Recent freelancer and I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do about tax

[littlesheepinjc]

I started working as a freelancer at the beginning of last year. Having spent a good deal of time away this year, I have only recently gotten back to work and become aware that taxes are supposed to be completed by the end of this month.

I never registered as a freelancer/sole trader and I don’t know how the system is supposed to work. I made right around 13k in income last year (travelled a lot as well), and have invoices for all of it, but I’m not quite sure how to proceed and am worried about getting into issues with revenue if I don’t do anything by the end of the month. Should I just get in touch with somebody there and see if I can get help, or is there something else I should be doing?

Any advice would be welcome, I was but a silly fellow and don’t know what to do. I know this is something I should have long ago familiarised myself with, but having worked on payrolls for years and years it always just slipped my mind. I did a college course that lends itself to freelance work and we never received a minutes worth of instruction on how to actually operate financially in the real world upon graduation.

 

[batcat]

@littlesheepinjc Its worth mentioning, if you only made €13k last year you most likely owe close to €0 in taxes.

However you are still suppose to be registered and submitting tax returns regardless.

You could give them a call and asked them how to proceed and I would imagine they would be understanding of the situation (Just my opinion). When you are just starting off I think they tend to just be happy you are trying to do it correctly, even if you are a little late.

Alternatively, you could register now and forget about submitting taxes for last year but do it by-the-book from here on in. Yes this is technically illegal but getting caught is highly unlikely. Also the fact that you owe close to €0 taxes lessens the significance of doing this (again, just my opinion).

 

[littlesheepinjc]

@batcat I figured I’d be paying very little alright but still want to be doing things properly seeing as I’ll likely be continuing working freelance for the foreseeable. Thanks for the advice and reassurance though

 

[batcat]

@littlesheepinjc From using https://download.pwc.com/ie/budget-2024/income-tax-calculator.html it seems like you'd owe ~€500 for PRSI.

However its worth noting, if you earned any form of income via employment alongside freelance work than this is factored into your overall taxes when submitting sole trader tax returns. You would owe tax on your freelance earnings in that case.

 

[johndowling]

@littlesheepinjc The deadline for income tax return is 15th of November. Ring up a close accountant near you and ask how much it would be to file a return. As some said you may not owe any tax but you still have to file it even if it is a nill return. Try not to file it late as you may get charged interest.

 

[lynj]

@littlesheepinjc This is something you should have researched before engaging in a taxable activity.

Assuming you had no other taxable income which includes DSP income in 2022, you should have no income tax liability but will have PRAI liability of 500 euro.

You'll need to register for income tax before you can register to file your 2022 form 11 tax return. The link below will assist but if you are unable to complete, then find an accountant. Unfortunately for you, it's the busiest time of the year for accountants.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/self-assessment-and-self-employment/guide-to-self-assessment/index.aspx