Tax Tools for the Self-Employed
Everything a sole trader or freelancer needs to plan tax, expenses and take-home income
Running your own business or freelancing means tax isn’t deducted automatically — you’re responsible for calculating and saving enough to cover your Self Assessment bill, tracking allowable expenses, and understanding National Insurance as a sole trader. This page brings together every free PayToolkit tool built for self-employed workers, from tax set-aside planning to expense tracking.
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Where to start
As soon as you know your approximate annual profit, use the Tax Set-Aside Calculator to find your monthly saving target, including a check for Payments on Account.
Use the free Expense Tracker to log allowable expenses throughout the year rather than reconstructing them at deadline time — this maximises what you can legitimately claim.
If your profit is growing, compare the tax difference between staying a sole trader and forming a limited company using our comparison calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Income tax at 20-45% depending on profit level, plus Class 4 National Insurance at 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above. Class 2 NI stopped being compulsory in April 2024.
The online filing and payment deadline is 31 January following the end of the tax year. If your bill exceeds £1,000, a further Payments on Account instalment is due 31 July.
Any cost wholly and exclusively for your business — equipment, home office costs, travel, professional fees, and more. See our Allowable Business Expenses guide for the full list.