To avoid any confusion or miscalculations it's usually best to hire a tax preparer for self-emplpoyment forms.

H&R Block is a good place to go.

I think mebbe I need an accountant but other than my PayPal monthly outgoings page there's nothing else to see. So Jeanne I just need to figure out what the form is called and fill it in myself I just am soo clueless when it comes to tax I'm worried about ballsing it up but if I pay an accountant I'm pretty sure that's gonna cost the rest of the money I have lol lol doh even.more

Lol Jeanne lol. Stupid autocorrect

Oh okay. We're actually kind of having the same sort of issue ourselves. Not really sure how to do self-employment taxes yet. I hope everything works out for you.

Give them a call, HRMC are actually really nice people and will want to help you (very odd they want to help you when you give them money...)

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/

Go http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/your-tax-return.htm

Telephone : http://search2.hmrc.gov.uk/kb5/hmrc.....rd=OILdX1VAnlM

*hugs*

best of luck baby, I think you actually only owe any tax on commissions from outside the UK that could be taxable.

It's a bit complex and you really are best just speaking to them or finding a friendly cheap accountant who can help.

Omg!! If it's just foreign stuff then that's gonna get even more complicated waaaaaaah

Any money that exceeds your yearly limit, in or out of the country is taxable. Doesn't matter where it comes from though they do ignore very small amounts like on eBay and such.

It works very differently here in the UK.

I dunno how Europe's tax system works. :O

Damn, wait they probably don't have H&R block there, sorry. Any tax preparing place that's there might help?

...just asking because I'm ignorant, but why did you give most of the money to people if you had to pay stuff?

She has another job that pays the bills. :O

Yep art isn't my primary income I have a dull time boring job hehe so anything I make from art is extra income in my eyes so then I see people here who need money super bad so I help people out from time to time

oh.

I'll shuddup then :c

*giggles and hugs*

Well the thing is if you gave it to others then they have to give pay the tax. It was income to them nasty busness it is.
Not fair is it . But why dont you say you gave it to the poor in a way you did like giving it to the church in a collection plate.
On sunday a little at a time wish i new more to help

As far as PayPal was aware money came into my account and money left it without registered charity numbers to prove I donated money I don't think I can just claim I donated the money. Giving cash to friends (or in this case fa members) doesn't factor in sadly so I hafta take the hit hehe

You might want to get an accountant this time. Find out exactly what is required. Ask lots of questions, and find out how you are supposed to document things if you give out money in the future. Also, ask their advice after letting them know what you are doing. I hope you get to keep at least something.

well I know here as you work on commissions its a tax free income, so here in North America any sort of 'Under the table' income you receive you do NOT have to declare when you do your taxes.
because of the fact you received money that was not tracked or taxed by your government so you do not have to declare it when you do your taxes.

an example is my Mileage for my work, I get paid $0.45 per kilometer of travel I do to and from a job site, that is Tax free, meaning I do not get any deductions taken off the amount I make when I claim my travel expenses. Same goes for My food, lodging, and other misc expenses I get reimbursed for, its all tax free.

But If you did want to give the queen her share, I would suggest a Tax adviser and asking them, making sure they are licensed to deal with self employed people such as yourself.

Sadly it doesn't work like that here in the UK. You can earn a certain amount (I think it's close to 9000) then after that you pay 25%tax (I think it's that) so because I have a full time job then I'm already over that 9k limit so any income I make after that I need to pay tax. My commission money is taxable because it goes through my bank account so it's totally ttraceable should they decide to do so.

geeze that sucks. :(

well, I still suggest the Tax adviser though they might be able to help you.

Set up a charity account so when you give to some one it hcomes out of that. Ask how you give to those that ask for help .
Ask a charity how they do it then set something up so you dont take a big hit next time there has to be away.

I'm sure there is a special way going through this. Since you produce art, even how weird it may sound, I think there is a bit different taxing for the artists and their job. You should look into this as well, since in here (Finland) there is a limit how much tax-free art you can do and it was quite much :)

maybe this year kiddo, you might want to not donate so much money to other people? its really sweet of you, but all your super super hard work only ammounting to over 100 whatever money is used over there is pretty tough. But, as long as your happy its all that matters in the end :3

I would suggest that you visit citizens advice because they specialise in this sort of advice and as far as I'm aware they're free.

Yeah. Do what most are saying, seek advice from HMRC or citizens advice.

Do NOT make a charity fund, it's very very hard to run a charity account and you have a tonne of licensing that goes with it. I only know because I work for a charity that is a national one and do a lot of paperwork.

Don't avoid it entirely like a lot of artists will. Like you said, you can be jailed and also the amount you owe can go up a heck of a lot..

