Need-to-know admin for when you're self-employed

Whether you’re a sole trader, have a registered business, or have asked Tide to register your business for you, you should be aware of these key responsibilities.

They can vary from person to person and business to business, but this checklist covers what the majority of self-employed people need to know.

Your self-employed admin checklist

Register with official organisations

Register with Companies House (if you’re setting up a company)

Register with HMRC

Register for Self Assessment

Keep your information recorded

Find your UTR number

Find your CRN (if you’ve set up a company)

Find your company activation code (if you’ve set up a company)

Meet your key deadlines

Keep your records up to date

Pay your Self Assessment

Pay your corporation tax (if you’re set up a company)

Register with official organisations

To go self-employed, you’ll need to let certain organisations know.

An entrepreneur registering their company

Register with Companies House (if you’re setting up a company)

Once you’ve decided to set up your company, you’ll need to register it with Companies House. This is an official record-keeper of all companies in the UK. You can do this through their website, or through Tide. We’ll also pay most of your ‘company incorporation fee’.

Register with HMRC

Registering with HMRC lets them know that you’re now self-employed, so you can pay the correct amount of tax throughout the year.

To do this, set up your online tax account by heading to gov.uk and clicking ‘set up a personal tax account’. If you’re a director of a company, also click ‘Set up an account.’ under ‘Organisation accounts’.

You’ll then be asked to set up your Government Gateway, which gives you secure access to your new online account. Just follow the instructions onscreen.

Register for Self Assessment

Finally, you can register for Self Assessment. This allows you to pay your personal tax once a year, as an employer is no longer sorting this for you. Just follow the instructions onscreen to get set up.

You can then use our guide to completing your Self Assessment when the time comes to pay your tax.

Keep your information recorded

Once you’ve set everything up, there are certain key pieces of information you’ll need to keep safe.

Find your UTR

Your UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) is a code which allows HMRC to identify you when you pay your tax.

You’ll receive a personal one to your home address once you register for Self Assessment, as well as a Corporation UTR to your registered business address if you set up a limited company.

If you lose this, there are ways to find it again:

Once you’ve created your personal tax account, you can log in there to find your personal UTR.

Once you’ve created your business tax account, you can log in there to find your Corporation Tax UTR.

You can use HMRC’s Corporation Tax UTR finder to have it sent to your registered business address. You’ll need your company registration number, which you can find below.

It’ll be on any previous tax returns or documents from HMRC.

Find your CRN (if you’ve set up a company)

Your CRN stands for company registration number, and it’s a unique code for your company.

Once your company has been registered, Companies House will send yours to you in your ‘certificate of incorporation’.

You’ll receive it by post to your registered business address, and you’ll be sent a digital version by email.

If you lose yours, you can always find it again by searching your company name in Companies House.

Find your company authentication code (if you’ve set up a company)

Your company authentication code is a key piece of information needed to file your corporation tax online.

You can get your code by creating an account in Companies House WebFiling. You’ll then be sent your code by post within 5 days.

If you've lost yours, you can use this Government service to have it sent to your home address.

Meet your key deadlines

There are a number of key dates for filing important information and paying your tax.

Keep your records up to date

We may occasionally need to confirm your information. This information can vary, and we'll let you know when we need it.

If it's related to FATCA, you can use our FATCA FAQs for everything you need to know, such as what the difference between an Active NFE and a Passive NFE is.

If you've made any changes to your personal details or how your business operates, learn how and why you should let us know here.

If you’ve set up a company, you'll also need to file your Confirmation Statement with Companies House every 12 months from when your company was set up or your last Confirmation Statement was filed.

Complete your Self Assessment

Self Assessment is your calculation of how much tax you owe as an individual, and you must pay it by 31 January each year.

Learn everything you need to know about completing your Self Assessment here.

Pay your corporation tax (if you’ve set up a company)

The corporation tax deadline is based on each company's accounting period, usually the 12 month period from the date the company was set up.

You should file your accounts to Companies House and pay your corporation tax by 9 months after the end of your accounting period.

You should file your corporation tax return with HMRC within 12 months after the end of your accounting period.

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Frequently asked questions

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