Some punters have told me during bookings that they wouldn't declare anything if they were a sex worker

of course, and couldn't have cash in their banks
I sometimes wonder what do people think you can pay in cash for? You can for some things but for majority of things you can't and some punters can't get that in their head :|

Merged - the thread is very long, but there is a lot of information here even if it does get repetitive.

Your first port of call should be the HMRC website where you can register for self assessment; it's very straightforward and any questions you have about doing so are almost certainly covered somewhere here. Depending on when you started you may not even be late, and if you started a year ago (May 2018) then your tax return isn't due until January 2020, so you're definitely not .

This is quite a long post so sorry in advance, I have been escorting for just over a year and have always just kept my money for myself but I have always felt guilty going to the bank to put money in and also I’m  finding as I’m just keeping cash I’m not really saving any money and I want to buy a car which will also be difficult with just a handful of cash LOL, I want to maintain good credit so I was wondering how you actually even go about going self-employed, also what to write as I never ever want anybody to know that I’m escorting, and lastly how  is it worth having an accountant and what do they do LOL sorry I just basically need to know everything

One thing to be aware of, and start saving now, is that HMRC requireand additional 50% of your annual tax bill as an advanve payment on the following year - so for example, if your 18/19 bill (which is tje actual year you have to record and declare once you enroll for self assessment) is £20,000; you will have to pay £30,000 in total with the larhest payment in Jan 2020 and a smaller payment in July 2020. I didnt know this when I first became self employed and recording my own income - almost passed out when my accountant sent me the bill!

Of course, if your earnings for 19/20 (the tax year we are currenrly on) are lower than 18/19, then you can get a rebate; bit tje problem is, we never really know how much our final figure will be until the year ends!

I would certainly recommend getting an aaccountant. I am quite savvy myself, but foe the sake of £500 a year, my accountant is worth it. Even just so I don't have the headache doing this stuff. It sounds like you would benefit from habing tje support, even if it is just to get you up and running.

Hi ladies,

I’m just wondering does anyone have a spreadsheet they could send me. I am getting myself in such a pickle lol.

I have an accountant whom I found on tax relief from escorts, but I do all my own books until I send it off to him at the end of the year.

I have tried to make a spreadsheet on excel and numbers but I’m just making a mess of it. I can’t for the life of me remember the macros etc

If anyone could help me out that would be great.

Thank you xxx

No he hasn’t. I did ask him if he had 1 and he said not too worry just send what I’ve got. But I’m a little anal when it comes to organising. I also like to know where I am xxx

This is very surprising. So what exactly do you pay the accountant for? Simply filling out the SA form at the end of the tax year?!

My accountant set me up with an app - it's called 1 tap tax; and it's very, very useful. I was always a spreadsheet woman until I used this app; take photos of your receipts and the app places them in the correct date and area of expense, then you don't need to keep a hard copy. It also keeps the running total of your tax bill so you can see clearly how much you will be due to pay.

You can actually download this app yourself at a cost. I don't pay for it as my accountant pays for it and connects his own software to the app so he can log on to my app when the tax year is over and export the information.

Wow thank you for that.

This is the first time I’ve worked with an accountant so I probably don’t know what to ask. I have sent them an email to see if they have anything I can use. But I’ll definitely look into the app you mentioned

Xxx

Veggiegal thank you so much!!!!

I’ve downloaded the app and my accounts are now up to date. So simple to use and easy to follow.

You’ve just relieved me from so much stress, I can’t thank you enough

Xxx

You are most welcome! I am never one for unnecessary technology but even I can see the value in this app. I got caught up with a full year's accounts in just a day by using this, whereas, I would have been days, if not weeks, using a spreadsheet method - assuming the spreadsheet had all the correct formulae in the cells to calculate everything correctly and had I not made a mess of it somewhere!

I would certainly recommend this app to anyone, even those who are very comfortable using spreadsheets.