UK Self Employment Taxes

It's tax season! I know that as a self employed person in the UK, I don't need to be worrying about taxes quite yet, but I like to get a head start on a lot of stuff, so I'm compiling a lot of resources right now.

I am self employed (or perhaps the correct terminology is sole trader) in the UK, I do not have an LLC or anything set up here. It's just me and contracting my services to businesses (social media, digital marketing, etc).  My question is for those who have filed in the UK - is it quite straight forward to file on the HMRC website for taxes? My income is extremely straight forward and I have no expenses to claim. The only thing that might pose an issue is that I was paid in a foreign currency. I'm just curious if I'm going to be a fool to try to file this on my own or if I would be a fool to pay someone to do it for me.

It's tax season! I know that as a self employed person in the UK, I don't need to be worrying about taxes quite yet, but I like to get a head start on a lot of stuff, so I'm compiling a lot of resources right now.

I am self employed (or perhaps the correct terminology is sole trader) in the UK, I do not have an LLC or anything set up here. It's just me and contracting my services to businesses (social media, digital marketing, etc).  My question is for those who have filed in the UK - is it quite straight forward to file on the HMRC website for taxes? My income is extremely straight forward and I have no expenses to claim. The only thing that might pose an issue is that I was paid in a foreign currency. I'm just curious if I'm going to be a fool to try to file this on my own or if I would be a fool to pay someone to do it for me.

I don't know the self employment pages but I file a UK tax return every year and don't find it bad at all!  You would start here. https://www.gov.uk/log-in-file-self-assessment-tax-return/register-if-youre-self-employed

I file on paper though because it's easier. 

It is unusual to be self-employed with zero expenses? What kind of business do you run that has no expenses at all?

There are various matters that should be considered at an early stage, before filing the first UK self-assessment-
•   Informing HMRC of self employment and registering for paying Class 2 National Insurance.
•   Obtaining a National Insurance number.
•   Getting a Government Gateway account.
•   Obtaining a Unique Tax Reference.
The self-assessment itself should then be straightforward. Depending on the level of income, it may be possible to file only a three line profit and loss account.

You'll also need to select an accounting period; such as the calendar year.

My question is for those who have filed in the UK - is it quite straight forward to file on the HMRC website for taxes? My income is extremely straight forward and I have no expenses to claim. The only thing that might pose an issue is that I was paid in a foreign currency. I'm just curious if I'm going to be a fool to try to file this on my own or if I would be a fool to pay someone to do it for me.

I'm also a self-employed sole trader, and I don't think it's foolish to file on your own. It might be helpful to meet with an accountant once get some guidance on your particular profession, because there may be some expenses you can list that you aren't aware of, but I wouldn't think you'd need to pay an accountant on a regular basis.

HMRC has some good videos on their YouTube channel about how to do self employment taxes: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-and-support-for-self-assessment

There's a really good app my SIL uses to track and organise her receipts for when she files her taxes. I'll try to get the name of it.