talkmagic.co.uk

Darrel wrote:Ryan,

I would tell you what a P.A stands for, but I am getting images of Seige in high heels, miniskirts and fluttering his eyelashes at you. (If anybody knows a way to permanantly block these from my mind, I would be grateful.)
Just don't trust him if he offers to use shorthand!!!!

That makes me laugh. Thank you for the advice everyone. I will definitly try to use all the advice given to me and try to date more to maybe find a personal assistent. Thanks everyone for the advice.

Hi there,

Following on from a point in this thread, once you are registered as self employed do you have to automatically pay National Insurance? - Even if you are only having one booking every few months?

Cheers,

The Last Deck on the Left wrote:Hi there,

Following on from a point in this thread, once you are registered as self employed do you have to automatically pay National Insurance? - Even if you are only having one booking every few months?

If you're self-employed, you have to pay Class 2 NI, which is a flat rate of £2.40 a week -- but if your earnings are very low, you can apply for an exemption. Currently "very low" means making less than £5,075 per year.

You also have to pay Class 4 NI, which is based on earnings above this limit and is calculated along with your income tax. This is the one that hurts.

Here's the government guidelines on the subject.

I'd say call the tax office with figures in front of you, I think there might be some cases where you don't have to pay national insurance. If they can't answer your question I'm sure they can direct you to somebody who can

Thanks for your advice. I'll perhaps give them a call as you say, but it's good to know what the costs are and the approximate banding.

Thanks for the advice.

I'd like to ask one more quick question - I've searched through the forum and found a few things. It's concerning my expenses.

Of the money that I am paid for my performances, before all of that money is taxed I am entitled to knock off the value of expenses. I believe that I can remove the price of items I buy for performing and travel expenses, but can I also knock off the cost of my Magic Circle membership, and magic magazine subscriptions and so on? How about the Blackpool Convention ticket? I assume that it is anything connected to my 'magic business' - is that correct. Is there a guide anywhere on this that people know of? If not, I'll have a look through the HMRC website...

Thanks,

themagicwand wrote:
Professional perfroming magicians stick to a handful of routines that they use again and again. Why? Because they work and they know they work.

Spot on, although I buy 1 or 2 new effects a year if I can see it working in my act.

The Last Deck on the Left wrote:Of the money that I am paid for my performances, before all of that money is taxed I am entitled to knock off the value of expenses. I believe that I can remove the price of items I buy for performing and travel expenses, but can I also knock off the cost of my Magic Circle membership, and magic magazine subscriptions and so on? How about the Blackpool Convention ticket? I assume that it is anything connected to my 'magic business' - is that correct. Is there a guide anywhere on this that people know of? If not, I'll have a look through the HMRC website...

Again, to be safe ask HMRC. I think they have a list on their website somewhere. Accountants tend to be good at finding expenses that can be taken off too

kolm wrote:Accountants tend to be good at finding expenses that can be taken off too

Yep, like their fees!

At the moment there's a serious situation for many accountants - their clients are going bust with no chance of getting paid. This means that they are not only short of business, they're realising that their fees may be a tad too high so I'd suggest you contact a few accountants and get quotes for their services - it may cost less than you think and save more than you anticipate.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll have a trawl through the internet sites and then perhaps speak to an accountant - even if for just a one off session for some advice.

Generally, anything you can argue is a necessary part of your business will be deductible as expenses. This would include specialist magazine subscriptions, memberships, conventions, and so on, because they're part of your professional education and development.

As a rough example from my own freelance editorial work, I used to be a member of the Society of Editors and Proofreaders, and deducted my membership fees as a business expense. If I'd travelled to London for one of their courses, all reasonable travel expenses would be deductible, as well as the cost of the course itself

Clothes are a bit more problematical, as was reported in the Telegraph today. The newsreader Sian Williams tried to claim clothes (and hairdressing) as expenses. It was decided that she would have to wear clothes anyway, and the things she wore to work were ordinary clothing, not bought "wholly, exclusively, and necessarily" for the job.

So a nice suit wouldn't fly as a business expense, but full-blown theatrical wizard robes would.