Self-employment means that we are self-employed. It is the simplest form of doing business in the UK.

How do I register as self-employed?

Registration needs to be done no later than 3 months after starting your business and can only be done by UK residents. The easiest way to do this is online at the HMRC website. When registering, you will need to provide, among other things, your National Insurance Number, your home address and the scope of your planned services.

The Sole Trader (self-employed) has no legal personality. The Self-Employed person is liable for the business with all his/her assets. Taking up Self-Employment does not exclude the possibility of employment based on an employment contract.

Self-employed persons are subject to personal income tax (PIT) and are required to pay National Insurance contributions. Self-employed persons may join together to form partnerships.

In addition, sole traders are required to: submit annual tax returns, must register for VAT for turnover over £85k, have the option to employ staff and are required to keep adequate financial records and retain these documents and accounts for five years.

We can operate under our own name or under another name. If all or part of the work is done from home, we may be forced to pay more in rent for the premises. However, this amount is tax deductible.

It is important to know that for some services, you must first have a licence to provide these services, for example if you want to open a restaurant or become a taxi driver. Such licences are most often issued by local authorities.

Financial expert Martin Lewis explains on ITV whether it’s worth installing a water meter in your home. It turns out that such a move can sometimes reduce our bills by several tens of per cent!

For some time now, UK residents have been able to ask for a so-called water meter to be installed in their home. This is a device that counts the flow of water through the main pipes. It then transmits the consumption information to the company supplying water to the household. The bill shows the exact amount of water taken and it is this amount that we will pay for.

How does such a form differ from a traditional contract signed with a water supplier? Usually the company in question sets a fixed rate depending on the size and value of our house. In this way, we can use water without worrying about the amount, and we will still receive identical bills every month.

However, it may turn out that this form of billing is not cost-effective for us. When is it worth thinking about installing the aforementioned device? Well-known financial expert Martin Lewis answers these questions on ITV.

Według niego, w licznik wody powinniśmy się zaopatrzyć w sytuacji, gdy liczba domowników jest niższa niż liczba sypialni. – Przelicznik jest prosty: mieszkasz w domu 3 bedroom tylko w dwie osoby? Pomyśl nad water meter – mówi Lewis.

I przypomina, że takie urządzenie jest zawsze darmowe. O chęci jego zainstalowania powinniście powiadomić dostawcę wody. Następnie macie 12 miesięcy, aby testować to rozwiązanie i ewentualnie z niego zrezygnować.

A Wy macie doświadczenia w używaniu takiego urządzenia? Czy licznik wody rzeczywiście się opłaca?