Author Topic: Being self-employed in the UK - foreigner questions (Read 6893 times)

karkozphoto · « **on:** November 28, 2013, 18:06 »

Hi

I am from Poland. I have just finished my BSc and probably I will go soon to live in the UK for several months and also planning to enroll for a master course somewhere in the UK. I do microstock and pay taxes here in Poland(without being self-employed), but I would like to start my Symbiostock site so that I should registered a company/self-employment. I have read HMRC website and in my opinion registering as a sole trader in the UK could be a good idea(better than doing it in Poland). From what I have read there is no problem to do it as I am EU citizen, but I need to provide UK address. For sure I will rent a room. Let's say that I register as a sole trader on this address. What happens if I move to another flat? I like travel photography, after finishing my studies I would like to travel around the world. Can I stay being sole trader in the UK without having any address there? Does HMRC send anything to a physical address? To be clear, I would like to pay taxes online in the UK both on Symbiostock and microstock income and try it full-time. A part from that I will have to pay NI class 2 and will get a British pension if I live long enough

, am I right? Still don't know what to do with an insurance... How is it with NHS? Is it all a good idea?

Karol

ShadySue · « **Reply #1 on:** November 28, 2013, 18:47 »

Hard to say. I work with an accountant who files taxes for me online. I get paper notifications from HMRC and so does he, so presumably (?) a physical address is necessary (?).

Actually, if you phone them, they can be very helpful (you might have to wait in a telephone queue for over half an hour, or more), though I have to say the person I spoke to was far more concerned about NI than tax. Also I believe they still run local courses for people starting out in self-employment.

I think contacting them directly would be your best way forward if you don't want to use an accountant.

karkozphoto · « **Reply #2 on:** November 29, 2013, 08:48 »

Thanks for the information. Renting a virtual office/finding a friend who don't mind giving me his/her address could be an option in that case. The local course would be useful. What is the cost of having accountant for microstock income in the UK?

Kerioak~Christine · « **Reply #3 on:** November 29, 2013, 09:09 »

I am not sure how it would work for you but you might be able to use your accountant as your company's registered address if they offer this service

ShadySue · « **Reply #4 on:** November 29, 2013, 09:10 »

Quote from: karkozphoto on November 29, 2013, 08:48

Thanks for the information. Renting a virtual office/finding a friend who don't mind giving me his/her address could be an option in that case. The local course would be useful. What is the cost of having accountant for microstock income in the UK?

They can set their own prices. Mine was about £70pa, but last year he bumped it up to about £130. But that's all my tax affairs, not just microstock income.

karkozphoto · « **Reply #5 on:** November 29, 2013, 12:27 »

Not bad, thought it is more expensive.

bunhill · « **Reply #6 on:** November 29, 2013, 13:52 »

Quote from: karkozphoto on November 28, 2013, 18:06

I like travel photography, after finishing my studies I would like to travel around the world. Can I stay being sole trader in the UK without having any address there?

Being a "sole trader" implies residency. You will only generally be considered resident for UK tax if you exceed 183 midnights in the UK - or an average of 91 days per tax year over 4 years. These guidelines change from time to time.

If you are travelling there should be no need to pay tax anywhere - assuming you do not stay in any particular country long enough to be considered tax resident (the minimum period I know of is 90 days). Live on the web - airbnb.com and a great portfolio is all you need. If only I had a great portfolio I would be off ...

When / if you get back to the UK then you could again register for self employment.

Quote from: karkozphoto on November 28, 2013, 18:06

but I would like to start my Symbiostock site so that I should registered a company/self-employment

Yes to self employment - but no to registering a company. You do not want to start a company. I think you know that. Self employment is quite different from staring a company. To start a company you would need resident directors etc. That would make it complicated for you when you are ready to travel. Self employment, by contrast, is nice and simple.

You tenancy agreement (rental contract) might have restrictions about operating a business or trade from home. However - when the landlord or agent understands what you are doing that should not be a problem - assuming they understand that there are no insurance implications.

Best of luck.

PS - one slight problem I can think of is Paypal -- don't they need you to have a permanent residency ? No doubt one of the travellers here has a solution for that. Perhaps a family address in Poland. Paypal once imposed a temporary security restriction on my account because I accessed it from an IP address in a different country from usual.

Oldhand · « **Reply #7 on:** November 29, 2013, 13:57 »

Moot point - accountants can be expensive! HMRC will send a letter to a physical address relating to tax dates and your NI contributions. However, it's all done online for the payment of it and listing your expenses etc - which you could do from anywhere.

I've been a sole trader for a long time (not VAT registered or a Ltd company which are very different). After I registered and got my log in details to the HMRC website - I think all I got was a reminder to pay my tax every year sent to me. I'd take some more professional advice about this, but I wouldn't rush in a get an accommodation address or accountants address unless you need one.

