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• Taxation
• Tax for Businesses and Self-Employed
• Starting Up a Business
• Three Line Account (form 3LA)
• Trading, Profit and Loss Account (TPLA)
• Taxation of business profits
• VAT and other certificates of status

Three Line Account (form 3LA)

Three Line Account ("3LA") is a simple way of providing details of your income and expenses from self-employment in a format that is acceptable to the Director of Income Tax.

When can the 3LA be used?

• if annual turnover is below £15,000 (see below for explanation of turnover), and
• if it is not the first year of your business, and
• if you do not want to claim annual allowances on capital expenditure.

Rather than submitting a lot of detailed information, all you need to do is tick the relevant box in Section B of your tax return and provide the following details on the downloadable form:

• nature of self-employment
• gross income / turnover,
• total expenses claimed,
• net profit (or loss).

NOTE - even if you use 3LA, the Director of Income Tax may, from time to time, exercise his right to request full details of all income and expenses claimed.  You are reminded that under the Income Tax (Keeping of Records etc) Regulations, 2006, you must have made and kept the appropriate business records and retain them for a period of 6 years, from the end of the year in which you submit the relevant tax return.

If you do not want, or are unable to use, the 3LA then full details of your income and expenses can be provided by using the Trading Profit & Loss Account ("TPLA"), if appropriate: 

This template should then be submitted with your annual tax return.

What is gross income / turnover?

This is the total income earned from your self-employment before any deductions.  This includes:

• cash, cheques, credit cards and other electronic payments,
• commission, tips, fees and miscellaneous receipts,
• value of any payments, i.e. a reward for work done other than by actual payment,
• value of any stock taken, without payment, from the business by you, your family or friends.

What expenses can I claim?

• Any expenses incurred "wholly and exclusively" for the business,
• where an item has a dual purpose (business and personal use) i.e. motor vehicle, mobile phone, then an adjustment should be made to exclude any personal usage,
• use of home as office - from 2011 a weekly allowance of £3 can be claimed.

Examples of expenses which are not allowable

• Your own drawings from the business,
• your own social security contributions,
• repayments of capital on loans,
• expenditure on capital items - if you wish to make a claim for items such as motor vehicles or equipment, please use the Trading, Profit & Loss Account (TPLA), if appropriate, not the 3LA.

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