Self employment/massage therapist working from home

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wreckabilly

New Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
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Location
Ayrshire, Scotland
From the beginning of July of this year, I'll be working as a SELF-EMPLOYED massage therapst from home. My landlord already knows and approves and I will be turning my extra bedroom into a therapy room.

My flat is within the busy (posh) Glasgow Centre so I have no doubt that I will be able to find clients as the only main competition is a (very) expensive spa around the corner.

I don't feel I have to ask my neighbours permission as my clients will be parking on either the public street or car park and my neighbours have private parking. I do have a few questions I would like to ask though:

1. If you work from home, did you inform the local council? I've been on the Glasgow Council website and can't find a specific link for this so I may just go into one of their offices and ask to speak to someone that way.

2. My flat is in a secure area (need special key to get in to private area / clients will have to buzz in and my door can be triple locked) but I am worried about dodgy clients so I'm wondering if it would be safer to ask my boyfriend to stay in the next room for a new clients first treatment?
How do you deal with security?

3. How much do you have to be making before you have to start paying NI? In my first year, I'm expecting to make around £700 a month (based on a £20 massage a day / x2 over sat & sunday) I may make more than this, it just depends on how it takes off.

4. When I do my first self-return tax form, will one lump sum fee be taken out or is it monthly? Do I pay anything until then? This is the only thing that confuses me about the financial aspect.

5. I understand that I need to keep all records of my income, but would I also be including electricity? phone bills? leaflets? and so on? What do you include when you work from home? I am planning on paying a professional to fill out my tax return for me but obviously I need to keep everything up to date

6. I am currently a student and have a job as a cleaner at the weekend which I get £480 a month for. I don't want to give this up until I have a big enough clientelle, but how would I be getting taxed for both jobs? Are you self-employed and have a part time job? If so, what happens?

7. Is it better to have a business bank account and leave things I may buy seperate (such as oils and so on) or can I just use my personal account and highlight what I've paid for? I may be paying for things off my credit card fo the first month or two also so how do I prove that?


Thanks, I know I'm early but I want everything clear in my head so I'm not all stressed in July because I just want to concentrate on marketting by that time.
x
 
Last edited:
That's a lot of questions but I'll will try and answer as well as I can.

1)Call or go to the council as you mentioned just in case there are some sort of safety regulation relating to your business

2)Im not sure what exactly your concern is but maybe you don't want male clients and if that's the case then mention this if they contact you by phone or email. Or you could mention it on your leaflets that you eventually be giving out?

3) You pay 2 types of National insurnce,class 2 and class 4. Class 2 you pay 2.40 per week and i think you can pay this monthly by direct debit or quarterly by cash or check in you local post office. if you choose quarletu then they will send you an the paperwork so you can make payments. They count towards payments such as the basic state pension, the employment and support allowance, maternity allowance and bereavement benefits. Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) are payable at 8 per cent on profits between £5,715 and £43,875 for 2009-10. So if your profit is below £5,715 for the tax year you don't pay nothing.

4) Tax year starts and end on April and because you are starting in July, your tax year is April 2010 to April 2011. If you do your submit your tax return by paper, then this will have to be submitted by October 2011 or Jan 31st 2012 online. I do miine online is a lot easier and it will calculate the figure for you if you owe the tax man any money. My advice is to be safe and not worrying paying a big amount of tax in one go is open a saving account. This way you dont spend the money just in case :). If do earn an average of 700 per month then put away if you can 20% (£140) per month so at least you kept it in one side.You won't that amount because we have not consider deducted your expences for that month but remember you might have to pay also 8% for the Class 4 NI when you do your tax return. If not then at leas you got some money save up which could come in handy to help towards the business :).

5) Yes you can claim part of your electricity or rent or anything that you use and share. So for example if your rent your home for £800 and you mention that you use one of the room for the business, now depending the size of the room you could say for example that the room uses 25% of size of the property so therefore you can claim £200 as a business expense.

