Mar
CV-19 Assistance – Getting a tax refund from HMRC for those who have recently become self employed
For individuals who have only recently become self employed now is obviously a scary time. However, some individuals may be able to get a cash boost from HMRC by way of a tax refund.
If you are newly self employed, especially since 6 April 2019, now is the time to see what your current tax position is and if you are due a refund from HMRC.
We have already been working with clients who became self employed last year and given the current crisis have seen a downturn in their sales. For some businesses what this means is that after initial start up outlay and running costs they will be generating a loss for the 2019/20 tax year.
If you, as a sole trader, are in this position then you may be due a refund from HMRC.
For example, we had a client who was a PAYE employee up to November 2019 and then began their self employment in December 2019. Things started well in terms of sales, building slowly, however the CV-19 crisis has meant sales have almost ceased. After some start up costs and ongoing monthly costs they will make a loss for 2019/20.
What does generating a loss mean for tax purposes?
If your business expenses exceed your sales, then it means that you can set the loss against other income received in the year. So, in our example we are able to offset the self employment loss against our client’s PAYE income.
So for example if employment income was £30k and there was a self employment loss of £10k, then only £20k is taken into account for tax purposes. This will mean that some of the PAYE deducted at source will be refunded.
Losses, however can be utilised in a number of ways:
1. Against income of the current tax year (whether that’s employment income or rental income for example)
2. Against income of the prior tax year
3. Against capital gains of the current / prior year
There is also a special relief known as “early trade losses relief”, which allows the self employed to offset losses going back 4 tax years. If you make a trading loss within any of the first 4 tax years of trading, you can carry it back and set it against your income from any source in the previous 3 tax years.
As we are near the end of the tax year, it is therefore vitally important to
1. Get your tax and accounting records up to date
2. Correctly claim any loss relief
3. File your tax return asap post 5 April 2020
Any refund will be calculated and a paid once you prepare and file your 2019/20 tax return. In most cases HMRC will process the refund within 10-14 days and the refund can be paid directly into your bank account. Please contact us if you need assistance with calculating a tax loss and making a loss offset claim.
Rhys and Matt
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.