I never thought I would end up registering as self employed. It’s just one of those things I never thought I would do. I qualified as a dietitian in 2008 and have always had a steady job, even after dropping down to 3 days. Back when I was pregnant with Piglet, I decided to do a bit of private dietetic work and knew I needed to register and sort myself out. It turned out that the private stuff didn’t work out but suddenly I was started to earn a little bit of money from my blog. Not a lot at the start but enough to think I should be declaring this.

Time passed and I went on maternity leave with little Piglet. I spent a little more time on my blog and I think this worked, as towards the end of my leave, I started to earn a little more money. I knew being self employed and starting to think about my tax return were a necessity! With the help of my mother in law, I have now done two tax returns, both for piddly amounts but I know this time it will be more.

The most annoying cliche in the world but it is true; tax can be taxing!! You need to be organised, you may need some support from HMRC or you may even decide to hire an accountant. Anything to make it easier.

I asked a group of experienced bloggers for their top tips when it comes to tax and here is what they thought:

“Keep records of all expenses and earnings! Back them up, keep them safe and do your taxes on time! ” Emily from Twin Mummy and Daddy

“Save it as you go along! Saves heartache.” Katy from KatyKicker

“Not to leave doing your tax return until the last minute. There’s nothing more stressful than realising you need advice and not being able to get through because the lines are so busy!!” Hayley from Devon Mama.

“Keep all your receipts and find a good accountant!” Rebecca from Becster Dot Com.

“Actually, sorry to buck the trend but I learnt that it’s all much easier to manage than I thought.

I was terriblfied about doing my return so I left it to about three weeks before and It was so easy. Id kept a simple spreadsheet of incoming and outgoing and a file of receipts and filled it all out in under half an hour. (that was with additional employed work added too)” Emily from Confessions of a Slummy Mummy.

“That it pays to be organised, make lists and keep spreadsheets because it makes the end of year so much simpler.” Emma from Emma Reed.

“A good accountant can save you more than they cost – mine is priceless & I don’t know where I’d be without him! It takes a lot of the stress out of it too.” Natalie from Confessions of a Crummy Mummy.

I’m lucky I have an accountant for a mother in law and my hubby knows a little too but it does pay to do a little research and learn as you go! My biggest tip is to save as you go, as I know I would hate such a dent in my money at tax time!

Good luck if you are going self employed and remember some of these tips.

Disclosure – this is a collaborative post.