6)If you employed by this company and get a pay slip then you are already paying tax and NI so you don't have to pay twice,just only for the business. If not then you pay tax for your total earnings for the tax year. Everyone has a tax allowance around £6,000 but please check on the inland revenue online of the accurate figure or call them and explain that you got 2 jobs and ask for their advice. Here is an example if you earn £10,000 but your expense is £5,000 you are left with £5,000 profit. Since your profit is below £6,000 you don't pay any tax. I recommend that you get a professional to give you the right answer but If you want to keep you expenses to a minimum,you can all the information I mentioned on the inland revenue website.

7) My personal advice is do your basic book keeping meaning as soon as you got your receipt work out what percentage is a business expense and do it weekly. You do not want to accumulate all the receipts for months and months and then you got the boring task spending many hours writing it all out.If you do it weekly then it should be stright forward and you will only spend 10-15 minutes writing it on a exel sheet.

Wow I think i need some tea and biscuits, that was long :lol:.
 
Hi
I just want to add that you have three months from starting up to tell the tax office and your first year of business you don't have go pay tax.

I do my books but I have an accountant that sorts out all the tax etc.

Don't forget to keep all reciepts, telephone, petrol, stationary, cleaning products ect.

Good luck
 
Just to add to the good advice given above...
1. If you work from home, did you inform the local council? I've been on the Glasgow Council website and can't find a specific link for this so I may just go into one of their offices and ask to speak to someone that way.
It's important to talk to your council asap. They will not like you opening without thier knowledge. They may even disallow you from opening!
4. When I do my first self-return tax form, will one lump sum fee be taken out or is it monthly? Do I pay anything until then? This is the only thing that confuses me about the financial aspect.
If you start this year you will fill in a tax return for April 2010 to April 2011. You then have until January 2012, at the latest, to return this tax return. Your tax and NI is repayable in two halves the first by the end of January 2012 and then the end of July 2012. You will have to pay the tax and NI you owe, plus exactly the same amount again in advance. HMRC then keeps it on account for the 2011 to 2012 tax year return.
I understand that I need to keep all records of my income, but would I also be including electricity? phone bills? leaflets? and so on? What do you include when you work from home? I am planning on paying a professional to fill out my tax return for me but obviously I need to keep everything up to date
Yes you can claim business expenses but if an expense is shared with personal use you have to work out and claim for the business use. Utility bills can be worked out but multiplying the bill by the percentage area of your treatment room. If you use you home or personal telephone you have to break down the itemised bills and take the personal calls out of it and adjust the charges accordingly. Vehicle and petrol costs can only be deducted if they are for business use, like going to the bank and picking up stock etc.
7. Is it better to have a business bank account and leave things I may buy seperate (such as oils and so on) or can I just use my personal account and highlight what I've paid for? I may be paying for things off my credit card fo the first month or two also so how do I prove that?
Never mix your business accounts with personal ones. If you use your business account for business you will have to explain all the deposits made into it as HMRC will see them as takings
 
The Inland Revenue do some workshops which are free and explain everything you need to know about Self Assessment and being Self Employed. The more of your own bookkeeping that you can do the less you will have to pay an accountant.

Don't forget to inform your household insurance company as the majority do not allow working from home so you most likely will have to find a new provider.
 
Thanks so much everyone!

Well the main issue I can see right now is that my rent and bills are all inclusive which will make it hard to determine what amount of electricity is going into the business so I might not deduct it due to this. It is also my landlord who also takes care of the mortgage and housing insurance so what kind of insurance would I be looking to take out from elsewhere? Where do you get yours from?


I'm off college on Wednesday so I'm going to pp into my local council office and have a chat, then I'll e-mail inland revenue after hearing what the council have to say. Hopefully it'll go well! I'll be gutted if they say no!
 
That's a lot of questions but I'll will try and answer as well as I can.

