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.

5 Oct 2026

Tell HMRC, if this is your first return

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

Latest guides

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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
Statutory Demand: Free to Send, £2,952 to Follow Through | The Paid Hour
Invoicing & Payments

Statutory Demand: Free to Send, £2,952 to Follow Through

Free to send, £750 against a company and £5,000 against a sole trader. What a statutory demand really does, and when not to send one.

11 min read · Updated 25 Sep 2026
Claiming food and drink when self-employed: when lunch is actually allowable. You eat to live, not to work, decided in Caillebotte v Quinn 1975; overnight business trips allow both the hotel and the meals; itinerant trades can claim food on the road.
Tax & HMRC

Claiming Food and Drink: When Lunch Is Allowable

You eat to live, not to work, so everyday lunches fail. HMRC does allow food on overnight trips, for itinerant trades, and on journeys…

9 min read · Updated 25 Sep 2026
Claiming a laptop or phone when self-employed: forget capital allowances. The cash basis has been the default since 2024 to 2025 and under it equipment is simply an expense when you pay for it, with cars the exception.
Tax & HMRC

Claiming a Laptop or Phone: Forget Capital Allowances

Cash basis has been the default since 2024/25, and under it equipment is just an expense when you pay for it. Cars are the exception…

8 min read · Updated 6 Sep 2026

Tax & HMRC

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Claiming clothing when self-employed: the £60 uniform allowance is for employees. Everyday clothes fail even if worn only for work; uniforms, protective kit and costumes pass; decided in Mallalieu v Drummond, House of Lords, 1983.
Tax & HMRC

Claiming Clothing: The £60 Allowance Is for Employees

HMRC allows uniforms, protective clothing and costumes. Everyday clothes fail even if you only wear them for work, and the £60 flat rate is…

10 min read · Updated 6 Sep 2026
Chart: at the UK average rate of £27.40 per sq ft a year, a 25 sq ft storage unit costs about £685 a year, 50 sq ft £1,370, 75 sq ft £2,055 and 100 sq ft £2,740
Tax & HMRC

Business Storage UK: What It Costs and What You Can Claim

Self storage rent for stock or tools is an allowable expense. What a unit costs at the UK average rate, the VAT catch, and how to claim it…

9 min read · Updated 20 Sep 2026
Class 2 National Insurance 2026/27 for the self-employed: £7,105 Small Profits Threshold, £3.65 a week voluntary rate, and Class 4 at 6% and 2%
Tax & HMRC

Already File a Tax Return? You May Still Need to Register Again

Already have a UTR? A new self-employment still needs its own registration by 5 October 2026 — and skipping it quietly costs you National…

9 min read · Updated 7 Sep 2026
UK partnership late filing penalties charged to every partner: £100 on day one, £900 of daily penalties after three months, then 5% or £300 at six and twelve months
Tax & HMRC

Registering a Partnership by 5 October: The Penalty Every Partner Pays

A UK partnership needs two registrations, and the deadline falls in its second tax year. Miss the return and HMRC charges every partner…

10 min read · Updated 16 Sep 2026

Business Insurance

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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 7 Sep 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 7 Sep 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 7 Sep 2026
Public Liability Insurance Cost: What the Ads Leave Out — the from-£5.40 price is the cheapest 10% of customers; real published quotes run £86 to £100 a year | The Paid Hour
Business Insurance

Public Liability Insurance Cost: What the Ads Leave Out

Public liability insurance cost: the from-£5.40 headline is the cheapest tenth of customers, before monthly charges. Real published prices…

9 min read · Updated 7 Sep 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.