How to register as self-employed in the United Kingdom

Have you imagined yourself working in a job that you are passionate about and earn good money from, and you go to work and leave every day with that spring in your step? If yes, then welcome to the world of being self-employed. 

A self-employed person is someone who works for oneself as a freelancer or is the owner of a business rather than an employee. Does the idea excite you? Recently, those from the millennial age group are getting more involved in the Gig Economy. Why? Simply because of the work-life balance it offers. 

In the United Kingdom, there were 4.93 million self-employed people recorded by the Office for National Statistics in 2019. That is 15.0% of all people in employment or from 27.67 million paid employees. Now if you are interested to be part of this growing number of self-employed in the UK, then you must know these procedures first before you proclaim yourself to be one. 

If you are working for yourself then you are considered to be a sole-trader or self-employed regardless if you have not told the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). 

Register as self-employed in 8 easy steps:

  1. You create first a Government Gateway Account which will help you access government online services. In creating one, it will only need your full name, email address, and new password. 
  2. Sign in to this page and register yourself as self-employed for the Self-Assessment. In addition to that, find the option to include tax, duty or scheme in your form.
  3. If asked “what type of tax you want to add,” you should click the Self-Assessment then categorise yourself as a sole trader, a partnership, or choose the correct option.
  4. After categorising yourself, you should include the date you started working for yourself and the first date you got paid. 
  5. As HMRC would make sure that you will be taxed appropriately, they will ask you what sort of self-employed job you do. Thus, provide a brief summary of your job.
  6. Before submitting your application, make sure to reread and double check all the information you provide.
  7. When HMRC receives and approves your application, you will receive a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), which you’ll be using on tax or VAT payments.
  8. As you would be enrolled for Self-Assessment, you would be automatically and officially pronounced as Self-Employed too.

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