FREE support and advice is available to solo traders, small businesses and residents at an event in Midsomer Norton.

Professional training and coaching organisation, Cool Venture, will host the free sessions for ventures in Bath and North East Somerset, which are funded by the government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

A workshop will take place at The Hollies on Thursday, October 17, between 10am and 1pm, helping to provide guidance on how to perform self-assessment and business reporting for tax purposes.

It is designed for individuals who need help doing their own tax returns or to get business accounts ready to send off to a third party or accountant to do it for them. The class will be particularly useful for those on lower incomes who cannot afford an accountant and therefore need to manage their own tax reporting.

Even for those who believe that no income tax will be due, the course can still be of benefit as the level of profit declared can affect the benefits that individuals receive, meaning it is still important to report your figures accurately.

The group business education class is primarily intended for those registered as self-employed by HMRC, and who need to do their tax returns for the year 2023/24. Newly self-employed individuals will also benefit, as they will be due to complete tax returns ahead of the end of the financial year 2024/25 next April.

The class will cover:

  • What needs doing, by when
  • How to calculate your annual business profit for tax purposes
  • What expenses can validly be offset against sales
  • What other information you may need to find for your tax return
  • The different methods you can use to submit a tax return

Cool Ventures clarify that this is not a tax return completion service, and any participants are responsible for their own tax returns by the deadline and with accuracy to be submitted to HMRC.

Kelly Dawnay, business owner of Little Love’s Bakes in the greater Bristol area, said: “Having never done a tax return before, I found the workshop extremely useful. It gave me the time to break down everything needed to submit the tax return in a way that I could understand.”

Tickets can be booked through Eventbrite. Bookings for the event is provisional until you have enrolled for the Free Business Support Service via a short online form.