A quick HMRC/tax question, if it’s not too much trouble?

I do an occasional bit of freelance writing in addition to my main job. The main job is PAYE, but for the writing I’m paid gross.

It probably comes to just a little over £1200 over the last year, but that’s before any expenses are considered.

However, I’m struggling to find a way of declaring this to HMRC.

I don’t fill in a self-assessment return because in preceding years they decided I don’t earn enough, so I went through a phase of filling one in one year, then being told I didn’t the next, then being told I did, then being told I didn’t. Anyway, finally received a letter saying I didn’t need to conclusively, but if I earned any more non-PAYE income over a certain threshold (which, from here) is £2,500 p/a, I would need to contact them.

Anyway, I haven’t earned more than that. Their advice online is to contact them if you earn below that threshold. Thing is, I’ve tried and tried, but haven’t ever been able to speak to someone.

Should I just write to them? Anyone have a different way of contacting them? Should I just send them a cheque?

I guess your problem is you’re trying to contact them at the busiest time of their year. Keep trying…although I can’t see why you wouldn’t just complete a self assessment.

Register a self employment in addition to your main employment, I had that running for several years

This means that you will have to do an annual tax return, There will be a small earnings exemption for NIS’s which mean you don’t have any problem there,

By the time your expenses are done, especially if they are related to cycling or something, then your intention of making a profit through writing could quite easily end up with a significant paper loss that gets you a refund from your main tax bill 😉

I managed to speak to a very helpful woman at HMRC yesterday. Called at around 6:30pm and had to wait on hold for around 15-20 mins before getting a human. It is a particularly busy time of year for them, but good luck if you try. I had tried before Christmas but got one message saying the wait was 30+ mins, then another message later on saying they weren’t taking more calls and that I should try again another time.

The HMRC helplines are open until 8pm so try giving them a call around 7pm when it’s much quieter.

Call the number for Welsh speakers. Answered instantly and they speak English too.

There will be a small earnings exemption for NIS’s which mean you don’t have any problem there

True, but you do have to apply for the exemption, you don’t just not pay it. My wife made that mistake and recently got a bill for the last 4 years of self employment NI contribs for about £800, and a ‘threat’ that if not paid by end of the month it’d be passed to a debt collection agency 🙁

Thankfully she managed to speak to someone, wrote a letter confirming her earnings (very small, well below the exemption threshold) and we’re now awaiting written confirmation that there’s nothing to pay on that account 🙂

Yay for the humans working at HMRC!!

+1 to everything Ninfan says.

I was in the same boat and registered as self employed in addition to PAYE employment for a similar amounts of income. Registering was a bit of a PITA as they never seem to make these types of processes that logical but now the on the side work has become my only income and I am all set up and ready to go with the minimum of fuss.