Independent Software Vendor. Microsoft Partner working full time developing FinTech cloud app for the past several years. Hoping to commence initial investment round later this year to fund a start up. Work alone quietly writing code wherever there is Wi-Fi. No business or employment income. Living off rental income and savings. Cost kept to a minimum, mainly professional membership fees, internet domains, software and business grade hardware. Historic hosting fees. Currently free with Microsoft. I maintain a UK registered limited company as an investment vehicle in waiting. I am the sole diretor. It has never traded. Only activity is start up costs, ongoing bank fees and registered office costs.
Approaching retirement age. Need to fill gaps in contribution record to secure full state pension. Consider myself self-employed but always assumed HMRC would not accept it without trading income. Reading posts elsewhere on this site encourages me to think otherwise.
Can I reasonably declare myself as self-employed? If so is there any chance of back dating the status several years? Any harm in declaring it in my current tax return y/e 2018 with explanatory notes? It would cost a lot less to top up with Class 2 NICs than pay voluntary Class 3 NICs.
Replies (6)
Please login or register to join the discussion.
No, but you can indeed pay Class 3.
The Government reckons that people with no income at all can afford to pay five times as much as self employed folk earning £8000.
NIC for the low paid/not paid at all is an absolute shambles of inconsistencies.
If you're trading.
The difficulty will be showing that you are. Bearing in mind you seem to have no sales.