UK Based - Company Setup And Tax Question

PIXOMUSE

Hi,

For those that have already set up in the U.K., what steps did you take to get up and running, just looking for some advice.

Specifically,

Company type ? Self Employed ?
Register For Tax Purposes ?

I know of 70/30 split with Apple, but does Apple handle the tax, and you get paid what's left after tax ? , or do you need to report it yourself, tax return ?, etc

PIXOMUSE

Also wanted to add that I am also currently employed, so how that would factor into it also ?

UtopianGames

Self employed sole trader might be the way to go and no apple take no tax so you have to pay your own and fill in a tax return.

Best bet is to contact the local office and see what they say.

I think there's plenty of help online.

Darren.

PIXOMUSE

Yeah, will do, that seems to be my best bet.

Was just looking for some initial up front advice from those that have already been there, have also been able to find a lot more info online, nothing super specific ( which would have been nice ), but good guidelines for me to look into.

Cheers.

debugdesign

Sole trader would be best... I am a VAT registered Limited Company and I have to spend hundreds/thousands to sort out all the finances every year.

I have just un-registered from VAT so that's one thing but there is corporation tax due every year so when you finally count your pennies up at the end of the year corporation tax takes 20% of your profits.

The benefit of being a limited company means that if you get in trouble its the company that it liable and not you personally.

Stick to sole trader to begin with and if you find yourself earning more than £65,000 ($110,000 USD) then you can worry about VAT and limited company status.

Here's some info: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073789606&type=RESOURCES

PIXOMUSE

Thanks, debugdesign,

that's good advice, so you can't stay as sole trader should your earned money exceeds £65k, didn't know that was the case.

Thanks for the business link also, I will dig around that more in depth this evening as well as the hmrc site also. It's a very daunting process and scares me a little..

EDIT :

Actually, there was one more specific question I had in mind, I assume for my accounts, I would need to keep a record of all my sales, would this be backed up with Apple ? as in, do Apple also inform the tax office on your behalf or is this all down to you, including Apple data ( printed off monthly summaries,etc ) ?

debugdesign

You can remain a sole trader over £65k but when you hit £72k p/a you HAVE to be VAT registered.

- Apple will do nothing to help you in tax matters.

Write down everything you earn in a spread sheet and also anything you spend on the company (software, marketing) as these might prove useful in the future if you get an accountant to do your end of year books.

PIXOMUSE

Thanks again,

Keeping a spreadsheet would be the plan, but wondering how I could 'prove' my sales, do apple send you any kind of report that can be printed off to show that what is in your spreadsheet is 'actual' sales data ?

debugdesign

You can download reports on itunes connect if needed but in most cases the books will show a payment in from apple every month for a set figure. Keep your bank statements and this tally should be enough to prove your earnings.

Make sure you set up a business bank account to keep the income separate to your personal money. Not only will this keep things neat but this will be good for spending too as you can have a business paypal account for earning extra cash (working in partnership with others on an app for example)

PIXOMUSE

Thanks again for the extra tips debugdesign !