How to correctly declare UK and Foreign income - Sole Trader

Hi, I would appreciate your help, please. I am a sole trader, living in the UK (and I am a UK tax resident). I provide services to UK and non-UK customers and receive payment directly, both from UK and non-UK businesses. I will be filling in my tax return soon and I am unsure about how I should correctly declare my income. I am aware that my income from work for UK firms is 'counted' in my UK sole trader turnover for VAT registration purposes, whereas my income direct from non-UK businesses is not. How do I correctly register that a proportion of my income is non-UK? Should I do this in the SA100 form and, if so, please could you direct me to the location on the form to do that? Is it also necessary for me to complete a supplementary form for foreign income, for example SA106? The situation I am trying to avoid here is that my non-UK income becomes incorrectly 'counted' as UK income, which would take me closer to, or exceed, the £85,000 threshold point for UK sole trader VAT registration. Many thanks for your assistance.

Hi,

If foreign tax has been deducted, you will show this on the foreign page and also as a self employment. If it is the same source as your UK income, you need to add this to your turnover. You can see guidance here:

Tax on foreign income

Thank you.

Hi Admin 19, Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. The income I receive from non-UK companies has not been deducted for foreign tax. Please would you kindly clarify what you mean in your reply by 'If it is the same source as your UK income'? The income I receive for my non-UK work is from foreign businesses which are different to the business I provide services to (and from whom I am paid) in the UK. I would very much appreciate your further guidance as to how I should complete this part of my self assessment. I have read the 'Tax on foreign income' note which you kindly included with your reply but could not find an answer for my particular circumstances. Thank you in advance.

Hello, I have the same query. I tried to put my UK income under my business turnover, and non-UK income separately on the foreign income (self employment) page. But since my UK income is less than my business expenses, it created a negative figure and couldn't proceed to calculate the foreign tax relief credit, so it got stuck on the "view calculation" page. Should I put my non-UK income also under my business turnover? If so, will the amount be counted twice? My non-UK income hasn't generated any tax overseas, can I choose not to claim tax relief credit? But the system seemed to prompt me doing so. Thanks for your clarification.

Hi John

If you are self employed in the UK and you receive income from overseas as part of that self employment, you can convert the gross income and expenses to pounds sterling and add it to the gross income and expenses from your UK self employment, so that the whole self employment income is declared on SA103.  

If overseas tax is deducted from the overeseas income, then you also declare the overseas income and tax deducted in SA106.  This then allows you to claim a foreign tax credit, so that you are not paying the same tax twice.  

If no overseas tax is deducted, then the whole gross profit and expenses are shown only on SA103.

Thank you

Hi RositaT
Yes, you need to show any of the foreign income as part of your self employed turnover to allow it to be included in the calculation.
This doesnt double your income.
If no foreign tax has been paid, then you do not need to include it on the foreign page as there is no tax credit to claim.