How Much Tax Should a Sole Trader Save? Free UK Calculator 2026/27

Self-employed people pay their tax in one go, months after earning the money. Putting a share of every payment aside means January isn't a shock. Enter your expected profit for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027) to see roughly how much to save.

Tax + NI on your profit
£0
Save this share
0%
of your profit
Put aside each month
£0
over 12 months

How it's worked out

  • Personal Allowance: £12,570, reduced by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000.
  • Income Tax: 20% on the next £37,700, 40% up to £125,140, 45% above (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
  • Class 4 National Insurance: 6% on profit between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above.
  • If you have a PAYE job, your pay uses up your allowance and bands first, so this shows the extra tax caused by your self-employed profit (your employer already deducts the tax on your pay).

Payments on account

If your Self Assessment bill is more than £1,000 (and less than 80% of your tax was paid through PAYE), HMRC also asks for advance payments towards next year - half on 31 January and half on 31 July. In your first year that can mean paying around 150% of the bill in January. Save for it.

Track your income, expenses and tax as you go

Our UK Sole Trader Bookkeeping Spreadsheet keeps your income and expenses in HMRC's categories and works out your profit and tax estimate as you go. Excel and Google Sheets.

See the Bookkeeping Spreadsheet

Or buy it direct from my own shop - no marketplace fees, so it costs a little less.

Private tutor? The UK Tutor Business Kit does all this plus students, lessons and payments. Self-employed on Universal Credit? See the UC Self-Employed Workbook.

Rates for 2026/27 from GOV.UK. Not included: Scottish income tax bands, student loan repayments, the High Income Child Benefit Charge, savings and dividend income. An estimate, not tax advice. Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CIS Tax Refund Calculator 2026/27: How Much Could You Get Back?

Paid under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)? Your contractors take 20% off the labour part of your pay (30% if you're not registered) and send it to HMRC as an advance on your tax. That's taken before your Personal Allowance and expenses are counted - so many subcontractors are owed some of it back. Enter your figures for the 2026/27 tax year to estimate yours. Gross pay from contractors £ - before CIS, excluding VAT Materials included in that £ - no CIS should be taken from these CIS rate 20% - registered 30% - not registered CIS actually taken £ - from your statements. Leave blank to estimate Other business expenses £ - tools, PPE, insurance, phone, training Business miles in your car or van - 55p a mile, then 25p after 10,000 Pay from a PAYE job £ - leave 0 if none Tax taken by PAYE £ Estimated refund £0 CIS taken off £0 Your tax + NI £0 How a CIS refund works Each month your contractor takes CIS off the labour part of your invoice - not materials...
Read more

Dog Walking Price Calculator UK: What Should You Charge? (2026)

A £15 walk doesn't earn you £15 an hour. Collecting the dogs, driving between houses, drying them off and dropping them home all take time - and fuel costs money. Put in one of your walks to see what it really earns per hour, and what you'd need to charge to hit your target. Price £ Charged Per dog (group walks) Per walk (solo walks) Dogs on the walk Walk time (minutes) Extra time (minutes) - pick-ups, driving, drying off, drop-offs Miles driven for the walk Running cost per mile £ - fuel and wear. 0.20 is a fair guess Supplies per walk £ - poo bags, treats, towels Card or app fee % Your target hourly rate £ Walks like this per week Weeks you work a year - after holidays Earns per hour £0 Price for your target £0 A year, before tax £0 What do dog walkers charge in the UK? Prices vary a lot by area. Airtasker's May 2026 figures put a typical UK dog walk at around £15 , with London walks often £20 to £35 . Short 15 to 30 minute visits usually cost less...
Read more