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UK Self-Employed Tax Calculator

Being self-employed or a freelancer has a lot of advantages. You can be your own boss, set your hours, and choose your projects. But there are also some drawbacks, including dealing with your income tax and National Insurance.

We have included a self-employed tax calculator for 2 years, 24-25 and 23-24. Below is an example of our tax calculator.

UK Self employed tax calculator

When employed by someone else, they withhold the appropriate taxes from your pay and remit it to the government on your behalf. You will receive a wage slip and, therefore, know your take-home pay. But when you’re in self-employment, that responsibility falls on you. That’s why we’ve developed a self-assessment tax calculator to simplify things.

Self-Assessment Tax Return

A self-assessment tax return is a form that taxpayers use to calculate and pay their taxes and National Insurance. The self-assessment system is used by self-employed individuals, landlords, and people from other sources of income, such as investments. 

If you are in self-employment and have a turnover from your self-employment income of over £1000, you must complete a return each tax year and pay tax. The tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April.

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How the Freelance Tax Calculator UK Works

Our calculator takes the guesswork out of tax and National Insurance figures for self-employed income. Enter your net annual profits, and we’ll calculate how much income tax and national insurance are due. We’ll also show the annual and monthly figures so you can budget accordingly. And because we know that tax rates can change yearly, we’ll always use the most up-to-date rates.

The net annual profits of a business are the total annual income it earns throughout a year, less the cost of goods sold and less other business costs.

The Benefits of Using a Self-Employed Tax Calculator

There are a few key benefits of using our tax and national insurance calculator for self-employment:

Save time – With our calculator, you can quickly and easily calculate your taxes without wading through pages of confusing information. 

Save money – Knowing how much you need to pay in taxes ahead of time, you can budget accordingly and avoid any penalties or interest charges for non-payment.

Using Accounting Software

If you use some accounting software packages that have a self-employed plan, they will often include a tax estimate. One example is QuickBooks. The sole trader plan starts from £10 per month.

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What is Income Tax

Income tax is a tax that the government imposes on individuals and is collected by HMRC. It is based on your income, and for self-employed, you are taxed on any profits made for both products and services that you sell.

Income Tax Rates

The Income tax rate you pay will depend on the business’s profits. Each person has a tax-free allowance, called a personal allowance and then charged tax on anything earned over the allowance.

The table below is for the 23-24 and 24-25 tax years.

Tax BandTaxable IncomeTax Rate
Personal Allowance£0 – £12,5700%
Basic Rate£12,571 – £50,27020%
Higher Rate£50,271 – £125,14040%
Additional RateOver £125,14045%

National Insurance Contributions Rates

You pay National Insurance contributions to qualify for a state pension and certain benefits. There are different types of NI, also known as classes. Class 2 and class 4 are paid on profits over £12,570.

Class 2 National Insurance

There are 2 thresholds for class 2 NI – small profits, which is below £6,725, and Lower profits, £12570.

If the profits are below the small profits threshold of £6,725, you can opt to pay voluntary class 2 NI. If the profits are above £6,725 and below £12,570, you don’t have to pay or make voluntary contributions as HMRC treats it as paid to protect your National Insurance record.

For-profits over £12,570, the rate is £3.45 per week – 52 weeks at £3.45 = £179.40.

Class 4 National Insurance

Class 4 NI is based on the profits of the business. The below table shows the reduction for the 24-25 tax year as per the budget in March 2024.

ProfitsNational Insurance Tax Rate 24-25National Insurance Tax Rate 23-24
Less than £12,5700%0%
Between £12571 and £50,2706%9%
Over £50,2702%2%
UK Self-Employed Tax Calculator

Self-Employed Calculator for Tax Year 2024/2025 and 2023/2024

Enter your gross annual profits, and we’ll calculate the tax and national insurance due. We’ll also show the annual and monthly figures so you can budget accordingly. And because we know that tax rates can change yearly, we will keep old calculators available for the previous year. So, if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to calculate your taxes, look no further than our self-employed tax calculator!

To calculate your profits, take the business’s income and deduct any allowable business expenses.

An example is a business with a self-employment income of £15,000, self-employment expenses of £600, and taxable profits of £14,400. The figure for £14,400 is entered as the profits.

Disclaimer

We hope you find our tax calculator helpful in managing your finances and calculating self-employment income. If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our calculations are for illustrative purposes only. We have done our best to give accurate figures. If you are unsure, we suggest you speak to your accountant. 

Payments Due

There are two payment dates: 31st January the following year, a balancing payment and payment on account, and 31st July, a payment on account. When you complete the assessment return, the figures are calculated for each date.

Payments Example

For a business with profits of £60,000 for the 22/23 tax year. They would need to pay income tax and NI of £15,844 by 31st January 2024, plus a payment on account of £7922 for the following tax year. The payments are, therefore:

31st January 2024 – £23766

1st July 2024 – £7922

What if I’m Employed and Self-Employed?

If you are both employed and self-employed, we suggest you use the tax calculators at https://www.employedandselfemployed.co.uk/.

My profits are over £100,000. Can I still use the calculator?

No, once your profits are over £100,000, your personal allowance will reduce by £2 for each £1. Our calculator only works for under £100,000.

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