majority of paper tax returns
- 31 January - the deadline for sending in your tax return online, and some paper tax returns where the return cannot be filed online.
- 31 January - this is the payment deadline for what you owe for the previous tax year, and if payments towards the current year's tax bill (called 'payments on account') are due
- 31 July - the deadline for your second payment on account - if one is due
Penalties and surcharges may apply if you miss these deadlines.
Tax return and payment deadlines - find out more
If you're no longer self-employed
If you're no longer self-employed you'll still need to complete your main tax return and the supplementary self-employment page for the tax year in which your self-employment ended. Enter the date you stopped being self-employed in box 6 of the SA103S, or, box 7 of the SA103F and complete the rest of the form from your records.
