How Much Tax will i have to pay?

faringdon

Hi,
How much Tax will I have to pay when I do self-assessment for working as a Sole Trader?
In Tax Year 2025-2026 I was payed £2538 at one company (As a Sole Trader) , and was payed £6160 at another company (Also as a Sole Trader).
How much Tax will I have to pay? (roughly)

In the same year, all my other employment was PAYE.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6677130/how-much-tax-will-i-have-to-pay

~£4,175 would be guess. Could be a bit more if things like tapered Personal Allowance, HICBC or Winter Fuel tax come into play.

Obviously knowing your PAYE income would help be a bit more accurate.

TurbulentCourage

With the limited info. this is Impossible to calculate or even guess.

Three immediate questions spring to mind: What business costs can you offset against your self employed income? How much did you earn from your PAYE employment (before tax/NI)? What is your tax code?

There would probably be other information needed.

If you don't know what you are doing or don't know how to complete your tax return I would advise seeking help from an accountant (their fees would offset some of any tax payable).

Grumpy_chap

Hi,
How much Tax will I have to pay when I do self-assessment for working as a Sole Trader?
In Tax Year 2025-2026 I was payed £2538 at one company (As a Sole Trader) , and was payed £6160 at another company (Also as a Sole Trader).
How much Tax will I have to pay? (roughly)

In the same year, all my other employment was PAYE.

You really need to engage the professional services of an Accountant to assist you with your tax returns, checking opportunities to off-set valid expenses and ensuring you pay the correct amount of tax. The Accountant will charge a fee, but the peace of mind their service provides will be invaluable.

You might fid this thread gives some suggestions as to how to source a suitable local Accountant:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6676237/electronics-engineer-contractor-needs-an-accountant

Is the self-employment you did definitely as Sole Trader, or was any of it via Umbrella Company?

faringdon

It was Sole Trader….i had to get a UTR, which i did.

£4175 would be 48% Tax.

Surely that cant be right?. I guess i have to add up all the money earned from other jobs in tht Tax Year (which were PAYE)…and then find the total gross amount i earned for the year?…and if its above £50k gross then anything above £50k gross goes at 50% Tax?

In the Tax Year 2025-2026, i earned the following gross on PAYE: £16755.90..And from that i received £12855.01 into my Bank Account.Obviously the £2538 + £6160 that i earned as a Sole Trader (in 2025-2026 Tax year) i received into my Bank Account and i havent yet payed tax on it.

I wonder if the accountant could offet my Travelodge expenses?, in the Travelodge "Past bookings" section it shows when i stayed…maybe i could offset that against tax? I had to stay at Travelodges for the sole trader work.

If the accountant cant offset my travelodge expenses then theres no point in getting an accountant….i woudl just be fee paying them for nothing.

I thought sole trader tax returns were easy?….only "Limited company" tax returns are hard?

QrizB

I thought sole trader tax returns were easy?

A personal tax return requires you to account for all income and expenses for the year. This means keeping records and accurately filling in the forms.

only "Limited company" tax returns are hard?

They're as easy or as hard as your tax circumstances make them. Getting them wrong however can have expensive consequences, which is why many people choose to employ a professional.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080471#Comment_82080471

I think the questions you are asking really demonstrate that you cannot afford NOT to have an Accountant. You don't even seem to have the basic knowledge to complete your own tax calculation - for example, the income tax rates in England are 0%, 20%, 40%, and 45%. Your reference to 50% is simply incorrect.

In addition, you are looking to correctly adjust for allowable expenses.

Have you considered whether any NIC is due on the sole-trader income?

DRS1

for example, the income tax rates in England are 0%, 20%, 40%, and 45%. Your reference to 50% is simply incorrect.

For now. Who knows what the new Chancellor has in mind.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080745#Comment_82080745

I don't think that is advancing the OP in calculating how much tax they will have to pay when I do self-assessment for working as a Sole Trader, which is a question asked in the past tense so, presumably, relating to the 2025-26 tax year. Even if the OP is referring to the tax calculation for the current tax year, so getting their ducks in a row early, the rates I mentioned remain the rates in force.

Anything about future years' tax rates are only speculation and we can expect to receive clarification at the Budget which will be in the autumn. Please be mindful of avoiding political comment in the forums.

faringdon

Thanks, so My tax rate is 20% and NIC rate is 8%…so thats 28%.

So the Sole Trader amount is 6160+2538 = £8698

And 28% of that is £2261.

So thats what i owe.(?)

Ref accountant, are you seriously saying that i can hire an accountant and they will save me money by them doing that calculation?

Will the accountant be able to offset my Travelodge expenses?, considering that the only "receipt" that i have for this is the details on the travelodge "past bookings" web pages, and HMRC have no access to this.

Marcon

An accountant could stop you making costly mistakes and having to pay fines for late filings. Every post you make indicates that you haven't a clue what you are doing when it comes to tax - a knowledge gap shared by many of your fellow citizens! That doesn't mean it's a club you want to be in...