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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.

Tax planning & compliance Article Count:  23

Want to save tax but reduce tax risk?  In this section you have a series of tax planning guides and compliance checklists.  

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.

Expenses: different trades Article Count:  16

Looking at special rules and what expenses can different trades, professions and vocations claim.

Making Tax Digital Article Count:  20

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Business

  • VAT:
    • From April 2019: most 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'.
  • Income tax:
    • From April 2022 VAT registered unincororated business start reporting MTD returns.
    • From April 2023 self-employed businesses and landlords with business turnover above £10,000 report under MTD.
    • From April 2024 companies can start using a MTD for Corporation Tax (CT) pilot scheme.
    • From April 2026 companies join MTD for CT.