Self-Employed Tax Calculator 2025/26
Updated: April 2025 for 2025/26 | Data sources: HMRC
Calculate income tax and NI on your self-employed profits. See your take-home pay after all deductions.
Self-Employed Tax in the UK 2025/26
As a self-employed person, you pay income tax and National Insurance on your profits (revenue minus allowable expenses). Unlike employed workers, nothing is deducted automatically — you pay via Self Assessment, with payments due on 31 January and 31 July each year.
Allowable Expenses
You can deduct genuine business expenses from your revenue before calculating tax. These include: office costs, travel and mileage, stock and materials, marketing, professional subscriptions, and accountant fees. You cannot claim personal expenses or client entertainment.
Payments on Account
HMRC requires most self-employed people to make advance tax payments called 'payments on account'. Each payment is 50% of your previous year's tax bill, due January and July. In your first year of self-employment you pay the full bill by 31 January.
Set Aside Enough Tax
A common rule of thumb for self-employed workers is to set aside 25-30% of income for tax. On profits of £50,000, you will typically pay around £12,500 in income tax plus around £3,600 in NI — roughly 32% total.