Just starting, and a bit mystified about the legal side of things -

alexroddie Reading "Pompomberry House" by Rosen Trevithick

07 Jul 2012, 08:01 AM | Post: #1

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Just starting, and a bit mystified about the legal side of things

I'm literally just starting to make the first steps towards publishing my book on Kindle, and although my research on what I need to do is ongoing, I'm a bit mystified about the legal side of things for a writer based in the UK!

Already know I ought to be registered as a sole trader, which means I need to be keeping records of transactions ... but what about VAT? Does Amazon account for VAT on my behalf, or will I have to pay that myself?

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leep

08 Jul 2012, 04:53 PM | Post: #2

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RE: Just starting, and a bit mystified about the legal side of things

I'm far from an expert, but you're only allowed to charge VAT if you're VAT registered, which you have to do if you turnover more than 50k a year.

You're not technically a retailer in the case of ebooks through Amazon etc, so you'd only need to declare additional income via a self-assessment tax return and I wouldn't worry about that until you actually start receiving royalties.

If in doubt, give your local tax office a ring, they're usually very helpful despite their reputation.

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alexroddie Reading "Pompomberry House" by Rosen Trevithick

09 Jul 2012, 08:02 AM | Post: #3

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RE: Just starting, and a bit mystified about the legal side of things

(08 Jul 2012 04:53 PM)leep Wrote: I'm far from an expert, but you're only allowed to charge VAT if you're VAT registered, which you have to do if you turnover more than 50k a year.

You're not technically a retailer in the case of ebooks through Amazon etc, so you'd only need to declare additional income via a self-assessment tax return and I wouldn't worry about that until you actually start receiving royalties.

If in doubt, give your local tax office a ring, they're usually very helpful despite their reputation.

Thanks for the reply. I've been doing a bit more research of my own and it looks a fair bit simpler than I feared it would be!

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LindaGruchy Reading The Chandelier Ballroom by Elizabeth Lord

09 Jul 2012, 09:44 AM | Post: #4

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RE: Just starting, and a bit mystified about the legal side of things

You can register for VAT below 50K turnover, it's over that figure (or something) that it's compulsory. The question is, would you want to? It makes accounting complicated.

I spent 25 minutes in a queue to my tax office to ask them a question, before I gave up.