A host of people will probably say accountants save you money - however this depends on how your business is run. You might be better with a part time accountant from the area you live who can deal with it for you rather than a high street firm. You might also be able to do it yourself.

I paid about £700 for my first tax return about 8 years ago - and it was straightforward. For the next x amount of years I did it myself at the cost of a day tearing my hair out every year. Get some small business advice...

karkozphoto · « **Reply #8 on:** November 29, 2013, 16:57 »

Quote from: bunhill on November 29, 2013, 13:52

Yes to self employment - but no to registering a company. You do not want to start a company. I think you know that.

Yes, I just want to be self employed somewhere.

Quote from: bunhill on November 29, 2013, 13:52

If you are travelling there should be no need to pay tax anywhere - assuming you do not stay in any particular country long enough to be considered tax resident (the minimum period I know of is 90 days). Live on the web - airbnb.com and a great portfolio is all you need. If only I had a great portfolio I would be off ...

But to sell photos on my own website(Symbiostock) I have to be at least self employed or not? I mean when travelling and not staying 90 days in one country.

airbnb.com in an option, for now I was using www.couchsurfing.com quite a lot, but is much more stressful

bunhill · « **Reply #9 on:** November 29, 2013, 17:48 »

Quote from: karkozphoto on November 29, 2013, 16:57

But to sell photos on my own website(Symbiostock) I have to be at least self employed or not? I mean when travelling and not staying 90 days in one country.

The normal thing is that you are taxed on residency - which is about how many days you spend in a country during a tax year. US citizens are the exception - since the US taxes nationality irrespective of residency (with exceptions AFAIK when there is a tax agreement). Only the US does it differently from everyone else AFAIK.

If you are not from the US and do not stay in any country for more than however many days then there is no tax liability. No doubt there are exceptions but, in general, if you keep on travelling you are not resident anywhere and therefore have no income tax liability.

Domicility is different from residency. But that does not tend to affect income tax.

ETA: also (and this is going to be controversial) - I would not put a lot of expectations into what you are gong to earn with Symbiostock. Unless you are tremendously and unusually successful you are not going to make almost any money with Symbiostock. The agencies are where the money is and there is no likelihood of that changing. I am being honest here but will get minus votes for saying this. Only people with very many existing customers are going to make any money with Symbiostock. And stock buyers, in general, do not have artist loyalty.

Difydave · « **Reply #10 on:** November 30, 2013, 05:49 »

The thing is that what you are talking about doing might not be all that simple in tax terms. There seem to be an awful lot of "what ifs" in there to me.
I think you will at least need to talk to an accountant before doing anything. The rules about one thing or another can change from year to year. The HMRC call centres will answer the questions you ask, but may not answer the questions you should ask. (If you see what I mean.)
I pay about the same as ShadySue to an accountant. He checks all my figures and does an online tax return for me. He gives me advice if I ever need it. Money well spent for peace of mind IMHO.

Ed · « **Reply #11 on:** November 30, 2013, 21:41 »

I think you need to take it one step at a time....do you have a work visa in the UK or just a student visa?

Snufkin · « **Reply #12 on:** November 30, 2013, 23:11 »

Quote from: Ed on November 30, 2013, 21:41

I think you need to take it one step at a time....do you have a work visa in the UK or just a student visa?

Ed, he doesn't need any visa whatsoever.
Here is your homework

:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union

karkozphoto · « **Reply #13 on:** December 01, 2013, 15:52 »

Thank you all for your advices!

Quote from: bunhill on November 29, 2013, 17:48

ETA: also (and this is going to be controversial) - I would not put a lot of expectations into what you are gong to earn with Symbiostock. Unless you are tremendously and unusually successful you are not going to make almost any money with Symbiostock. The agencies are where the money is and there is no likelihood of that changing. I am being honest here but will get minus votes for saying this. Only people with very many existing customers are going to make any money with Symbiostock. And stock buyers, in general, do not have artist loyalty.

I do not expect big money, but it will be nice to sell also directly. Selling even one or two photos a month could pay for hosting and can be better than some so called "Low Earners". Will be a good start. Searching Google I do encounter many Symbiostock photos well placed in my search results so that I look rather positive into it.

Quote from: Snufkin on November 30, 2013, 23:11

Quote from: Ed on November 30, 2013, 21:41
I think you need to take it one step at a time....do you have a work visa in the UK or just a student visa?

Ed, he doesn't need any visa whatsoever.
Here is your homework :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union

EU gives opportunity, why not to use it

UK, Ireland or Denmark are probably best places to start your small business so that I'm trying to find out what are pros and cons.

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Author Topic: Being self-employed in the UK - foreigner questions (Read 6893 times)

karkozphoto

ShadySue

karkozphoto

Kerioak~Christine

ShadySue

karkozphoto

bunhill

Oldhand

karkozphoto

bunhill

Difydave

Ed

Snufkin

karkozphoto

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