It is a newbie’s information to self-assessment, designed to assist sole merchants who’re simply beginning out or performing a tax return for the primary time. We’ll cowl fundamentals comparable to registering for self-assessment, what documentation you’ll want and what software program will help.
We’ll additionally embody further info just like the upcoming 12 months’s deadlines and whether or not you might want to rent an accountant.
Learn on for the total information or go straight to your most popular part.
- What’s self-assessment?
- Do I have to do self-assessment?
- How do I register for self-assessment?
- Which paperwork do I have to submit self-assessment?
- How you can submit your tax return
- Do I would like to rent an accountant?
- What software program will help with self-assessment?
- Vital self-assessment dates
- I’m nonetheless not sure about submitting my tax return – is there any help obtainable?
What’s self-assessment?
Self-assessment is the strategy used to calculate how a lot tax you might want to pay in your annual earnings.
Do I have to do self-assessment?
You’ll have to do self-assessment if:
- You’re registered as sole dealer and have earned greater than £1,000 (pre-tax)
- You must pay the Excessive Earnings Youngster Profit Cost
If you happen to’re unsure, test the federal government device which can let you know if you might want to file for self-assessment.
How do I register for self-assessment?
The federal government web site has a separate on-line device that you should use to register for self-assessment.
If you happen to’ve already registered, you don’t have to do it once more. Nonetheless, when you registered for self-assessment final 12 months however didn’t do a tax return, you’re going to need to do it once more this 12 months.
Which paperwork do I have to submit self-assessment?
It will depend upon whether or not you’re employed or self-employed, and you probably have some other types of earnings comparable to advantages or a rental property.
The place it applies to you, you’ll want:
- Distinctive taxpayer reference (UTR)
- Authorities Gateway person ID
- Nationwide Insurance coverage quantity
- Invoices you’ve issued
- Wage and earnings from different jobs
- Advantages out of your employer
- Earnings from pensions or state profit
- Earnings from rental properties
- Pupil mortgage plan and any sums that you simply’ve repaid
How you can submit your tax return
When you’ve registered, you possibly can submit your self-assessment on-line at gov.uk.
Accuracy is vital with tax returns, so one factor you need to do is hold correct information of the next all year long:
- Any info round gross sales and earnings
- A file of each enterprise expense you propose to assert
- All VAT information (when you’re registered for VAT, that’s)
- PAYE information (you probably have staff)
- All private earnings information
Maintain all of those for no less than 5 years after your final self-assessment submission.
Do I would like to rent an accountant?
Although there’s no requirement for an accountant, however you’d be leaving your self huge open to pricey errors comparable to miscalculations and incomplete info. Over-claiming and under-claiming on allowable bills are additionally frequent points, as isn’t together with all earnings.
What’s extra, an accountant can be sure you declare the entire bills that you simply’re entitled to – and those you may not learn about.
It’s additionally value checking who you’ve gotten your corporation checking account with as some might have entry to an accountancy agency as a part of their package deal. Even when they don’t, enterprise financial institution accounts typically combine with accountancy platforms, making managing your funds considerably simpler.
What software program will help with self-assessment?
Software program could be an unlimited assist once you’re submitting your self-assessment.
The software program you select should meet the next necessities:
- Work with tax calculations that adhere to UK requirements and appropriate with our tax 12 months (April 6 – April 5)
- Has to combine with UK financial institution accounts
- Can deal with earnings from completely different sources – employed, self-employed, property, pension, and many others.
- Has to fulfill UK information safety necessities
- Sending out deadline reminders
From April 2026, software program have to be appropriate with Making Tax Digital you probably have an annual earnings of over £50,000. You could use it to maintain digital information, submit abstract earnings and expense information each quarter and finalise your corporation earnings at 12 months finish.
Sage’s self-assessment software program information transactions and lets you take footage and scan your bills once you’re out and about. AI-powered automation kinds your bills into classes too. From there, you possibly can generate a filled-out self-assessment type, put it on the federal government portal and submit.
Sage Enterprise Cloud Accounting
Sage is a cloud-based accounting device for small companies, recognised by HMRC and appropriate with Making Tax Digital. It gives options like invoicing, VAT submissions, financial institution syncing, and AI-powered instruments. Plans scale with your corporation wants, from sole merchants to rising groups.
