Accountants for sole traders

Your Unique Taxpayer Reference — the 10-digit number HMRC issues when you register for Self Assessment. Lifelong, and needed for every return.

Advance payments toward next year's tax, due 31 January and 31 July, triggered once your bill passes £1,000. The first year they apply effectively bills 150% at once.

The main Self Assessment return form. Supplementary pages bolt on for employment, self-employment, property, capital gains and foreign income.

The difference between what your payments on account covered and what the year's tax actually was — settled each 31 January.

The summaries of income and expenses MTD requires every three months — replacing the single annual return rhythm for mandated taxpayers.

Tools that connect spreadsheets to HMRC's systems, keeping spreadsheet workflows legal under MTD's digital-records rules.

The year-end submission that finalises your position under MTD for Income Tax — the successor to the traditional return.

Matching your books to the bank, transaction by transaction — the discipline that makes every other number trustworthy.

For accounts prepared from reasonable records plus the Self Assessment filed, yes. If your records need reconstruction, that's quoted separately and fixed before we start. Ongoing bookkeeping (from £49/month) is optional — many sole traders only need the annual service.

Use of home calculated properly rather than the £6/week flat rate, business mileage at 45p, pre-trading expenses from before you registered, professional subscriptions, training that updates existing skills, and the business share of phone and internet. Reviewing these is standard in our service, and it routinely covers the fee.

Run the numbers around £30,000–£40,000 profit, or sooner if liability worries you or clients expect a company. It's not automatic — extra admin is real — so we model your actual figures both ways free before recommending. If you incorporate, formation is £49 and the transition is handled end to end.

There's no Companies House filing for sole traders, but you must keep records supporting your Self Assessment — and proper accounts almost always save more tax than they cost, because expenses stop slipping through the cracks.

Anything wholly and exclusively for the business: materials, tools, mileage or vehicle costs, phone, insurance, home-office use, software, professional fees and more. Our job is claiming everything legitimate — clients are usually surprised by what they'd been missing.

Preparation and online filing of your full SA100 return, including the supplementary pages your situation needs. If your return is more complex — rental income, capital gains — the packages above show the fixed price, and we confirm it in writing before starting.

Yes. Late returns are common and fixable: we prepare and file the outstanding return quickly, and where there's a reasonable excuse we help you appeal penalties. The sooner it's filed, the sooner the penalties stop growing.

For Income Tax: April 2026 if your combined self-employment and property income is over £50,000; April 2027 for over £30,000. VAT-registered businesses have been in MTD for VAT for years already. The income test uses your most recent filed return — which surprises people whose income fluctuates around the line.

Three things: records must be kept digitally (spreadsheets need bridging software), a summary update goes to HMRC every quarter, and a final declaration replaces the traditional return. Same tax, different rhythm — the risk isn't paying more, it's missing quarterly deadlines that never existed before.

Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent — whichever suits your business (or whichever you already use). Software subscription can be included in your monthly fee, and we handle all the setup and migration.

Each line on your bank statement — a payment in or out. Most one-person businesses sit comfortably under 50 a month. If you drift over your band we'll tell you before the fee changes, never after.