Becoming self employed as a blogger - 6 things you need to know about UK taxes

Becoming self employed as a UK Blogger

So you've been blogging a while, or maybe you're a new blogger on the scene? Eventually, your thoughts will turn to monetising your blog and smashing that glass ceiling, I relaunched my blog in March but I've been registered as self-employed for a few years now due to making money via other blogs. 

As soon as you start making money you need to declare it to the HMRC. This could be through sponsored posts, affiliate links, selling items etc. Does this sound like you? Then you NEED to read these tips before you start to make sure you're all set on the self assessment tax front before you start earning. As April is the start of the tax year here in the UK I thought I'd put together my top tips you need to get started

1) Register to become self-employed

Well, this should be obvious right? But the first thing you need to do is register as self-employed you'll get your own unique tax reference (UTR) through the post and then you're pretty much good to go. If you do have any questions before you register then definitely ring the self-assessment helpline - they're super helpful and helped me figure out how it would affect my tax and NI in my full-time job

2) Keep accurate self employment records records

This is crucial to make it as simple as possible, as soon as you register as self-employed you need to start tracking all your incomings and outgoings (these can be expensed). You could hire an accountant to help with this or make your own version on excel - I have a blogger taxes spreadsheet from Kona Seven who I highly recommend

3) Learn about expenses - what you can and can't expense

Blogging incurs some expenses so it's important to keep a track of anything that's associated with your blog, for example, your blog theme, tool subscriptions (Tailwind, buffer, premium stock photos, Hootsuite etc.), Paypal fees and a proportion of your electricity etc. However other things can't be expensed such as client entertaining, items you'll use again such as clothes etc.

4) Monetize your blog 

Now you have a handle on expenses it's time to kick ass and make lots of money! There are so many ways to monetize your blog so get out there and explore - my favourite ways are through sponsored posts, affiliate marketing and Google Adsense. But the possibilities are endless, You can make products, sell them, run courses let your imagination run wild, it would be a good idea to work on increasing your domain authority alongside this as this will increase your opportunities to earn

5) Organise your emails!

Once you've started monetizing it's crucial just like keeping accurate records that you have a good organisation system in place, this can save you a whole heap of time at assessment time. It means you'll have all your invoices, receipts and blog discussions saved by month making it easier to decipher and find things if needed 

6) Always pay attention

Taxes change a lot, allowances and what can be expensed etc. so keep up to date with current affairs and chat to other people in the blogging /self-employed community you're all in the same boat so don't be scared to have a chat about taxes, they don't have to be confusing

What questions do you have about becoming self employed?