is this sort of work legal or illegal

riverstick

basically we have a ride on mower, push mower and strimmers etc at home. im 17 years old with a full driving licence. I have my own car and hitch and trailer. i was thinking of staring up a small little business cutting grass eg for neighbours. i am still in 5th year but would be able to do it on saturdays. it would just be for a little pocket money. would it be legal to make up notices with details of my service and my number and just put them in through letter boxes.

pixbyjohn

Once you ask the question then you will probably be answered telling you of all the legalities of running a business. Are you insured in the event of an accident in carrying out this work? Will you be paying tax on your income?
Gone are the days when this work is seen as a way of earning a bit of pocket money. Its a pity but litigation has stopped a lot of young people from trying this.

riverstick

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Once you ask the question then you will probably be answered telling you of all the legalities of running a business. Are you insured in the event of an accident in carrying out this work? Will you be paying tax on your income?
Gone are the days when this work is seen as a way of earning a bit of pocket money. Its a pity but litigation has stopped a lot of young people from trying this.

insurance never even crossed my mind - would one really need it. I dont have butterfingers and am not a hazzard. i would have no problem paying tax as i would be earning nowhere near €15000 or whatever it is a year so I should be getting that all back shouldnt I.

Victor

riverstick wrote: »

would one really need it.

Yes. It might be one thing to help out an elderly neighbour and getting €20 (or whatever the going rate is), but what happens when you drive over someone's prize flowers or set fire to their premises with petrol?

TheNog

Never mind the insurance. The most important question is do yu have the car and trailer driving test done?

Seriously though there is a test for it.

Victor

TheNog wrote: »

Never mind the insurance. The most important question is do yu have the car and trailer driving test done?

Seriously though there is a test for it.

Eh, isn't that only for trailers over a cerrtain size or trailers heavier than the towing vehicle?

riverstick

i have my full license alrite since january thats why im finding out about it now. we have a single axel trailer 6x4feet which i cant imagine would exceed 750kg. so i was told that i would be legal to tow this.

DanGlee

You know what, I think you should just do it.

Its tough times out there and I for one would stick my finger up at The Man and the system if it meant me getting a little money in my pocket. People my harp on about those times being gone and you have to pay tax here there and everywhere, but I think these times are coming back... with so many people out of work and desperate for money and there no jobs, can you REALLY, REALLY see people giving a ****e about some form they have to fill in... so long as there is money in the pocket and food on the table, thats all the really matters...

Go for it and good on ya for using some initiative for starting your our little business and making some money...

PS... if you have any jobs going, give us a shout!

riverstick

ok since i have a half day today i did a bit of investigating. basically to register for tax i would have to go away and fill out self assesment tax forms. this sounds like a lot of trouble for what its worth. now I project that I still will only make about €4000 for the year which is a nice bit for myself as something for weekends. It seems its not possible to just add it on to paye. thing is i still will be under the €15000 a year so i still wont be paying any tax. is it really necessary to register for tax since i wont be paying tax anyway. its a hole load of paperwork for nothing. What would happen if i got caught without submitting the tax if you know what I mean.

seamus

riverstick wrote: »

insurance never even crossed my mind - would one really need it. I dont have butterfingers and am not a hazzard. i would have no problem paying tax as i would be earning nowhere near €15000 or whatever it is a year so I should be getting that all back shouldnt I.

You're not legally required to insure yourself but it would be advisable to answer honestly if someone asks. That way they can decide to not hire you if they're worried. If you're only cutting grass, I can't see a big problem. If someone has a garden of value, they'll be doing their own gardening and grass cutting.

riverstick wrote: »

ok since i have a half day today i did a bit of investigating. basically to register for tax i would have to go away and fill out self assesment tax forms. this sounds like a lot of trouble for what its worth. now I project that I still will only make about €4000 for the year which is a nice bit for myself as something for weekends. It seems its not possible to just add it on to paye. thing is i still will be under the €15000 a year so i still wont be paying any tax. is it really necessary to register for tax since i wont be paying tax anyway. its a hole load of paperwork for nothing. What would happen if i got caught without submitting the tax if you know what I mean.

You wouldn't pay any tax whatsoever from what I can see. You are still however legally required to declare your income to revenue. It seems like a pain for such a small amount which you're not even paying tax on, but you need to consider the long-term possibilities;
Before you know it, you're in college and you're well known around the locality for doing gardening odd jobs to earn extra cash. You've gone and bought your own mower as well as other equipment and you get a mate to help you with bigger gardens. A local business calls you in to do the area around their offices and when you're done they ask you to give them an invoice. 2 years down the line, they get audited and Revenue find your invoice and set about finding you and asking why you haven't declared your income and how long you've been doing this.

Taking 20 minutes to fill in a form once a year would be a lot simpler.

Since you're not running a business, this is dead easy. At the start of every year, you get a Form 11 from Revenue. You write down your PPSN, and tell them how much you earned and how much you spent on expenses (petrol, shears, mower servicing, etc) and they will send you back a statement showing how much tax you do or don't have to pay. You can even fill this in online at www.ros.ie.

One other thing which you may not have considered is car insurance. If you're using a trailer to carry the mower, then you'll need to change your insurance to include use for business purposes. Since its only part-time and limited mileage, your insurance company may go easy on you.

riverstick

seamus wrote: »

One other thing which you may not have considered is car insurance. If you're using a trailer to carry the mower, then you'll need to change your insurance to include use for business purposes. Since its only part-time and limited mileage, your insurance company may go easy on you.

Thanks a million your a saint. I really appreciate it. As you said yourself it will be real handy for college. Also I never thought about the trailer insurance must go and check up about this.

riverstick

ok just rang quinn and they said that the trailer is covered third party but never mentioned anything about it would be used for business purposes. touch wood if it did cause an accident could i not just say im on the way to get the lawnmower serviced.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

What they don't know won't hurt them. If you are doing this small scale and don't plan on making a fortune I suggest you just go ahead and do it. I wouldn't bother with insurance for 4000 a year, I also wouldn't bother with registering either. At least for the first 6 months. If you decide that this is bigger than expected and you are making more money, then register and get insurance. Test the water for a few months. You know?