Accounts Made Easy.

Led by an ACCA-Qualified Accountant • Self-Assessment from £99

Official 2026 Sole Trader Edition

💡 The ultimate tax deduction cheat sheet for UK sole traders, freelancers & contractors.

Self-Employed Tax Deduction Cheat Sheet

As a sole trader or freelancer, you only pay tax on your profits (Income minus Allowable Expenses). Tick off each expense below to ensure you claim everything you are legally entitled to:

1. Working From Home Allowances

Simplified flat-rate allowance: Claim £10/month (25–50 hrs/mo), £18/month (51–100 hrs/mo), or £26/month (101+ hrs/mo) worked from home. Zero receipts required by HMRC for this flat rate!
Actual cost method: Business proportion of electricity, heating, water, home broadband, and council tax based on room count and hours used.

2. Business Travel & Vehicle Mileage

HMRC Mileage Allowance: 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles (cars/vans), 25p per mile thereafter. 24p per mile for motorcycles. Covers fuel, depreciation, insurance, road tax, and servicing in one simple rate.
Public transport & travel: Train tickets, bus fares, Tube rides, taxis, flights, and client site parking fees. Normal daily commute to a permanent base is not deductible, but travel to client sites is 100% allowable.
Tolls & Clean Air charges: Congestion Charge, ULEZ fees, bridge and tunnel tolls incurred on business journeys.

3. Office Equipment, Computers & Software

Hardware: Work laptops, desktop PCs, dual monitors, printers, scanners, external hard drives, tablets.
Software & subscriptions: Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, Google Workspace, Zoom, antivirus, Canva, bookkeeping software (Xero/QuickBooks).
Office furniture: Ergonomic desk, office chair, desk lamps, filing cabinets.

4. Phone, Mobile & Internet

Mobile phone contracts: Dedicated business phone contract (100% claimable) or business proportion of your personal monthly contract.
Business broadband: Proportion of monthly broadband bills used for client communications, research, and cloud backups.

5. Marketing, Website & Advertising

Online advertising: Google Ads, Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ads, LinkedIn campaigns, SEO tools.
Website expenses: Domain registration, web hosting, theme templates, email marketing platforms (Mailchimp/ConvertKit).
Print marketing: Business cards, flyers, exhibition banners, branded merchandise.

6. Professional Fees, Insurance & Memberships

Accountancy & tax filing fees: The fee you pay Accounts Made Easy to file your Self-Assessment is 100% tax deductible!
Business insurance: Professional indemnity insurance, public liability, tool/equipment insurance.
Professional trade memberships: Subscriptions to trade unions, statutory registers, ACCA, FSB, or professional bodies relevant to your trade.
Bank charges & payment fees: Monthly business bank account fees, Stripe / PayPal / Zettle card transaction processing percentages.

💡 Golden Rule of HMRC Deductions:
To be allowable, an expense must be incurred "wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade". For mixed-use items (like your phone or home energy), we calculate the fair business percentage so you stay 100% safe from HMRC queries.