When you are self employed one of the main headaches for many people is completing your online tax return. It can be very confusing especially if it is the first time that you have had to do this. You make ask yourself whether you need to employ an accountant to file the return or whether you can save yourself the accountant’s fees and submit it yourself. The answer to this is not straightforward and is dependant upon a number of points.
Firstly, how complex are your accounts for instance are you VAT registered, do you employ staff, are you self employed but also employed and use the PAYE system or do you work from your home address. If the answer to these questions are yes, then using the services of an accountant will probably be advisable certainly if you are not a confident bookkeeper and are not fully conversant with current tax regulations.
If you are a sole trader with a small turnover it may be that using an accountant would not be financially prudent. There is lots of helpful advice online to help you to complete a tax return independently and the tax office will be able to give you further guidance if required.