neilg1

Hi,

I am hoping someone can assist me with the below.

I returned to the UK in Nov '17 with my wife joining me on a tourist visa for six months. I have set up as a sole trader in the UK and have been consulting for a company in New Zealand since November 2017. I set up a UK based foreign currency bank account in November for ease of payments for my client.

All payments received in that account i then transferred into my personal account and I have the statements and advice slips for both accounts showing those payments going in.

My question is on the below:

(e) Where the person holds or held a separate business bank account(s), bank statements for the same 12-month period as the tax return(s).
(f) Personal bank statements for the same 12-month period as the tax return(s) showing that the income from self-employment has been paid into an account in the name of the person or in the name of the person and their partner jointly.

I have the 12 months of personal statements for the full financial tax year but I only set this currency account up in November.

I made a fair bit more than the financial requirement in the tax year and have my tax returns, SA302 etc. all showing my income for the tax year was over the requirement and of course the statements showing the money coming into the foreign currency account and being transferred into the personal account.

Will this be an issue as this currency account was set up in November?

SanDiegogirl

You returned to the UK in Nov'17
So your sole trader company has only been in existence since Nov'17.?
To apply under self employment you have to show 12 months of business returns/taxes/income.

How do you have 12 months of personal statements for the full financial year if only in business since Nov'17

neilg1

I have 12 months of personal statements as I've held the account in the UK for years.

The requirement seems very ambiguous as it mentions 12 months of statements from a business account if you have one, so if I were just paid directly into my personal account then the requirement would be met as I have 12 months in that account. It also mentions the 12 months should be to cover the full financial year period so based on that even after 12 months on the business account I would be up to Nov 18 and that wouldn't be 12 months for a full financial year as half of that would be in the 2018 financial year and half in the 2019 financial year.

I made well over the £18,600 required in the financial year, I just earned it from Nov to Mar.

SanDiegogirl

Has you sole trader business been in existence since Nov'17?

neilg1

I registered the business with HMRC in July 17 but didn't receive first payment until Jan 18 which was a payment for services in Nov and Dec 17.

SanDiegogirl

One of the main requirements for applying under self-employment is that one is required to present a minimum of 12 month's financial records.

9.1. Category F: Last full financial year (Category G requires average of two full financial years).

Your company was registered in July 2017. Therefore, my understanding is that you would need to wait until July 2018 in order to produce the necessary documentation to prove your income. I am aware that the usual financial year goes from April to April, however, I understand that businesses can change their financial 'years' if necessary. I would suggest to consult an accountant and/or financial expert in your case.