The Self-Employed UK Tax Guide 2025/26 & 2026/27

The complete tax guide for self-employed people in the UK — written by an AAT-qualified accountant in Tewkesbury with 15+ years of experience.

Whether you've just started out or have been trading for years, this guide puts everything in one place — no jargon, no overwhelm, just clear and practical information you can actually use.

What's inside (46 pages):

✅ How to register with HMRC — step by step, including the 5 October deadline most people miss

✅ Sole trader vs partnership vs limited company — which structure fits you

✅ Income Tax explained simply, with a worked example in pounds

✅ National Insurance — Class 2 and Class 4 rates for both 2025/26 and 2026/27

✅ Self Assessment — every deadline mapped out, plus the payments-on-account shock explained

✅ Allowable expenses — what you can claim, what you can't, and the rules HMRC uses

✅ Working from home and mileage — flat rates and how to claim correctly

✅ Capital allowances — laptops, tools, vans and the new April 2026 changes

✅ Making Tax Digital — a full checklist for the April 2026 rollout (mandatory for income over £50,000)

✅ VAT — when to register, why to register voluntarily, and which scheme to choose

✅ Record keeping, pensions, CIS, insurance, invoicing and getting paid

✅ When (and why) to hire an accountant

✅ Appendix A: Full two-year key dates calendar

✅ Appendix B: 26-term glossary in plain English

Every figure is verified and current for both 2025/26 and 2026/27, including the Autumn Budget 2025 changes — the dividend tax rise, the Writing Down Allowance drop, the income tax freeze extension to 2031, and the April 2026 MTD launch.

About the author

I'm Izabela Stanita, AAT-qualified accountant and founder of Etaxpol Ltd in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Over more than 15 years we've supported hundreds of self-employed individuals and limited companies across the UK. Much of what's in this guide is the same advice I give clients at their first free consultation.

If you'd like personalised help after reading — get in touch at etaxpol.com or call 07858 436159. The first consultation is always free.

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