In short: One named person researches, writes, checks and publishes every page on this site. Figures come from HMRC, legislation and the provider’s own pricing page, never from another blog. Commission never decides a recommendation, and material errors get a dated correction on the page.
The Paid Hour is written by Syed Esrak Ahmmed. There is no newsroom behind it and I am not going to pretend there is. That is a limit, and it is also the reason this page exists: when one person is telling you what HMRC expects of you, you should be able to see exactly how that person works.
Primary sources, and nothing else
Every figure, threshold, rate and deadline on this site is taken from a primary source: HMRC guidance and manuals on gov.uk, the legislation itself on legislation.gov.uk, official announcements, or the provider’s own pricing and terms pages. I do not source facts from other blogs, forums or summaries. If a fact only exists in someone else’s article, it does not go in.
Each guide ends with a Sources section listing the pages the figures came from, with the date I last checked them. If you want to verify a number before you act on it, the link is there.
How the pages are dated
Tax rules change every April and software prices change whenever the vendor decides. Every page carrying a figure that can go stale says when it was last checked. A tax guide is re-checked on or shortly after 6 April each year; software and banking pages are re-checked at least quarterly and whenever a provider announces a price change. The check date on the page is the date to trust, not the publish date.
What happens when a rule changes
When rates or rules move, the old page is not quietly overwritten. If the change is small, the page is updated and the check date moves. If the change is large enough that the old figures are still useful as background, a new page carries the current position, both pages link to each other, and the old one says at the top that it has been superseded and when. Old addresses are never deleted or renamed.
How software and banks get reviewed
Comparisons are built from published pricing, published feature documentation, HMRC’s list of software compatible with Making Tax Digital where relevant, and hands-on use where I have it. Where a verdict rests on the documentation rather than on use, the page says so. I do not claim to have tested something I have not. The full criteria are on the how reviews are scored page.
The commercial conversation happens after the verdict, never before. Which product leads a comparison is decided by the article’s own conclusion; only then do I check whether a link to it can carry a commission. Some of the tools rated highest here pay nothing at all.
Money does not buy position
No company can pay to appear in a comparison, to move up within one, or to have criticism removed. There are no sponsored posts, no paid guest posts and no paid links. A favourable or unfavourable verdict makes no difference to what I earn from writing it, because nobody pays me to write it. How the site does earn is set out on the how this site makes money page.
Wherever a link on this site can earn a commission, the plain address of the same product is available on the same page, so nobody has to use the commission link to get to it.
No affiliate links in regulated categories
The site carries no affiliate links to investment products, cryptoasset exchanges, brokers or trading platforms, at any commission, and no recommendations in insurance, mortgages or pensions beyond explaining how they work. Promoting those products is regulated activity in the UK and this site is not authorised to do it. Where those topics come up, the page explains the tax or legal treatment and points you to FCA-regulated advice.
How the writing is produced
Research and drafting tools, including AI, may be used to organise material and produce first drafts. Nothing is published on that basis alone. Every page is checked line by line against the primary sources listed on it and edited by me before it goes live, and I take full responsibility for every word. No page is mass-generated or published without that check. If a page ever reads as if a machine wrote it, that is a fault, and I would like to hear about it.
Corrections
Mistakes happen, and on a site about tax they matter. A material error, meaning a wrong figure, date, rule or threshold, is corrected on the page with a dated note saying what changed. A typo or a clumsy sentence is fixed without a note. Every material correction is also logged publicly on the corrections page. To report one, use the contact page; I aim to reply within five working days.
Information, not advice
Everything here is general information about how things work in the UK. It is not financial, tax, accounting or legal advice, and it cannot take account of your circumstances. I am not an accountant, a tax adviser or a solicitor, and the site is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. For advice on your own position, speak to a qualified professional.
Last reviewed 26 August 2026.