Being self-employed – Brigad

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The self employment status & Brigad

Brigad is an app specifically for self employed workers and therefore it is essential that you register as a self-employed sole trader with HMRC. This is easy to set up and demands relatively little paperwork, other than an annual self-assessment tax return.

If you are a UK citizen or have EU Settled Status in the UK, then it is indeed possible to be self-employed whilst studying.

However, if you are an international student with a Tier 4 visa it will not be possible to work as self-employed. As such, at the moment you would not be able to join the Brigad community.

The main advantage of being self-employed is that you have the complete flexibility to work when and where you wish to do so.

When using Brigad as self-employed, you are free to choose your own work and manage your time accordingly to your schedule and career goals.

It's easy to set up and demands relatively little paperwork. Once registered as self-employed, you are only required to submit your self-assessment once a year to HMRC.

What does being self-employed mean ?

To know more about how to get a UTR number, check this article.

If you start working for yourself, you’re classed as a sole trader. This means you’re self-employed, earning a living by working for yourself and you not considered as an employee of someone else.

When you are self-employed, you are responsible for completing and submitting a self-assessment tax return to HMRC at the end of the tax year. Here are some important points for you to know concerning the self-assessment

The amount of tax you will have to pay depends on how much money you’ve made. The way you currently report income is by completing a tax return form under the self assessment system.
You must keep records of your income and expenses for your tax return.
Please note that you can combine the status of self-employed work with a long term contract. The self employed status was created for people wishing to gain additional income and some people make it their full-time activity as well

The UTR or Unique Taxpayer Reference number is a series of digits that identifies you to HMRC. As a self-employed person, it’s the number that identifies you as a sole trader. You will automatically be registered with a UTR number when you set yourself up for Self Assessment tax returns or when you set up a limited company.

You'll need a UTR number from HMRC in order to fill out your self-assessment tax return each year and to communicate with HMRC for any other reasons.

What are my obligations as a self employed person ?

According to the HMRC, once you earn above £1000 as a self-employed professional, you would be required to register with the HMRC as a sole trader. You can do that here.

In terms of paying taxes, tax bands are the same for self-employed and employed people. But you should always contact the HMRC directly to clarify about your own personal tax situation.

You will need to report your income and pay your taxes via a self-assessment system. To learn more about how and when to do a self-assessment, click here.

Another subject to clarify with the HMRC, is if you are subject to VAT. You can read here for more information on the relevant criteria.

If you have any additional questions on the subject of self-employment should always check the official government page.

How do I terminate my status as self-employed ?

You can terminate your self-employment status online through this link.

You will also need to send your final self-assessment before the deadline.

And finally, please let us know that you are no longer self-employed, so that you will stop receiving mission propositions and your Brigad account can be closed. Without being registered as self-employed, you may not use the Brigad app anymore.

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