Setting up as self employed - what do I need to do?

[jenifa]

Hi - I'm setting myself up as a proof reader, and already have a few interested clients. I have a dependent visa, so I can work, but am I supposed to inform anyone that I am doing this? Do I need to register somewhere as something for tax reasons??

I've never worked for myself before so this is all new to me!

Also, where is a good place to go to get business cards printed?

Thanks

Jen

[esque]

Hi there

I am also working as a proofreader on a dependent visa. What I've discovered so far, is that you need to register as a sole proprietorship within one month of commencing business. However if you're planning to earn less than a certain amount per month (around $10,000 HK I think) for the first 6 months, you can apply for an exemption from the fees, which are otherwise around $2600. Here's the address where I have been finding info: http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bre_abr.htm

I'm not sure yet what the tax reporting requirements are, except that you would obviously need to fill out a tax return at the end of each financial year stating your income. I believe you pay your tax all in one hit, as with salary tax in HK.

Do some googling and searching through the http://www.ird.gov.hk site, and please return the favour to me and share any info you find . Perhaps we can also develop a working relationship to share jobs at busy times - I only have two clients so far but I'm sure the time will come when I have everyone wanting something done at once!

Here's a good site for business cards:
http://www.print100.com/hk_e/html/main.aspx

[carang]

if you are a sole proprietor and you earn less than $500,000 per year, you can just fill in the information on the personal salaries tax forms. keep track of your expenses. if you have difficulty figuring out how to claim it, just take the information down to revenue tower and they will help you fill in the form.
(when i did it, i wasn't sure if i put in the amount that i made under salaries or not. they said no, just under the profits section of the sole proprietor section)...anyway, they were very helpful.

good luck!

[esque]

thanks for that info from me too carang

[carang]

keep in mind that with a sole proprietorship, you are able to claim the portion of the rent/utilities that you USE for conducting business. so, for example, if you use 1 bedroom of a 2 bedroom flat for your office, i think that you could reasonably claim 1/2 of your rent (if you want to play it safe, then 1/3). same for utilities.

when we moved house last time, we did it specifically for more space to carry out our business. so what i've done is claim the extra rent that we now pay compared to what we were paying before. i did this because there is no way that we would be paying what we are or living where we are if we didn't have the business. this extra amounts to over $10k/month, so is definitely worth it. also, because the place is bigger, we claim more for utilities, especially electric (that air con in summer kills us because it's on 24/7!)

if you do stuff by fax, then you can claim the cost of the fax machine plus the running of the fax line. same with internet. if you have a website up and running and you do a fair amount of business through email etc, claim your internet costs.

if you need to buy furniture for your "office", claim it as a deduction as well.

good luck!

[jenifa]

Thanks Carang, that's all extremely useful!

keep in mind that with a sole proprietorship, you are able to claim the portion of the rent/utilities that you USE for conducting business. so, for example, if you use 1 bedroom of a 2 bedroom flat for your office, i think that you could reasonably claim 1/2 of your rent (if you want to play it safe, then 1/3). same for utilities.

when we moved house last time, we did it specifically for more space to carry out our business. so what i've done is claim the extra rent that we now pay compared to what we were paying before. i did this because there is no way that we would be paying what we are or living where we are if we didn't have the business. this extra amounts to over $10k/month, so is definitely worth it. also, because the place is bigger, we claim more for utilities, especially electric (that air con in summer kills us because it's on 24/7!)

if you do stuff by fax, then you can claim the cost of the fax machine plus the running of the fax line. same with internet. if you have a website up and running and you do a fair amount of business through email etc, claim your internet costs.

if you need to buy furniture for your "office", claim it as a deduction as well.

good luck!

[jenifa]

Thanks esque, that's really helpful. I wll definitely look at those websites.

I specialise (or will be specialising once I know what I'm doing), in proof reading market research docs, as that's my background. But lets definitely keep in touch and share any relevant info!

Best wishes,

Jen

Hi there

I am also working as a proofreader on a dependent visa. What I've discovered so far, is that you need to register as a sole proprietorship within one month of commencing business. However if you're planning to earn less than a certain amount per month (around $10,000 HK I think) for the first 6 months, you can apply for an exemption from the fees, which are otherwise around $2600. Here's the address where I have been finding info: http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bre_abr.htm

I'm not sure yet what the tax reporting requirements are, except that you would obviously need to fill out a tax return at the end of each financial year stating your income. I believe you pay your tax all in one hit, as with salary tax in HK.

Do some googling and searching through the http://www.ird.gov.hk site, and please return the favour to me and share any info you find . Perhaps we can also develop a working relationship to share jobs at busy times - I only have two clients so far but I'm sure the time will come when I have everyone wanting something done at once!

Here's a good site for business cards:
http://www.print100.com/hk_e/html/main.aspx