For UK freelancers and sole traders

The money side of freelancing, explained properly.

Accounting software, Self Assessment, Making Tax Digital, and invoices that actually get paid, researched from HMRC guidance and the providers’ own documentation, with every figure linked to its source.

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  • Dated, and re-checked when rules change
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Dates that matter

Self Assessment deadlines for the 2025–26 tax year. All 11:59pm. Full breakdown.

31 Oct 2026

Paper return must reach HMRC

30 Dec 2026

File online to pay through your tax code

31 Jan 2027

Online return due — and payment for 2025–26

5 Apr 2027

Tax year 2026–27 ends

6 Apr 2027

Tax year 2027–28 starts

31 Jul 2027

Second payment on account, if you make them

Latest guides

Just published

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Are training courses tax deductible for the self-employed: new skills now count. The test is your business area rather than whether the skill is new, following HMRC guidance published on 6 March 2024.
Tax & HMRC

Are Training Courses Tax Deductible? New Skills Now Count

HMRC rewrote this on 6 March 2024. The test is now whether the course relates to your existing business area, not whether the skill is new…

7 min read · Updated 25 Sep 2026
Chart: tax on a £60,000 gain from selling a sole trader business is £13,680 at the normal 24% Capital Gains Tax rate and £10,260 with Business Asset Disposal Relief at 18%, a saving of £3,420
Running Your Business

How to Sell a Sole Trader Business in the UK (and the Tax You Pay)

Yes, you can sell a sole trader business. What a buyer actually pays for, how to price it, where to find a buyer, and the 18% Business…

8 min read · Updated 15 Oct 2026
What's already law for 6 April 2027 Checked September 2026.
Tax & HMRC

Autumn Budget 2026: What’s Already Law for April 2027

Autumn Budget 2026 is 28 October. For the self employed, four things are already law for 6 April 2027, including MTD at £30,000.

8 min read · Updated 25 Sep 2026
Paper or online tax return: three months of difference. A paper return must arrive by 31 October while an online one is due 31 January, only the online route keeps the 30 December tax code option open, and the SA100 can be downloaded.
Tax & HMRC

Missed the Paper Tax Return Deadline? Paper vs Online Explained

Paper must arrive by 31 October, online is due 31 January. Only online keeps the 30 December tax-code option open. And the SA100 can be…

7 min read · Updated 14 Oct 2026

Tax & HMRC

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Coworking costs are deductible but your commute is not. Desk rent goes in box 21 with premises costs, but a regular desk is a predictable place of work, so the journey from home to it is commuting and your use-of-home hours band drops with it.
Tax & HMRC

Coworking Costs Are Deductible. Your Commute Is Not

Desk rent goes in box 21 with your other premises costs. The catch: a regular desk becomes a predictable place of work, so the journey to…

7 min read · Updated 25 Sep 2026
Mileage or capital allowances for a self-employed car: you only choose once. Flat rate mileage pays 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles while capital allowances give 14 per cent a year on a reducing balance, and cars are excluded from the new 40 per cent first-year allowance.
Tax & HMRC

Mileage or Capital Allowances? You Only Choose Once

Claim the flat rate for a vehicle and you are locked in for that vehicle. And from 6 April 2026 a car in the main pool gets 14 per cent…

8 min read · Updated 25 Sep 2026
Your UTR comes by post, around 15 days later Checked September 2026.
Tax & HMRC

What happens after registering for Self Assessment: 15 days

What happens after registering for Self Assessment: your UTR arrives by post around 15 days later, then you file and pay by 31 January 2027.

13 min read · Updated 25 Sep 2026
Business travel or commuting for the self-employed: it is not about distance. A bricklayer working 55 miles from home could claim the mileage while a milkman driving to one depot could not, because HMRC tests how predictable your places of work are.
Tax & HMRC

Business Travel or Commuting? It Is Not About Distance

A bricklayer 55 miles from home could claim. A milkman driving to one depot could not. HMRC tests how predictable your places of work are…

8 min read · Updated 25 Sep 2026

Business Insurance

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Bar chart: cheapest 10% of Simply Business customers paid £64.78 a year for public liability (up to £2m) and £82.75 for professional indemnity (up to £1m), Jan to Jun 2026
Business Insurance

Public Liability vs Professional Indemnity: Do You Need Both?

Public liability covers injury and damage. Professional indemnity covers costly mistakes. Which you need by job, 2026 prices, and when you…

7 min read · Updated 15 Oct 2026
Cyber Insurance for Freelancers: What It Will Not Cover — Cyber Essentials bundles £25,000 of cover on an opt-in basis, it excludes money stolen by electronic means, the median cost of a breach in 2025/26 was £0 to £200, and the ICO data protection fee is the part that is actually compulsory | The Paid Hour
Business Insurance

Cyber Insurance for Freelancers: What It Will Not Cover

Cyber insurance for freelancers: Cyber Essentials bundles £25,000 of cover if you opt in — and excludes money stolen electronically. What…

9 min read · Updated 15 Oct 2026
Employers' Liability Insurance: £2,500 a Day Uninsured — the only compulsory small business policy, £5 million minimum cover, with volunteers and work experience students usually counted | The Paid Hour
Business Insurance

Employers’ Liability Insurance: £2,500 a Day Uninsured

Employers' liability insurance is the only cover UK law forces on a small business. When a sole trader counts as an employer, who is…

8 min read · Updated 15 Oct 2026
Professional Indemnity Insurance: What Sole Traders Miss — no general law requires it, the SRA sets £2 million and the ARB £250,000, and both require six years of run-off cover | The Paid Hour
Business Insurance

Professional Indemnity Insurance: What Sole Traders Miss

No law makes a sole trader buy professional indemnity insurance — a regulator or a client might. And the cover has to outlive the business…

9 min read · Updated 15 Oct 2026
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This is general information about how things work in the UK, not financial, tax or legal advice. For your own situation, speak to a qualified accountant.