Self Assessment | Brighton
Gone Freelance in Brighton? Your First Self-Assessment Without the Panic
Brighton turns employees into freelancers at a famous rate: agencies shed designers who go solo, developers go contract, therapists and creators build practices. The first Self-Assessment is where the new freedom meets the paperwork, and the panic is almost always misplaced, because the first return is mostly about five simple disciplines.
The five disciplines
- Register early. Self-Assessment registration (which issues your UTR) is due by 5 October after your first trading year ends; the post-based steps take weeks, so do it when you start, not at deadline."
- Put a third aside. 25 to 30 per cent of profit into a separate pot covers tax and NI for most basic-rate first years, and overshooting feels wonderful in January.
- Track from day one: a business account, photographed receipts, a simple invoice list. Ten minutes a week; the alternative is archaeology.
- Know the first-year quirk: bills above the threshold trigger payments on account, so the first January can cost 150 per cent. Forewarned is funded.
- Claim like a business, because you are one: home office, equipment, software, travel to clients, professional costs, the lot.
The first January, pre-funded
A Brighton UX freelancer who started in June came to us in September (the right time). Registration sorted, 28 per cent siphoned weekly, expenses tracked in an app. Her first January bill, payments on account included, was fully sitting in the pot, and her question was what to do with the surplus. That is what boring discipline buys.
Local service: Self Assessment accountant in Brighton and Hove. Step-by-step: registering for Self-Assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
I started in March. Which tax year is my first return?
The year containing your first trading: a March start means that first month belongs to the year just ending, with the return due the following January. Short first periods are normal.
Do I charge VAT from day one?
No, only once registered, which is compulsory at the threshold and optional before. Most first-year freelancers stay below it; we watch the line as you grow.
My clients are agencies who pay 60 days late. Tax on invoices or receipts?
The cash basis taxes money received, which protects freelancers from paying tax on unpaid invoices. It is the default fit for most new practices.
Can I claim the laptop I bought before going freelance?
Pre-trading expenses (typically up to seven years prior) used for the business are claimable at start: the laptop, the course, the website. Keep the old receipts.
Employed January to May, freelance after. How does the return look?
Both on one return: P45/P60 employment figures plus the self-employment pages. PAYE tax already paid credits against the total; many first years end in refunds.
What National Insurance do freelancers pay now?
Class 4 on profits above the threshold through the return; Class 2 is largely abolished/credited. The pot percentage we set covers it.
Student loan repayments on freelance income?
Through the return, at the plan's rate above its threshold, all calculated with the bill. Another reason for the 28 per cent pot rather than 20.
When should I get an accountant rather than DIY?
When the value of your evening exceeds the fee, when income mixes, or when the first January approaches. Many clients DIY the simplest year then upgrade; we tell you honestly which you are.
First freelance year in Brighton?
Free 15-minute call: registration, the pot percentage, and a records setup that makes January boring.
Or email info@yourtaxhelp.co.uk | Self Assessment accountant in Brighton and Hove
General guidance only. Not personal tax advice. Contact us for advice specific to your situation. Figures relate to the 2025/26 tax year unless otherwise stated.