Freelance Work Confusion

karlobrien_

Hi Guys,
I'm a freelance designer based in Dublin. I'm 18 this thursday but for the last few months I've been doing design work on freelance websites such as Elance and Odesk, but in the last few weeks I've been working with some irish agencies , being paid daily, always invoicing and keeping track. I dont have a clue how I should be taxed, especially with the combination of the fact i've been underage up until now , I'm a full time student and can't register as a private limited company or sole trader because of that age, the only info I found is that you don't have to register for VAT if you earn under €39,500, and im under this.

All these combined, using freelance websites, full time student, being under 18 and not earning over this amount means I think I'm in a unique position so maybe you could understand where i'm coming from

Geuze

Being a student has no relevance to income tax.

Being under 18, I'm not 100% sure, but plenty of people aged 17 work and pay income tax.

So I'd say you are simply taxed as normal.

Read this:

http://www.revenue.ie/en/business/running/registering-tax.html


Although you say you can't register as a sole trader, so the above may not be directly relevant.

daigo75

karlobrien_ wrote: »

I dont have a clue how I should be taxed, especially with the combination of the fact i've been underage up until now , I'm a full time student and can't register as a private limited company or sole trader because of that age, the only info I found is that you don't have to register for VAT if you earn under €39,500, and im under this.

I don't think that age would be an issue at all. You can register as a sole trader and file your tax return normally, it's not like it's illegal to work at the age of 17.

SpaceTime

Just fill in Form TR1 and send it off.
Available on the Revenue site.

When they get back to you confirming you're setup, register for ROS (revenue online services) to make things easier. It's quite a cumbersome process and involves waiting on codes to be posted out to you, but it's far handier than paper filing.

You'll have to complete a tax return as self-assessed. It's not all that complicated really as if you're doing it online ROS will guide you through most of it.

You need to keep accounts. Quite simple really for your kind of business. Just record the invoices in a spreadsheet and record any expenses. I'd suggest backing it up to the cloud somewhere, or emailing it to yourself once in a while in case your computer ever goes bang.

Also, get some advice on what is claimable as a legitimate business expense. Remember you're taxed on income, not on turnover.

For a business like yours though, there wouldn't be an awful lot of writable-off expenses. But still, you shouldn't be paying tax on money you didn't actually earn either.

Depending on how comfortable you are with figures and paperwork, you may want to consider getting an accountant. They're not that expensive and it can be quite a bit handier than submitting everything yourself.

That being said, it's not that complicated either.