basic sole trader, need to get tax return in ASAP

davil

Ok so I'm in trouble if I don't get this sorted before October 31st but if at all possible I'd like to learn to use ROS.ie instead of pay an accountant again, as funds are tight.

I'm a PAYE worker but also a sole trader on the side (registered as such)

I've received a Pay and File Payment Reminder to tell me to pay the following:

• Preliminary Tax for the year of 2011 including Universal Social Charge Contributions
• any balance of income tax due for the year 2010

So my first question is - how would I go about calculating same?
I've kept records of figures in and out on my business so I presume all incoming money is added up to become "balance of income tax due for year 2010" above, and add my gross income for my PAYE job - is that correct? and how to I calculate 'preliminary tax for 2011 including USC' ?

I'm totally lost here. I don't want to get any figures wrong or I could be in deep trouble. I rang the local inspector of taxes office but they don't really want to help, they just said things like "it's easy just do it online" or "it's the same as the paper form."

I took a look at ROS.ie and I'm confused straight away - when applying for a RAN, am I looking for one for Income Tax, or PAYE ? and the registered business number I have is 6 numbers and one letter whereas they say "Regn. No./ Id No." should be something else - am I supposed to put in my PPS number there?? . I might even fill in a paper form - what are they called R11 ? just this once and apply for ROS in the meantime.

I need to get sorted as soon as I can. I *could* pay an accountant €150 or more, but it's literally just a couple of simple figures. I only made something like €4k on my business last year [only €200 this year :-( ], less than 10 transactions, it can't be too difficult to do this - can it ?

me scared.

mkdon05

Its 'ONLY A COUPLE OF SIMPLE FIGURES', this applies only if you have a notion of what you are doing. You seem to be that clueless that I would advise you to just pay the few quid and get the Form11 filed correctly.

Revenue are not there to offer advice on how to deal with your tax, thats what accountants are for.

Sorry for the rant, but people spend years studying and training in practice only to hear that 'its only a couple of simple figures' by people not wanting to pay for their expertise.

mari2222

You really need to pay to get this done for October 31 deadline - you could do it yourself next year if you put in a few hours reading up on tax and business or do a course perhaps.......you just sound a little too lost at the moment to do it yourself. Good Luck! I dont mean to sound unsympathetic.

davil

I'm sorry if I offended anyone, I'm just in a panic here. Don't mean to belittle years of work in Accountancy or anything, I just thought that my situation is different from a lot of businesses, seeing as I have a figure for my extra income already as I only had like 10 transactions or less, I'm not looking for somebody to do all the work for me, just a gentle nudge in the right direction. I mean I'm probably going to pay somebody (cheapest I can find) - but seeing as I only made €200 this year as opposed to €4k last year on the business, funds are tight. I had put aside 30% of all monies last year to cover tax etc but like most people in a recession I was forced to dip into it. I just didn't want to pay somebody 200 (+VAT) for the work, even if they spent ten years training, I just can't justify it. So yes, I'm trying to cut corners, but I would never usually do this (I don't even haggle for anything ever) - I wouldn't ask for help unless I needed it.

Mari, thanks for your help anyhow.

mkdon05

Somebody will need to check those 10 transactions to see if they are allowable or not.
They will then have to calculate your income tax liability based on your PAYE income + your sole trader income. (2011 prelim is more than likely zero if you only earned €200 this year, (90% of current year) i dont think usc would apply to the €200)
Then they will need complete a form 11. (Although if you got someone to just do the above 2 steps, you may be able to use ROS online)
Hope this is of some help.

hermajesty

Hi there,

1st off I completly sympathise with you...I'm going through the same here. You have to apply to ROS for a RAN number. They will post it out to you, it is a 10 digit number. When this is sent out to you, you need to apply for a digital certificate ( the details on how to do this are on the letter they send you with your RAN no)...this part is v straightforward. Your registration number/ID number is your PPS number.

I spent a whole day filling in the form 11 on ROS. I rang my local tax office and went through any question I did not understand. Most of the questions will be irrelevant to you if you have no shares, 2nd properties, foreign income etc....

At the end of the form it calculates the amount of tax you owe for 2010, and it will give you a figure for 2011 prelim. tax also.

