I'm self-employed. How much tax will I pay?

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The more you earn, the more tax you pay. When you use untied, there's a live tax estimate at the top of the screen as you earn.

This table gives you an idea of the tax (income tax and national insurance) you'll be paying on your self-employment earnings. If you're only self-employed then the full personal allowance is available for your self-employment.

New! Check how much tax you'll pay with untied's interactive tax calculator.

You'll see you start paying tax even if you're earning below the personal allowance of £12,570 (£12,500 for 2020/21). This is because you also pay national insurance, which has a lower threshold.

If you're also employed (and get a payslip with tax deducted), then the personal allowance would usually be used against your employment income and not available for self-employment.

2021/22

Annual self-employed earnings (income – expenses)

Tax if you’re only self-employed (2021/22)

Tax on your self-employment if you’re also employed (2021/22) (may be higher depending on your employment earnings)

£2,500

£0

£500

£5,000

£0

£1,000

£7,500

£159

£1,659

£10,000

£197

£2,197

£15,000

£1,133

£3,647

£20,000

£2,583

£5,097

£25,000

£4,033

£6,547

£30,000

£5,483

£7,997

£50,000

£11,283

£16,257

Setting money aside to pay your tax

You will be told by HMRC what to pay. In broad terms, you'll pay your self-employment tax by the following dates.

31 January 2023 - half of your tax for 2022/23 (and any extra to pay for 2021/22)* - NB you can delay this by 30 days without incurring a surcharge; there may be a small amount of interest to pay

31 July 2023 - the second half of your tax for 2022/23

31 January 2024 - any extra tax for 2022/23 based on your tax return, plus half your tax for 2023/24**

If you need time to pay, then HMRC is often able to help you so long as you contact them before the deadline.

* If your first year was 2021/22, then you'll pay all your tax for 2021/22 at this point plus half the tax for the next year - it can be a lot!

** If your first year was 2022/23, then you'll pay all your tax for 2022/23 by 31 January 2024 plus half the tax for the next year.

There are various ways to pay - if you've filed by 30 December and you're also employed, then small amounts of tax can be adjusted via your tax code. You can pay in untied, or pay HMRC directly - see our help article.

And of course, the best way to stay on top of your taxes is to use untied.

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