9.3. Self-employment or Director of a specified limited company in the UK – general requirements
9.3.1. For those self-employed as a sole trader, as a partner or in a franchise, the relevant financial year(s) will be that covered by the self-assessment tax return and in the UK this runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year. Where the applicant is relying on their partner’s income from self-employment overseas, the relevant financial year(s) will reflect the requirements of the taxation system of that country.
9.3.2. For those employed as a director of a specified limited company in the UK, the relevant financial year(s) will be that covered by the Company Tax Return CT600 and corresponds to the 12-month accounting year of the company.
9.3.3. The evidence submitted must cover the relevant financial year(s) most recently ended. A self-assessment tax return may include provisional figures, where the return explains why this is so and how the figures were arrived at, and in which case a covering letter explaining this and how any provisional figures tie in with other material submitted, e.g. audited or unaudited accounts, may be helpful. This means that a sponsor wishing to rely on earnings from self-employment as a sole trader, as a partner or in a franchise will need to arrange to file their self assessment tax return to HMRC on a timescale geared to meeting this requirement of the Immigration Rules rather than the deadline set for UK tax purposes.
9.3.4. If a person has different financial years, e.g. because they are both self-employed and a director of a specified limited company, their income from the self-assessment tax return and Company Tax Return financial years cannot be combined to meet the financial requirement. Including income from differently based financial years would not be a fair or accurate way of calculating a person’s annual income.
9.3.5. Where the applicant’s partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work) is in self-employment, this may include work undertaken overseas, subject to the couple meeting the requirement in paragraph E-LTRP.1.10 of Appendix FM that they intend to live together permanently in the UK and subject to the other requirements of Appendix FM-SE being met.
9.3.6. Income under Category F or Category G can be combined with income from salaried and non-salaried employment, non-employment income and pension income in order to meet the financial requirement. However, unlike with other Categories, these sources of income must fall within the relevant financial year(s) in order to be included. Under Category F or Category G, all sources of income must fall within the financial year(s) relied on and must still be a source of income at the time of application. For example, to count income from property rental the income must have been received during the relevant financial year(s) and the property must still be owned by the relevant person at the date of application.
9.3.7. Where a couple are using their joint income to meet the financial requirement, all of this income must fall within the financial year(s) being relied on and must still be a source of income at the time of application. For example, if the applicant is in the UK with permission to work, to combine their salaried employment income with their partner’s self-employment income, they must provide evidence of the income received from this salaried employment during their self-employed partner’s relevant financial year(s) and evidence of ongoing employment at the date of application.
9.3.8. Self-employed income can be cash-in-hand if the correct tax is paid. In line with paragraph 3.1.5 of this guidance, it would generally be expected that the person’s business or personal bank statements would fully reflect all gross (pre-tax) cash income. Flexibility may only be applied where the decision-maker is satisfied that the cash income relied upon is fully evidenced by the relevant tax return(s) and the accounts information.
9.3.9. Where a person in self-employment, or who is the director of a specified limited company in the UK, also relies on income from other employment (salaried or non-salaried) during the relevant financial year(s), they must also provide evidence of ongoing employment (salaried or non-salaried) at the date of application.
9.3.10. Income from employment as a director of a limited company in the UK of a type specified in paragraph 9(a) of Appendix FM-SE, and dividends from this type of company (where the person is a director of that company), will be counted as income under Category F or Category G.
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Originally Posted by Terpe
