Strange result on filing very small trade profits

Strange result on filing very small trade profits

Didn't find your answer?

I was helping a relative file her tax return yesterday and something very odd happened.  She is employed and a higher rate tax payer but has a spare time self employed activity as a swimming tutor running courses etc.  This was more important some years ago but she still has some activity although very small.  Income to 5 April 2014 was £70 (I said it was small), expenses, mainly insurance through the Amateur Swimming Association totalled £65 so profit of £5, should give a liability of £2.  Not a lot of course but it could be greater in later years and was greater in earlier years before promotion etc.  Having indicated that she wanted to return expenses as a single sum she indicated yes, inserted the figure, pressed next and... she got a screen which asked if she wanted to delete the self employed section!  And couldn't get out of it, press back, check all of the information, income, expenses all correctly shown but this time we pressed save but - same result - do you want to delete the self employed section?  I made sure she took screen grabs of the offending pages but the only way we could escape this wretched question was to answer yes, complete the return but add in the screen grabs as a pdf file added to the return and copious documentation in the white box section of the return.  Has anyone else come across this bizarre behaviour in the return?  I am not a practitioner and this has never happened before...

Replies (3)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

RLI
By lionofludesch
26th Jan 2015 15:14

No but .......

No but HMRC have always had thresholds below which they won't collect.

Didn't expect one for self-assessment, to be fair but I've never had a self-employment with profits that low. 

I'd've stuck a note in the "white space".  If they don't want my £2, that's fine.

Interesting ......

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Paul Soper
26th Jan 2015 15:30

As I suggested she did...

Given that the results of trade can vary either side of zero by huge amounts I was really surprised by their refusal to accept the information, the only interpretation I can draw from the situation... she has a liability on Child Benefit and it dealt with that quite happily but this has got me beat!

 

Thanks (0)
RLI
By lionofludesch
26th Jan 2015 15:41

Smallest

The smallest self employment I've done was probably a doctor's ash cash.  Don't think I've ever had profits below £100 though.

Thanks (0)