Self Employed

Articles and news on Self Employed topics from the Small Business archive.

Advice

Should you register as a sole trader or a limited company?

Mart Abramov, CEO of TaxScouts, shares the positives and negatives of being a sole trader or a limited company, so you can make the best choice for your growing business.

Setting up a company

How to start a dropshipping business

What is dropshipping, what are the advantages and how do you start a dropshipping business?

Sole trader

7 advantages of being a sole trader

Business formation is one of the biggest decisions you'll make when starting out. Here are seven key advantages of being a sole trader

Sole trader

40% of self-employed earn less than £1,000 a month

One third of self-employed struggling with daily living expenses, especially as energy is a major cost for small businesses

Sole trader

How to save up to £3,000 in tax being self-employed

Changes in the way the self-employed must report tax mean sole traders could face having to pay an additional £3,000 in tax. Becoming a limited company could reduce your tax bill, says Marcin Durlak

Tax

Freelancers could avoid tax because of IR35 loophole

Employers who wrongly classify self-employed as being outside IR35 will have to cover their PAYE and National Insurance, says HMRC, meaning tens of thousands of freelancers could avoid paying any tax at all

Sole trader

Number of self-employed falls one fifth since Covid-19

IR35 taxation changes, Brexit and Covid-19 blamed for choking off rise in self-employment

Tax

Just nine people trialing digital tax for self-employed

This is despite Making Tax Digital for income tax being rolled out to 2.4m people in 2024, many of whom are unaware of what's happening

Sole trader

Becoming self-employed

Becoming self-employed could mean less income, more responsibility and working longer hours. But freedom and independence cannot be underestimated, says Margaret Wood

News