I hope you manage to get it sorted but if I was in your situation I would just go to HMRC and ask for help regarding the situation. They are actually very understanding.

Big hugs sis :3

Our train museum is a registered charity so I know about all the red tape that entails I wouldn't go down that route simply because it's fraud lol. I think I will phone cab first and see. *hugs*

It wouldn't really be fraud as if you call the charity something regarding what you give money away for, it would be alright.. But like you said, best not to even go down that route with the annoyance it could cause x_X

that doesnt sound like it makes sense anything you donated should be tax deductable maybe thats just america but i thought it was anywhere

But it wasn't officially donated it was just given to people so I can't claim I donated anything as I have no visible proof :)

Still I'm sure there's some way to proove it

In the US I believe Online transactions are exempt from taxes I dodn't really know how it works in the UK. Sorry ^^ I wish i could be more helpful other than saying what everyone else has, it'd be best to find a tax professional though it may cost you a bit more, it could possibly save you from trouble later on.

I'm no good with economics, sorry T^T

Uhhhmmmm

*hug*

That's about all I can do <:3

I do not know how it work in UK, but at your place i will go with a "Book-keeper", someone who know all the way you could use to save money, my parent got in trouble because of there tax, the book-keeper help them to minimise there lost and to find the best way to deal with situation like this.

Personaly i will go with a non profit organisation, but it true that it could be lot of trouble, specialy if you do not keep track of the money you are giving, at less you probably can deduct stuff you are using to make you money, like paper, computer, tablet, pens, etc etc

Good luck

Stephane

well actually since most of your art work is charitable. you can get massive tax benifits because of that? right?

all this math talk make my brain wanna explode D:

I think, I would go with what most people here said - get an accountant. Even taking in your paypal records they should be able to help, because most artists who sell only online would have just that.

Though maybe this year keep an extra set of records for what you ear :3

Also, someone made a good point. I do believe things like purchases to make said art can be deducted. However, they would be just purchases within that year.

Also, I am pretty sure this article is for US, it still might help you:
http://www.artonomy.co/2011/06/21/h.....ave-you-money/

And this one is for artists "abroad". It states that "For example, the U.S./U.K. tax treaty permits an artist who is a resident of the U.K. to earn up to $20,000 tax free. However, if an artist earns more than $20,000, the entire amount earned is subject to U.S. tax."
So that means at least that you don't have to pay the US any taxes :3
http://www.artistsfromabroad.org/ta.....ers-exemption/



These two articles relate specifically to artists in the UK wanting to file taxes.
http://www.personalbusinesstaxguide...../uk_artist.asp
http://www.artstaxinfo.com/artists.shtml



Hope even one of those helps :3

Actually - I am reading further now. That first article is actually refering to H&M Customs? WHich I think means it's from England?

Actually, Gem, I would DEFINITELY suggest you read that first article I linked, even if you go with an accountant. It seems to answer a LOT of questions, and very throughly too.

I wish I could help, but I don't pay my own taxes yet. XD

One thing I'm always confused on is VAT on commissions. Since you are selling a product, surely you have to also add on VAT (I know plenty who have been stung with fursuits), or is digital art VAT exempt?

meep i dunno what to say, all i know is in america you have to make over a certain amount before you have to give taxes on it, and i've never reached that amount with commissions so i dunno what to do :c

Honestly, the earnings you get from commissions are kind of like getting money at a yard sale. You don't need to declare them as you have no official documentation to the government declaring you are making this money from people while also noting you are not "business" required to report your earnings and losses.

I wish I knew British business more as I could describe things a lot better via my American knowledge of business and declarations of income. However, for all intents and purposes, you are NOT being dishonest by not declaring the earnings. After all, as you stated, most went to charity and the other earnings are what we would call "Under the Table" and that is not a totally illegal thing as art is like a past time in which someone pays you to do work for them rather than an actual service you are blatantly advertising to work in.

Another example that may help explain why you not need report the earnings is this. You help someone move into their new home and they give you money. Do you report it? The answer is no as it is just a friendly gesture by a friend for helping them move. Same goes for kids who get paid to mow lawns and other small services in which folks give thir own money in exchange for a service of their own, free will.

Could you imagine if the government had to go through every monetary transaction people have? They'd NEVER get through everything and there would be so many folks upset over what counts and should not count as a declaration.

So, as a Master of Business Administration by degree, I advise you to NOT report the earnings as doing so will not only be confusing to the government, but take away from the fact people paid you as if you helped them move into a new house. Gifts, unless are seldom, if ever taxed and/or reported. So rest comfortably that nobody is going to come down on you for having earned money from people thanking you for doing them a small service of drawing a picture. :)

Taxman?

Well...some well-placed claymore mines might do the trick.