Don't be afraid to ring tax office again, but have your questions prepared beforehand. You can fill it in yourself, just give yourself a few days at it. Good Luck!

hermajesty

sorry meant to add to that post you are applying for income tax.

davil

Thanks so much 'mkdon' and 'hermajesty' - I really appreciate the info you've given. so I'm applying for income tax but the number they're looking for my "self assessed tax number" is that correct ? [edit] I just applied using my PPS number, which I presume is what they're looking for as I'm a sole trader [/edit]

also I'm wondering - once I send this off, will I receive an income tax "notice of assesment" like I did last year from the revenue ? and does all of this need to be sorted by end of October (or just the first part) - I think last year it was - file before Halloween, pay before New Years Eve, is that still the case ?

mari2222

Have you read the guidelines on the revenue site, or the sticky posts on boards?

davil

I'll hold my hand up and admit - I thought somebody would give me the first couple of answers and I wouldn't have to work the first bits for myself. I suppose I was kinda chancing my arm.

I'll go through the ROS website to try and find what I'm looking for, and it's handy to know there are stickies on here about my problem. I'll look at them too.

Thanks

davil

Hi again, thanks for the advice. I'm reading every PDF and DOC file I can get my hands on to do with this on the revenue site and stickies. Now it's just a question of time. I need to get setup as soon as possible so I was just wondering if anybody can answer my only important question from my first post. I'll re-phrase it:

• Does anybody know when applying for a RAN number for ROS, should I have used my PPS number (which I did) or my PAYE registered number ? I'm a sole trader and have a PAYE job but I'm trying to do my self-assessment as quick as possible. I presumed that my PAYE number was seperate but I get the feeling now that it was the correct number for applying.

Also - In the interests of speed, would it be quicker now for me to fill in a form 11 instead of re-applying for ROS ?. The Hallowe'en deadline is just starting to stress me out a bit.

buswankers

I'm not sure what you mean by your PAYE registered number. Your PPS number should appear on your payslip and this is the correct number to have used when applying for ROS.
Once you have applied for your RAN Revenue should have it sent out to you in a couple of days - it does not take that long so you should have it well in advance of the 31 October deadline.

davil

Thanks bw, yeah I applied with my PPS number because it made the most sense, it's just not made very clear on the site (I think) - as I said I've read most of the literature at this stage and hopefully have a clear idea of the figures needed - I've learned about USC, Income Levy, PRSI, Health Contributions, etc - I think I'm sorted. I'll see how I get on with the ROS online. thanks again to everyone who helped, I really appreciate it

cormicar

davil wrote: »

Thanks bw, yeah I applied with my PPS number because it made the most sense, it's just not made very clear on the site (I think) - as I said I've read most of the literature at this stage and hopefully have a clear idea of the figures needed - I've learned about USC, Income Levy, PRSI, Health Contributions, etc - I think I'm sorted. I'll see how I get on with the ROS online. thanks again to everyone who helped, I really appreciate it

I totally agree. It's not clear at all what number you should put in there. No reference to a PPS number anywhere. They sure don't make it easy for you. Really badly designed system. I don't see the need to send 2 letters(RAN and password) to register. Total waste of money and paper in my opinion. I'm all about security but come on. Also the www.ros.ie home page doesn't even have a register link on it. You have to go to the revenue.ie site.

Attached image is what pops up when you click on the info button beside the "Regn. No./ Id No." field. Not very helpful at all.

thomasj

buswankers wrote: »

I'm not sure what you mean by your PAYE registered number. Your PPS number should appear on your payslip and this is the correct number to have used when applying for ROS.
Once you have applied for your RAN Revenue should have it sent out to you in a couple of days - it does not take that long so you should have it well in advance of the 31 October deadline.

just for clarification for people filing their income tax return by paper, the deadline is the 31st October 2011, for those filing by ros, the deadline is 15th November 2011

davil

thomasj wrote: »

just for clarification for people filing their income tax return by paper, the deadline is the 31st October 2011, for those filing by ros, the deadline is 15th November 2011

nice one, seeing as you have to put in the same details twice and wait on post twice, that will give me a bit of breathing space. It also doesn't help that first post went to my old rental address but I have it all sorted now, just waiting on details of my digital certificate (in the post I'm told)