1)Call or go to the council as you mentioned just in case there are some sort of safety regulation relating to your business

2)Im not sure what exactly your concern is but maybe you don't want male clients and if that's the case then mention this if they contact you by phone or email. Or you could mention it on your leaflets that you eventually be giving out?

3) You pay 2 types of National insurnce,class 2 and class 4. Class 2 you pay 2.40 per week and i think you can pay this monthly by direct debit or quarterly by cash or check in you local post office. if you choose quarletu then they will send you an the paperwork so you can make payments. They count towards payments such as the basic state pension, the employment and support allowance, maternity allowance and bereavement benefits. Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) are payable at 8 per cent on profits between £5,715 and £43,875 for 2009-10. So if your profit is below £5,715 for the tax year you don't pay nothing.

4) Tax year starts and end on April and because you are starting in July, your tax year is April 2010 to April 2011. If you do your submit your tax return by paper, then this will have to be submitted by October 2011 or Jan 31st 2012 online. I do miine online is a lot easier and it will calculate the figure for you if you owe the tax man any money. My advice is to be safe and not worrying paying a big amount of tax in one go is open a saving account. This way you dont spend the money just in case :). If do earn an average of 700 per month then put away if you can 20% (£140) per month so at least you kept it in one side.You won't that amount because we have not consider deducted your expences for that month but remember you might have to pay also 8% for the Class 4 NI when you do your tax return. If not then at leas you got some money save up which could come in handy to help towards the business :).

5) Yes you can claim part of your electricity or rent or anything that you use and share. So for example if your rent your home for £800 and you mention that you use one of the room for the business, now depending the size of the room you could say for example that the room uses 25% of size of the property so therefore you can claim £200 as a business expense.

6)If you employed by this company and get a pay slip then you are already paying tax and NI so you don't have to pay twice,just only for the business. If not then you pay tax for your total earnings for the tax year. Everyone has a tax allowance around £6,000 but please check on the inland revenue online of the accurate figure or call them and explain that you got 2 jobs and ask for their advice. Here is an example if you earn £10,000 but your expense is £5,000 you are left with £5,000 profit. Since your profit is below £6,000 you don't pay any tax. I recommend that you get a professional to give you the right answer but If you want to keep you expenses to a minimum,you can all the information I mentioned on the inland revenue website.

7) My personal advice is do your basic book keeping meaning as soon as you got your receipt work out what percentage is a business expense and do it weekly. You do not want to accumulate all the receipts for months and months and then you got the boring task spending many hours writing it all out.If you do it weekly then it should be stright forward and you will only spend 10-15 minutes writing it on a exel sheet.

Wow I think i need some tea and biscuits, that was long :lol:.




Wow thanks so much! I've been reading all the older working from home posts and I couldn't find anything specific to my answers or anything that broke the information I needed down! I was thinking about putting £150 away every month so that when it comes to paying my tax, I'll be covered.


So I shouldn't get taxed for my part time job so long as I inform IR that I am using my self-employment as my main source of income?


It's not so much male clients, its just a security issue like in a spa you know you are safe as there is always someone else there, whereas at home, you are alone so anything can happen. When it comes to men I will definitely be making sure that my boyfriend is in the next room and will make them aware of that fact but that he will not disturb the treatment – if they are against it – they are obviously a bit skeezey.
 
If you start this year you will fill in a tax return for April 2010 to April 2011. You then have until January 2012, at the latest, to return this tax return. Your tax and NI is repayable in two halves the first by the end of January 2012 and then the end of July 2012. You will have to pay the tax and NI you owe, plus exactly the same amount again in advance. HMRC then keeps it on account for the 2011 to 2012 tax year return.

Thank you love! So Let me get this right, say I make £8,000 for a year between April 2010 and April 2011 (which I'm still slightly confused about because I'm starting in July 2010) The tax they take is total profits (the £8,000) take away losses, take away allowance (which is 5,000? - not sure about that part) then 20% off of whatever is left? Or am I totally wrong? The IR website baffles me so much, its like I get to a point where I understand then I click a link which takes me back. To have an actual sum would be perfect.
 
