self-employment certificate from UK Thread poster: Maja Źróbecka, MITI
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Hi all,
I used to be self-employed in the UK (translation), but a while ago moved back to Poland. I now need to present to one authority in Poland a certificate that I was self-employed from xx to yy and that my business was to do with translation. How can I go about it in the quickest way?
In Poland there is an Interent database, where you enter you Tax ID and it produces a certificate with your details and type of services you provide and if your business is still op... See more Hi all,
I used to be self-employed in the UK (translation), but a while ago moved back to Poland. I now need to present to one authority in Poland a certificate that I was self-employed from xx to yy and that my business was to do with translation. How can I go about it in the quickest way?
In Poland there is an Interent database, where you enter you Tax ID and it produces a certificate with your details and type of services you provide and if your business is still operating.
Is there anything like this in the UK? I was registered for self-assessment and can still access the HMRC website, but it only lists my past statements and I do not feel like divulging this much information when all this authority needs is a simple certificate.
Can you help, please?
Many thanks!
Maja /maya/ ▲ Collapse
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Neil Coffey 
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:55
French to English
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| HMRC can issue a certificate | Jun 8, 2012 |
Maja Zrobecka wrote:
Is there anything like this in the UK? I was registered for self-assessment and can still access the HMRC website, but it only lists my past statements and I do not feel like divulging this much information when all this authority needs is a simple certificate.
HMRC can issue certificates to indicate that you are a current UK taxpayer. I imagine they can issue a similar certificate to confirm that you were previously a UK taxpayer.
The last time I had to request one of these, the request had to be made in writing and it took them 2 months to issue it. Telephoning them didn't help-- all they told me was "sorry, we currently have a backlog on our mail but we'll get it to it when we can". They just confirmed that there was absolutely nothing I could do but sit and wait for two months...
That was a couple of years ago. I don't know if by some miracle HMRC have stopped being quite so grossly incompetent since.
If I were you, I'd get your letter sent off to them soon.
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| Incompetent or understaffed? | Jun 8, 2012 |
Neil Coffey wrote:
That was a couple of years ago. I don't know if by some miracle HMRC have stopped being quite so grossly incompetent since.
If it's a case of the latter, the OP might find that it will now take even longer as there's another axe heading the HRMC's way.
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XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:55
Portuguese to English
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However, if I'm not mistaken, I don't think anything from HMRC will specify that you were self-employed specifically as a translator, if that's what you're after.
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| Thank you all | Jun 9, 2012 |
for your comments. Two months is a long period of time - I wouldn't want to wait this long.
Lisa - yes, perhaps you are right since the only occasion when I ever had to mention what my business dealt with was when filling in a tax return, and even then, as far as I remember, this field was optional. So looks like I'm in a tight spot with this one.
Maybe there are some other suggestions?
Thanks!
Maja
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LuciaC
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:55
English to Italian
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| Not an easy one | Jun 9, 2012 |
Did you have an accountant when you lived here who might be willing to issue some kind of statement for you?
Or how about the Polish Consulate you used to refer to?
Maybe you could try and collect two different documents, one stating that you were self-employed, the other that you were a translator.
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XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:55
Portuguese to English
+ ...
How about just showing them your accounts? I realise you don't want to divulge facts and figures but sadly you may not have a choice. Alternatively, if you had an accountant while in the UK I'm sure he/she would draft a short letter confirming your self-employment as a translator.
Were/are you a member of a professional organisation? If so, you may be on their online register and can take a print-out of that? It won't show the dates you were in the UK but will provide proof of your activit... See more How about just showing them your accounts? I realise you don't want to divulge facts and figures but sadly you may not have a choice. Alternatively, if you had an accountant while in the UK I'm sure he/she would draft a short letter confirming your self-employment as a translator.
Were/are you a member of a professional organisation? If so, you may be on their online register and can take a print-out of that? It won't show the dates you were in the UK but will provide proof of your activity. ▲ Collapse
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| Send a copy of your UK self-assessment form? | Jun 9, 2012 |
Perhaps you could send the Polish authority a scanned copy of your most recent UK self-assessment form - probably just the front page would suffice, showing your tax reference number, name, address and the fact that you are self-assessed for tax purposes. That way you wouldn't have to divulge any income or personal details.
Yes, HMRC are profoundly slow at answering letters. Their "help" line is permanently busy and even when they do reply, the reply is often wrong or uninformative - a sit... See more Perhaps you could send the Polish authority a scanned copy of your most recent UK self-assessment form - probably just the front page would suffice, showing your tax reference number, name, address and the fact that you are self-assessed for tax purposes. That way you wouldn't have to divulge any income or personal details.
Yes, HMRC are profoundly slow at answering letters. Their "help" line is permanently busy and even when they do reply, the reply is often wrong or uninformative - a situation possibly aggravated by staff cuts.
Best of luck!
Jenny ▲ Collapse
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| Alternatively.... | Jun 9, 2012 |
Maja Zrobecka wrote:
I was registered for self-assessment and can still access the HMRC website, but it only lists my past statements and I do not feel like divulging this much information when all this authority needs is a simple certificate.
As others have said, the obvious solution that sprang to my mind was the front page of the Self-Employment pages of your S/A form. assuming you filled it in completely and honestly, it would be the only way, I think, to demonstrate you worked in translation. However, both the short and full versions show some financial information on the first page.
However, an alternative way to demonstrate you were self employed might be to ask for a statement of your national insurance contributions, which (I think) would show they were class 2 and class 4 and therefore paid by a self-employed person. I'm not 100% sure of that, but it might be worth a look.
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| Great suggestions - thanks! | Jun 10, 2012 |
Lisa, I was an associate member of the ITI and I think I have some documents to confirm this. Else, as others have suggested, I will go with the simplest and quickest method - present my self-assessment form.
But this is really ironic - the authority I am referring to is a Polish translators' association. They need to see I have been working as a translator for a minimum of 3 years. In fact, I have much more experience than this, only that I first worked in a foreign country, namely... See more Lisa, I was an associate member of the ITI and I think I have some documents to confirm this. Else, as others have suggested, I will go with the simplest and quickest method - present my self-assessment form.
But this is really ironic - the authority I am referring to is a Polish translators' association. They need to see I have been working as a translator for a minimum of 3 years. In fact, I have much more experience than this, only that I first worked in a foreign country, namely the UK.
You have been really helpful.
Maja ▲ Collapse
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