Fellow Geordie,
Don't Flap.
If it's your first year of window cleaning, I strongly suggest that you've turned over less than £15K, which means you should have the short tax return. If you haven't got the short tax return, phone the tax man and tell him you want one.
The short one is easy.
Get all your receipts together; stuff you've forked out for squeegy rubbers, ladders, Fairy Liquid, scrims, ladders; anything you've spent on the running of your business.
Put them in date order, staple them to an A4 sheet of paper and add them all up.
This is your expenditure!
Add the amount you've made cleaning windows; this is your turnover.
There should be boxes on your forms to put these figures in. Don't be put off by the forms either; they look complicated, but take your time and read through them and the accompanying notes; most of the boxes will not be applicable to you.
Anyway, the difference between your turnover and expenditure is your profit.
You're only taxed on your profit. (But don't be daft and go stating that your turnover was £10K and your expenditure was £9K; use a bit of nouse).
I don't know the exact figures, but with regards to your profit, the first £5000 (ish) is free of tax, and then you'll be taxed at 20% for the rest; then some more for NI category 4 contributions.
For example:
Turnover £10,000
Expenditure: £4,000
Profit: £6000
The first £5000(ish) of your profit is free of tax, and you'll get taxed at 20% for the remaining £2000.
Then you'll get charged for your NI contributions on top; and I can't remember the calculation for that; but it's not that much really.
I hope I've helped some; it's more complicated than what I've made it sound, but I hope I've given you a starting point.
Also, some people here are reluctant to give tax advice, especially if it could be deemed as 'tax avoidance'; since everyone's attitude to tax is different and ranges from 'Whiter than white' to 'Dodgier than a NAAFI watch'. The 'whiter than white' brigade here will spank anyone who they think is pulling a fast one.
However, my own personal attitude towards paying tax is somewhere in the middle; unlike Prince Charles who was recently under a tax investigation for being really dodgy. I reckon it's the 'people with money' - the rich - who do most of the fiddling, since they can pay for the specialist advice.
