Self-employed tax calculator

How self-employed tax works

If you are self-employed, you pay income tax and National Insurance on your profit: your turnover minus allowable expenses (GOV.UK: expenses if you're self-employed). Most people pay their self-employed National Insurance through Self Assessment (GOV.UK).

Income tax

How much income tax you pay depends on how much of your income is above your Personal Allowance and how much falls in each tax band (GOV.UK: Income Tax rates). Most people get a Personal Allowance of £12,570, then pay 20% on the next £37,700 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has its own bands. The full tables are on our How we calculate page.

Class 4 National Insurance

You pay 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% on profits above that (GOV.UK: self-employed National Insurance rates).

Class 2 National Insurance

You no longer have to pay Class 2. If your profits are £7,105 or more, you are treated as having paid it, to protect your National Insurance record. If your profits are below that, you can choose to pay it voluntarily, at £3.65 a week (GOV.UK). This calculator does not add any Class 2.

A worked example

On a profit of £40,000 in England, income tax is £5,486.00 and Class 4 National Insurance is £1,645.80, so you keep £32,868.20.

The trading allowance

If your gross trading income is £1,000 or less in a year, you usually do not need to tell HMRC about it. If it is more, you can deduct a flat £1,000 instead of your actual expenses. Some people cannot use it, for example on income from a company or partnership they are connected to (GOV.UK: tax-free allowances on property and trading income). This calculator asks for your profit, so if you use the trading allowance, enter your income minus £1,000.

What this calculator does not cover

• Income from a job as well as self-employment. If you have both, your tax and National Insurance depend on your combined income, so they could be higher than shown here. For National Insurance, GOV.UK says how much you pay "depends on your combined wages and your self-employed work" (GOV.UK).
• Payments on account, student loan repayments, pension contributions, and partnerships.
• Working out your profit. GOV.UK explains which expenses you can claim (GOV.UK).