Sole traders
Self-assessment, allowable expenses, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax readiness, and incorporation planning for sole traders ready to step up to a limited company.
Who we help
Who we help.
We work with businesses across a wide range of sectors. Some industries have specific tax, accounting or compliance rules, so we have created separate pages for the areas where more tailored guidance is useful.
If you do not see your industry listed, don't worry. You do not need to fit neatly into one of these categories. They are here to show where sector-specific advice can make a difference, not to limit who we work with.
Why it matters
The tax rules depend on what your business does.
Each of the sectors below has at least one rule that materially changes our approach to your business: the Section 24 mortgage-interest restriction for landlords; Gross Payment Status testing for construction subcontractors; the way Amazon and Shopify settle a single net figure that has to be unpicked back into sales, fees, refunds and VAT for e-commerce sellers; the Making Tax Digital threshold for sole traders; off-payroll working (IR35) status for contractors; and the salary-versus-dividend rebalance that followed the £5,000 Secondary Threshold in 2025/26 for limited-company directors.
The numbers move at different points in different sectors. A Form 17 election for a couple holding rental property in unequal shares; the profit level at which incorporating a sole trade pays for itself; the moment a Status Determination Statement gets challenged. That is why the pages below are written for your specific sector. Each one focuses on the rules, language and decisions that are most relevant to that type of business.
Limited company directors
Management accounts, tax planning, and statutory compliance for owner-managed UK limited companies. Corporation Tax, Director extraction, and Companies House filings handled together.
Construction and trades
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) compliance, Gross Payment Status protection, retention tracking, and Making Tax Digital readiness for builders and subcontractors.
E-commerce sellers
Unpicking marketplace settlements back into sales, fees and VAT; margin reporting across channels; and Shopify and Amazon bookkeeping that ties to your filed return.
Property investors
Section 24 mortgage-interest mitigation, structuring through a separate property company where it pays off, Making Tax Digital for landlords, and capital gains planning across a property portfolio.
Contractors and consultants
Off-payroll working (IR35) status reviews, inside-vs-outside structuring, and limited-company management for IT contractors, management consultants and professional advisers.
Where sectors overlap
Where to start if you fit more than one
Real businesses rarely sit in one box. Here is how to route yourself through the most common overlaps.
Sole trader with rental income
Your trading income and your rental income are taxed as separate streams with their own expense rules, but both fall inside the same Making Tax Digital for Income Tax submission cycle once you are over the threshold. The bookkeeping has to be set up in compatible software from day one, not patched together at year-end.
Start with Sole Traders for the trading side, then read Property Investors for Section 24 and landlord MTD timing.
Contractor with a property portfolio
Your off-payroll working (IR35) status drives how you take money out of your contracting limited company; the portfolio is separate from that company and is taxed either on you personally or through a separate property company set up for that purpose.
Start with Contractors for IR35 and extraction, then read Property Investors on whether holding the portfolio in a separate company is likely to pay off.
Limited company doing e-commerce
The company structure drives Corporation Tax and how you take money out as the director-shareholder. The marketplace mechanics (settlements, fees, refunds, VAT-on-marketplace-fee rules) drive how revenue gets recognised in the first place and what your margin is.
Start with E-commerce Sellers for the marketplace side, then read Limited Company Directors for salary vs dividends.
Subcontractor going limited
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) rules still apply after incorporation, but your company's cashflow profile and your eligibility for Gross Payment Status both change once payments start running through a limited company instead of you personally.
Start with Construction & Trades for CIS deductions and Gross Payment Status, then read Limited Company Directors for how you take money out of the company tax-efficiently.
Sole trader considering incorporation
The tipping point is usually when profits consistently exceed £30,000-£40,000 and the combination of Corporation Tax plus dividend extraction starts costing less in tax than the equivalent self-employed Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance bill, even after the extra paperwork is accounted for.
Start with Sole Traders for the incorporation timing, then read Limited Company Directors to see what happens after.
Landlord running a short-term let business
From April 2025 the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime is abolished. The tax treatment converges with standard property income and the capital allowances route closes.
Start with Property Investors for the FHL transition and ongoing landlord rules.
Other sectors
We work with businesses across all sectors. Get in touch and we'll discuss what you need.
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