This section covers the tax rules for self-employed individuals, or "sole traders".  These are people who trade on their own through an unincorporated business.

These rules also apply to partners in partnerships, but partnership law is a separate issue, and partnerships can have different treatment when it comes to taxing profits and losses.

Essential know-how Article Count:  25

Person in clearing 4

This section is for sole traders and is full of tax planning guides and tips & tools together with tax compliance checklists and our regular CPD updates.

What expenses can I claim? Article Count:  31

Different tax rules apply for different types of expense. These guides summarise the rules, advise you on planning points and tax-traps and with worked examples illustrate what you can and can't claim.

Making Tax Digital Article Count:  9

Making tax digital

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Business* New Dates

  • *Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA):
    • Individuals can use the MTD ITSA pilot
    • From April 2026: self-employed businesses and landlords with business turnover above £50,000 report under MTD for ITSA.
    • From April 2027: self-employed businesses and landlords with business turnover above £30,000 report under MTD for ITSA
    • From  tba: other income tax , general partnerships and partnerships.
  • Corporation Tax (CT): 
    • From April 2024: companies can start using a MTD for Corporation Tax (CT) pilot scheme.
    • From April 2026: companies join MTD for CT.
  • VAT:
    • From April 2019: VAT registered businesses with turnover exceeding the VAT registration threshold must retain digital records and submit their VAT returns to HMRC using 'functional compatible software'.
    • From April 2022: all VAT registered business report under MTD for VAT.