Plans and pricing (excl. VAT):
- Begin – £1.80/month (then £18): Invoicing, financial institution reconciliation, VAT submissions
- Commonplace – £3.90/month (then £39): Contains Begin + CIS, cashflow, quotes, superior reporting
- Plus – £5.90/month (then £59): Contains Commonplace + stock, multi-currency, and budgeting
Intro provide: 90 per cent off for six months
Try Sage’s self-assessment software program to find extra
QuickBooks
QuickBooks is a well-liked cloud-based accounting platform, perfect for sole merchants to rising SMEs. HMRC-recognised for Making Tax Digital, it gives invoicing, VAT and CIS submissions, real-time insights, and AI-powered bookkeeping.
Plans and pricing (excl. VAT):
- Sole Dealer – £1/month (then £10): Invoicing, cashflow, MTD for Earnings Tax, Self Evaluation instruments
- Easy Begin – £1.60/month (then £16): Provides VAT submissions, CIS returns, and accountant entry
- Necessities – £3.80/month (then £38): Multi-user, payments, time monitoring, multi-currency
- Plus – £5.60/month (then £56): Inventory monitoring, undertaking profitability, budgeting
- Superior – £12.30/month (then £123): As much as 25 customers, automation, batch invoicing, superior reporting
90 per cent off for 12 months
Xero
Xero has a number of plans which companies can select from relying on their wants. The costs quoted are for traditional packages (as at time of publishing) however the firm has common promotions and there are non-obligatory add-ons as properly.
Plans and pricing (excl. VAT)
- Easy – 70p per thirty days for the primary six months, then £7 per thirty days: Quotes, MTD for ITSA, financial institution reconciliation, Hubdoc receipt seize
- Ignite – £1.60 per thirty days for the primary six months, then £16 per thirty days: All Easy options + enter payments, VAT submitting to HMRC, non-obligatory invoice funds and CIS returns
- Develop – £3.70 per thirty days for the primary six months, then £37 per thirty days: All Ignite options + pay as much as 5 payments, bills & mileage for five customers (£2.50 per further person), 5-person payroll, non-obligatory undertaking monitoring (£5 per person)
- Complete – £5 per thirty days for the primary six months, then £50 per thirty days: All Develop options + invoice funds for 10, multi-currency help, undertaking monitoring (for 10 customers)
- Final – £6.50 per thirty days for the primary six months, then £65 per thirty days: All Complete options + invoice funds for 15, superior analytics, as much as 10-person payroll, enhanced budgeting and insights
Intro provide: 90 per cent off for six months when you join by 30 January, 2026. Every package deal has a 30-day free trial.
See additionally: Making Tax Digital (MTD) – HRMC necessities and the very best appropriate software program suppliers – After the rollout of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT, MTD for Earnings Tax is being phased in from April 2026
Vital self-assessment dates
Listed below are the need-to-know self-assessment dates all year long.
October 5: Deadline to register for self-assessment when you’re registering for the primary time
October 31: Self-assessment paper type deadline
December 30: Self-assessment PAYE tax assortment deadline
January 31: On-line self-assessment deadline; first ‘fee on account’ due (fee in direction of your subsequent invoice)
April 5: Finish of the tax 12 months; deadline to assert overpaid tax for earlier years
April 6: Begin of the brand new tax 12 months
July 31: Second fee on account due
I’m nonetheless not sure about submitting my tax return – is there any help obtainable?
If in case you have additional questions, hunt down recommendation from an accountant. The federal government additionally has a sequence of content material that can assist you along with your tax return, particularly as a first-timer.
You may as well try Sage’s accounting software program right here.
Learn extra
Six causes to deal with your self-assessment tax return early – Emily Coltman, chief accountant at FreeAgent, explores why it could be useful to tackle the self-assessment tax return early
Must you register as a sole dealer or a restricted firm? – Mart Abramov, CEO of TaxScouts, shares the positives and negatives of being a sole dealer or a restricted firm, so you can also make the only option on your rising enterprise
Finest enterprise financial institution accounts for sole merchants – We’ve rounded up among the greatest enterprise financial institution accounts created with sole merchants in thoughts
