FLR renewal

Hi all. First post and thanks in advance for any help.
My wife is American, I'm a Scot, and we're living in Scotland. The 30 month renewal is in February and we're working our way through the application document now.
Part of our complication is that I'm self-employed and I want to be sure I'm providing them with everything they need to prove I meet the financial requirement. I've got bank statements (printed isn't enough and I've ordered paper copies from the bank, is that right?). I've also got two years of tax returns both over the income threshold. I've added the year before last as it's significantly higher than the most recent. Should I add that for security or not bother?
Also, can I check with someone, when it asks for tax returns and tax paid/unpaid for the last financial year, I'm taking that to mean for the last year I've filed taxes, ie 2018-19, and not the 19-20 year which doesn't yet need to be filed.
It also asks for one of four items, none of which apply to me and this is proving concerning. I'm an author so my self-employment doesn't have accounts, audited or otherwise, and this is the only one of the four pieces of evidence that would be close to being applicable. Help!
I'm sure there may be more questions to follow...
Thanks!

Welcome to the forum .

Part of our complication is that I'm self-employed and I want to be sure I'm providing them with everything they need to prove I meet the financial requirement. I've got bank statements (printed isn't enough and I've ordered paper copies from the bank, is that right?). I've also got two years of tax returns both over the income threshold. I've added the year before last as it's significantly higher than the most recent. Should I add that for security or not bother?

If your most recent full financial year of income meets the £18,600 after expenses, but before tax, then you should only include that year of income and NOT the previous financial year, and apply under Category F.... so that would be the April 2019 to April 2020 tax year.

If you cannot meet the £18,600 requirement using the April 2019 to April 2020 tax year, then you will have to use the average income earned across the April 2018/2019 and April 2019/2020 tax years, which means applying under Category G.

You should only include the documents that are required for either Category F or Category G. Do not include documents from extra years 'just in case'.

Also, can I check with someone, when it asks for tax returns and tax paid/unpaid for the last financial year, I'm taking that to mean for the last year I've filed taxes, ie 2018-19, and not the 19-20 year which doesn't yet need to be filed.

It means the most-recently ended full financial year. So if you are applying in February 2021, then you MUST include the April 2019 to April 2020 tax year, because that is the last full financial year.

It is your responsibility to make sure you DO file taxes for 2019/2020, that you have all your tax documents in order, and that they meet all the requirements, before you apply for FLR(M) in February.

It also asks for one of four items, none of which apply to me and this is proving concerning. I'm an author so my self-employment doesn't have accounts, audited or otherwise, and this is the only one of the four pieces of evidence that would be close to being applicable. Help!

I don't know that much about how self-employment documents work, but you HAVE to include one of those 4 items. If you don't, the visa will be refused.

So, you will need to figure out a way to get one of those documents. Maybe talk to an accountant and see if something can be set up?

Having said all that, do you have any other way of meeting the financial requirements instead of using your self-employment income? Self-employment income is tricky to get right and ideally should only be used as a last resort if you cannot meet the requirements under any other category.

Can you meet any of the following categories:
- Is your wife employed? If so, does she earn at least £18,600 per year? (Category A/B)
- Do you and/or your wife have any non-employment income (like rent from properties you own, interest from stocks/shares, child maintenance, PhD stipend etc.)? (Category C)
- Do you and/or your wife have cash savings of £62,500 or more? (Category D)
- Do either of you receive any pension income? (Category E)

Hi! And thanks for the reply, very helpful.
Actually not so much on the last financial year as that might mean me admitting I was wrong...
The self-employment proof is the issue that's concerning us most. We both earn above the £18,600, however she is also self-employed so presumably not any easier to prove than mine. We do have interest from stocks, pension and savings though so that might be the better/easier route. Can these categories be combined in case they don't individually reach the £18,600?

The self-employment proof is the issue that's concerning us most. We both earn above the £18,600, however she is also self-employed so presumably not any easier to prove than mine.

If you do need to use self-employment, the best thing to do is work out which of your incomes is easiest to provide all the required documents for, and then use just that income. For example, if you aren't able to provide one of those 4 documents you mention, but she is, then maybe use her income instead of yours.

We do have interest from stocks, pension and savings though so that might be the better/easier route. Can these categories be combined in case they don't individually reach the £18,600?

Yes, some Categories can be combined, but not all - best to check Appendix FM 1.7 to make sure, but it looks like you can combine Categories C, D and E.

For cash savings, the full amount you are relying on must have been held in full in your bank account(s) for at least 6 months before applying. The savings cannot have fallen below the amount you are relying on for even 1 day during the 6 months.

The amount of cash savings you need is = £16,000 + [2.5 x  (£18,600 - income from other sources)]

So, say, for example, you have £10,000 in pension income and £2,000 in non-employment income (interest from stocks/shares), you would therefore need the following in savings:
£16,000 + [2.5 x (£18,600 - £12,000)]
= £16,000 + [2.5 x £6,600]
= £32,500

Thanks ksand24! Hugely helpful.