Thank you love! So Let me get this right, say I make £8,000 for a year between April 2010 and April 2011 (which I'm still slightly confused about because I'm starting in July 2010) The tax they take is total profits (the £8,000) take away losses, take away allowance (which is 5,000? - not sure about that part) then 20% off of whatever is left? Or am I totally wrong? The IR website baffles me so much, its like I get to a point where I understand then I click a link which takes me back. To have an actual sum would be perfect.
To be precise the tax year is from the 6th April 2010 to the 5th April 2011. You must include any profits or earnings (including your part time job earnings) that you have made between these dates.

Basically it's your turnover minus expenses equals taxable profit. From the taxable profit HMRC will take out your tax allowance and then, from that, they'll take out the tax (around 20%) and class 4 NI contributions (around 8%)

hth
jes
 
Hiya, Just to mention really, that I don't have a business bank account, and I don't employ an accountant. I never opened a business bank account one, and after speaking to the IR, they say it's fine to use your personal account. Some banks will complain if you don't open a business account, primarily because they want the extra money. I bank with Santander, and I cash cheques, cash and I have a card machine that links up to it, and they have never had a problem with it. but yes, IR may expect you to explain other deposits that go into your account, but as long as you keep your records in order, that shouldn't be a problem. But I am a small sole trader, and if I was a bigger business I may consider it. At the moment, it's really not rocket science to calculate tax and fill in tax returns, just takes time, and it's a learning curve :) best of luck with it all!
 
Sorry to join in on this thread but I have paid out for equipment etc and therefore wont be making any profit for a while, do I still have to pay tax? Also i have contacted the council and they haven't been in any rush to reply.
 
Sorry to join in on this thread but I have paid out for equipment etc and therefore wont be making any profit for a while, do I still have to pay tax? Also i have contacted the council and they haven't been in any rush to reply.

Equipment is slightly different to expenses (basically expenses are things you pay out for repeatly ie stock wages, rent etc etc. Equipment you will keep and use repeatly so it is an asset but the rules on this has changed recently if I remember rightly you had to account for assets over a certain length of time now if your purchase is under £10,000 you can account for that in year one

Your best bet is too ring the tax office and ask their advice as they have techincal advisor for this type of query I have been out of accounts work for a few years now amazing how quick that knowledge dissapears


Hope I have been helpful and not confused matters more

Deb
x
 
Thanks so much everyone!

Well the main issue I can see right now is that my rent and bills are all inclusive which will make it hard to determine what amount of electricity is going into the business so I might not deduct it due to this. It is also my landlord who also takes care of the mortgage and housing insurance so what kind of insurance would I be looking to take out from elsewhere? Where do you get yours from?


I'm off college on Wednesday so I'm going to pp into my local council office and have a chat, then I'll e-mail inland revenue after hearing what the council have to say. Hopefully it'll go well! I'll be gutted if they say no!

With regards to the council, each one is different. You should inform them, so that you know if there are any issues. The main one we've come across is in relation to client parking.

For insurance, you will need public liability. The Guild offer £2 million of Public Product and Treatment liability cover. You can join online at Beauty Guild : Home - Beauty Guild or by calling 0845 2177 383. Don't forget, if you quote Geek as a referral code when joining, you will get a £10 discount.
 
Hi everyone I am new to this site but could really do with some help. I am going to set up a beauty business at home as I have 2 bedrooms. Is this ok by the council what do they look for to say NO.. Also, if it makes life easier I can do mobile beauty as I have a car and does this need a lot of legal requirements if so what are they? I need some advice as I have no clue at present please help? Thanks.

Christ I just checked dates no one has booked in since over 10 years ago??????
 
Christ I just checked dates no one has booked in since over 10 years ago??????

No-one has replied to this particular post for 10 years but there are hundreds of newer posts on the forums.
 

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