Side hustle tax: when HMRC starts caring about your extra income
The £1,000 trading allowance explained: when side income becomes taxable, what platforms now report to HMRC, and when registering is actually worth it.
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The self-employed blog
Short, sharp reads on freelance money: side hustle tax, getting paid on time, mortgages when you're self-employed, and pricing your work properly.
Getting paid: invoices that don't get ignored
Practical fixes for freelance late payment: getting into the client's payables system, terms and stage payments, the 11.75% statutory interest and fixed compensation you are owed, court fees, and what the Commercial Payments Bill will change.
Read postSelf-employed and mortgage-hunting: make your income legible
How lenders assess self-employed income, the SA302 and tax-year-overview documents, why aggressive expense claims cut borrowing power, and the two-year preparation plan.
Read postPricing your work: the rate maths nobody teaches
The freelance rate maths, built from real employer costs: the 180-day year, the 1.3 multiplier, a full take-home comparison against a £45,000 salary, and the two thresholds that should shape your pricing.
Read postMettle vs the big banks: which business account suits the self-employed?
An honest comparison of business banking for freelancers and the self-employed — what Mettle by NatWest costs, how it compares to Starling and Tide, the FreeAgent maths, and the FSCS trap sole traders miss.
Read postThe FreeAgent features freelancers actually use — and quietly love
FreeAgent was built for freelancers first. The features that save the most time and money for the self-employed: invoicing, bank feeds, tax timeline, expenses and MTD.
Read postFeast and famine: managing irregular income when you're self-employed
Practical money habits for the self-employed facing lumpy income and rising costs: the business payday, tax and buffer pots, and forecasting through the quiet months.
Read postThe self-employed pension: nobody auto-enrols you, so start yourself
No auto-enrolment, no employer contribution, and one relief that works differently from how most freelancers assume. The 2026/27 pension rules for the self-employed, what a contribution really costs you, and the £189.80 that buys £358 a year for life.
Read postSick pay, maternity pay and the self-employed safety net
The self-employed get no SSP and no statutory maternity pay — but there are benefits you can claim. New Style ESA, Maternity Allowance at £194.32 a week, and the £47.45 of voluntary National Insurance that can be worth £6,525.
Read postBusiness insurance for the self-employed: what you actually need
A plain guide to business insurance for freelancers and the self-employed: professional indemnity, public liability, employers' liability and when each is required or just wise.
Read postWorking with overseas clients: the tax basics
Freelancing for clients abroad? How UK tax, VAT and currency work when the self-employed invoice overseas — the place-of-supply rules, why overseas sales do not count towards the £90,000 VAT threshold, and the US form that stops 30% disappearing.
Read postTwo trades and a rental? That is three quarterly updates, not one.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax went live on 6 April 2026 and the first quarterly update is due 7 August. What changes when your income comes from several sources — and how the £50,000 threshold is really worked out.
Read postIR35 in 2026: the tax gap has almost closed, and most contractors have not noticed
How the off-payroll rules work in 2026/27 — who decides your status, the small client exemption and why its new thresholds do not bite until 2027/28, the umbrella PAYE change on 6 April 2026, and a worked inside-versus-outside comparison at real rates.
Read postThe umbrella rules changed in April. Your choice of umbrella may no longer be yours.
From 6 April 2026 PAYE on umbrella pay is a joint and several liability across the supply chain. What that means for contractors, why your agency's umbrella list has shrunk, and a full worked example of where a £450 day rate actually goes.
Read postThe same £18,000 loss is worth £4,680 or £1,486. The difference is which box you tick.
Sideways relief, carry back, early trade losses relief, carry forward and terminal loss relief compared, with the £50,000 cap, the Class 4 NIC track nobody tracks, the claim deadlines, and a worked example where doing nothing beats claiming.
Read post£68,000 of profit, two children, and a £934 charge that arrives with no warning.
Employees get a coding notice. Freelancers find out on 31 January. The £60,000 to £80,000 taper, the 2026/27 child benefit figures, the real marginal rate inside the band, and how an £8,000 pension contribution can end up costing £5,066.
Read postThe dividend rate went up on 6 April. The £12,570 salary is still the right answer.
The 2026/27 arithmetic for a contractor or consultant running their own limited company — the £12,570 salary against £5,000 and £50,270, why the qualifying-year salary now costs employer National Insurance, and what the 2 point dividend rise takes off the same £70,000 of profit.
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