Second Jobs or as the Americans call them Side Hustles are very popular, here is a website focused on them
Almost a third of British workers run some kind of creative business outside their main job contributing an estimated £15bn to the UK economy, according to research from Moo.com. One in ten part-time creative entrepreneurs plans to leave their job to focus on their business full-time within the next year. However, 60% said it was their passion for the business, and not making money, that motivated them. The most popular part-time creative ventures are in food and cooking, gardening, photography and knitting. (According to Law Donut)
So why are micro businesses taking off:
- You can start off working at home
- Your start up costs are low
- You can do it part time when it suits you
- With wages frozen and costs rising it can provide a useful additional income
- Its easy to be price competitive with low overheads
- The Internet makes it easy to sell your goods and services
- Your social capital can be used to generate sales ie use your contacts and connections
- There could be tax advantages – employees generally pay more tax than sole traders
- Some clients prefer the personal touch
- It could be start of something big
HMRC orginally launched their campaign in April 2014 and have updated it on 12th June 2017.
The Second Incomes Campaign is an opportunity open to individuals in employment who have an additional untaxed source of income.
Examples could include:
- fees from consultancy or other services such as public speaking or providing training
- payment for organising parties and events or providing entertainment
- income from activities such as taxi driving, hairdressing, providing fitness training or landscape gardening
- profits from spare time activities such as making and selling craft items
- profits from buying and selling goods, for example regular market stalls, boot sales etc
The criteria used to assess if an activity is a hobby or a business are:
- The size and commerciality of the activity.
- The frequency of the activity and transactions
- The application of business principles.
- Whether there is a genuine profit motive.
- The amount of time devoted to the activities.
- The existence of arm’s-length customers (as opposed to just selling your wares to family and friends).
To take part in the Second Incomes Campaign you should:
- tell HMRC that you want to take part in the Second Incomes Campaign (Notify)
- tell HMRC about all income, gains, tax and duties you’ve not previously told them about (Disclose)
- make a formal offer
- pay what you owe
- help HMRC as much as you can if they ask you for more information
To benefit from the reduced penalties offered HMRC will take account of the level to which you have helped them and the accuracy of the information you provided.
