🧑‍💼Self-Employed Tax Calculator (UK)

About this tool

Enter your turnover and allowable expenses (or tick the £1,000 trading allowance), plus any employment income. You'll see taxable profit, income tax, Class 4 National Insurance, the total bill, take-home pay, a monthly amount to set aside and any payments on account.

How sole traders are taxed

If you're self-employed as a sole trader, your profit is taxed, not your turnover. Profit is income minus allowable business expenses: stock, tools, software, mileage or vehicle costs, a share of home costs, phone, insurance, accountancy fees and so on. For small side income, the £1,000 trading allowance can be used instead of expenses. Profit is added to any other income and taxed through Self Assessment like a salary. The £12,570 personal allowance comes first, then 20%, 40% and 45% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or Scotland's six bands from 19% to 48%. On top of that is Class 4 National Insurance at 6% of profits between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above. Class 2 NI is no longer compulsory, but you can pay it voluntarily to protect your State Pension record. For example, £52,000 of sales with £12,000 of expenses gives £40,000 profit, £5,486 income tax and £1,645.80 NI. That's £7,131.80 in total, or about £594 a month to set aside, leaving £32,868.20. If your bill is over £1,000, HMRC usually asks for payments on account: two advance instalments towards next year, due on 31 January and 31 July, each half of this year's bill. Honest limits: student loan repayments, pension contributions, Child Benefit charges, VAT and losses aren't modelled. Making Tax Digital quarterly updates start in April 2026 for incomes over £50,000, and this isn't tax advice. The UK income tax calculator, the VAT calculator and the freelance rate calculator are related.

Frequently asked questions