With Christmas coming up, the festive season can be a worrying time for business owners and freelancers who might be torn between taking a break or continuing to earn money. Here are some of your options…
1. Just say no
The chance to make some money will be appealing, but a solid rest over the Christmas period is likely to refresh you ready for the New Year. Think wisely about your decision and only commit if you are 100% sure that watching The Snowman while chomping on Quality Streets is not going to be more attractive than sitting at your laptop.
2. Plan it well
If you do decide to stay open for business, plan the work well in advance. Work on the days when you don’t have family and friends over, or when the TV is bad. Prioritise the work you need to do and try to get as much done as you can before Christmas. A few late nights before festivities begin will be well worth it if it means you can fully switch off for a few days.
3. Talk to clients
Many of your clients will probably close over the festive period and will not be expecting you to work. Have a chat with them and see if there is any essential work that needs to be done. If not, relax!
4. Increase your rate
Some companies, however, will be looking for people to work at Christmas, therefore, you might actually make a profit this Christmas by increasing your daily rates – many companies will be more than willing to pay.
5. Sort your finance out.
If you are submitting an online tax return this year, why not spend the festive season getting fully up-to-date with your finance so that you don’t enter the new working year with your tax return hanging over your head. Don’t forget:
- Your online tax return must reach HMRC by midnight on 31 January.
You only have longer than this if you received the letter, telling you to send a tax return, after 31 October. In this case you’ll have three months from the date you received that letter.
- There’s an earlier deadline of 30 December if you want HMRC to collect any tax you owe through your tax code. You now can ask for this if you owe less than £3,000. Please show this clearly on your tax return. HMRC will try to collect the tax due through your code, but they can’t always do so.
[image by I'm Ashley Hello]
