Registered sole trader with CRO didn't register for tax- what now?

M

moiramac

Guest
Hi I started a small business last year that didn't really pan out- I made a loss of around 600euro. I am also a full time PAYE employee- the business was to generate extra income.
I began filling out a tax return form, then worried that it was the wrong one, so posted a question on here (no answers).
I phoned the revenue office this morning where I was tolsd to register with ROS, fill in form 11 and submit online before mid november. However, I can't seem to register for ROS and despite all my extensive research into the legalities of a business I seem to have overlooked registering for tax. I vaguely remember speaking to Revenue last year and being told that a PAYE tax return was fine. Now it seems not to be the case.
What do I do now. I have found that you do get different answers from Revenue depending on who you speak to, but who do I believe now with the deadline looming.
Any advice would be gratefully accepted.
 
Thanks Fenero
The turnover was a loss of 600euro give or take. I still have some equipment- I was selling online to nurses but it never really took off, then single-use equipment became the norm so no-one wants to buy nurses scissors, tourniquets etc. I only bought in small amounts so that any losses wouldn't be huge if the business failed. I'm finding that I cannot register with ROS presumably because I didn't register for business tax- I never expected to make much profit. Now I'm stuck and don't know what to do.
 
Thanks Fenero
The turnover was a loss of 600euro give or take. I still have some equipment- I was selling online to nurses but it never really took off, then single-use equipment became the norm so no-one wants to buy nurses scissors, tourniquets etc. I only bought in small amounts so that any losses wouldn't be huge if the business failed. I'm finding that I cannot register with ROS presumably because I didn't register for business tax- I never expected to make much profit. Now I'm stuck and don't know what to do.

Turnover refers to your total sales (before deducting any costs), so you can't have a loss on turnover. Do you know what your total sales were?

Yes, you probably can't register for ROS online as your PPS number might not be linked to an income tax registration. In takes the best part of 2 weeks to complete the ROS registration process anyway, so you would be cutting it a bit fine as it is.

Fines for late filing of tax returns are based on a % of the tax liability so if you do not have a tax liability, you will not have to pay a late filing surcharge. Still, it is advisable to get the return in on time if it is still possible.

If you are required to file a Form 11, you will have to register for income tax and then try and register for ROS once this is complete (but this will all take a few weeks to arrange). Or you can register for income tax and ask the Revenue to send out a paper return for you to complete and post back to them. However, this means that the relevant filing deadline is 31st October (and not 16th November for online returns) so your return will be late.

If you are filing a Form 12 you can download this from the website and probably still get it sent in on time.
 
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