Self employment

My husband is about to start freelancing as a golf writer for a new company.  He's freelanced before in the US but not over here and I have no clue about self employment either, so have a few basic questions.  I know he will need to register with Inland Revenue as self employed and keep some accounts. As he'll only be working for one company that should be pretty straight forward but I'm wondering when it comes to tax return time, what he can out down as expenses, who decides if certain things can be included as expenses and how much you can claim back. For example, as he'll be needing to watch golf tournaments all the time, I'm presuming he can claim the Sky Sports subscription, that seems fairly straightforward but as he'll be working mainly from home, what about things like heating bills in the winter?

I know some of this stuff will probably be covered in the bumph Inland Revenue sends out but I'm too impatienent and want to know everything, and now!

Thanks

Business link is a good place to start and I think they offer courses for people starting up as self-employed or starting their own business.

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073789950 

I'd also look at getting your own accountant, who could provide you with the most accurate advice. Some possibly useful links:

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)
154 Clerkenwell Road, London  EC1R 5AD
Tel: 020 7415 7500
www.aat.org.uk

Financial Services Skills Council
51 Gresham Street, London  EC2V 7HQ
Tel: 0845 257 3772
www.fssc.org.uk

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
See website for departmental contact information. 
www.hmrc.gov.uk

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
Chartered Accountants Hall, PO Box 433, London  EC2P 2BJ
Tel: 020 7920 8100
www.icaew.co.uk

Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
CA House, 83 Pembroke Road, Dublin 4 
Tel: +3531 637 7200
www.icai.ie

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
CA House, 21 Haymarket Yards, Edinburgh  EH12 5BH
Tel: 0131 347 0100
www.icas.org.uk

Hope that helps! 

Hi Britwife

I am no tax expert but as i understand it...

business expenses which he can claim back are expenses which have been incurred for the sole purpose of the business so unless you didn't watch the sky sports channel for anything other than watching golf tournaments, then he couldn't claim that back.  A great example is using a telephone line from home...the best practise there is to have a seperate telephone line (and number) for business calls which can be deducted as a business expense.

There may be an opportunity deduct as business expenses things like electricity etc if you can clearly identify how much is being used directly to run the business.  This would work if he had an office in your house with a seperate meter attached to it.  Best comparison is when you use a personal car for business purposes, you can claim back the mileage used because you have a clear record of that.

Those websites are a great starting point - especially business link. 

Thanks for the links and all the info! I think maybe it'll be easier to recoup some of these expenses by building them into the rate he negotiates with the company he's working for. But it's good to have all the start up info, I want to get it all right from the beginning and avoid any nasty surprises at tax return time. I don't think we want to get a separate phone line etc as there's a possibility the company may take him on as an employee next year.

Thanks!