Register with HMRC as soon as possible after you become self-employed. A penalty may be charged if you fail to do so by 5 October (for tax purposes) or 31 January (for national insurance contributions) after the end of the tax year in which you started the business. You can register through your personal tax account (see below ) or by ringing the self-employed helpline (0300 200 3300; Textphone 0300 200 3319). You will be asked to complete a tax return each year. You can find more information at www.gov.uk/working-for-yourself .

If you are currently self-employed, you may be in scope of HMRC’s new ‘Making Tax Digital for Income Tax’ regime from April 2026. To find out more about the new system and to see who is affected, see www.litrg.org.uk/tax-nic/how-tax-collected/making-tax-digital-income-tax . If you are affected, you may need to take some steps now to make sure that you are ready by April 2026.