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If you have recently become self-employed and are not sure how tax works or what you need to do, you are not alone.
In this guide, we will explain how tax works when you are employed, how it changes when you are self-employed, what HMRC expects from you, and when you need to take action.
When you work in a job, for example at Tesco, your employer deals with your tax for you. They take tax and National Insurance from your pay, give you a payslip, and send the tax to HMRC.
The money that goes into your bank account has already had tax taken off.
This happens automatically each time you’re paid, usually once a month, and you don’t need to do anything.
When you are self-employed, it is different.
The money you are paid has not had any tax taken off. It is your job to tell HMRC how much you earned and to pay the right amount of tax. Instead of tax being sorted each month by an employer, you report your income once a year by completing a tax return.
Instead of handling everything on your own, you can use an accountant to do it for you, such as Taxflex. We will explain more about that later in the article.
The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year. It does not follow the normal January to December calendar.
For example, the 2025 to 2026 tax year started on 6 April 2025 and ends on 5 April 2026.
After 5 April 2026, you can report your income for that tax year to HMRC and pay any tax you owe.
You report your income to HMRC by completing a Self Assessment tax return.
This is an online form where you enter how much you earned, your expenses and some basic personal details. HMRC then works out how much tax you need to pay.
Once you submit the tax return, you pay the tax you owe to HMRC. This can be done through their website or by bank transfer.
The deadline to complete your Self Assessment tax return and pay your tax is 31 January.
This gives you about nine months after the tax year ends to report your income and sort your tax.
For example, for the 2025 to 2026 tax year, the deadline is 31 January 2027.
Before you can complete a Self Assessment tax return or pay your tax, you need to register for Self Assessment.
This means telling HMRC that you are self-employed.
You should register as soon as you start working for yourself, or once you earn more than £1,000 in a tax year.
You can register for Self Assessment by completing an online form.
After that, HMRC will send a letter to your home within about 15 working days. The letter contains your UTR number (Unique Taxpayer Reference).
It’s a 10-digit number and also called ‘tax reference’.
It’s personal to you, a bit like a National Insurance number, and no one else will have the same one.
Some courier drivers need to register for VAT when their income reaches, or is close to, the £90,000 VAT threshold.
Others choose to register even if they do not have to. In some cases, schemes such as the Flat Rate Scheme can work in their favour and increase their take home income.
If you would like to see how much you could earn by registering for VAT, use our quick checker. It only takes around 20 seconds.
Yes, you can register and complete your Self Assessment yourself.
It may save you money at first, but it often costs time and can cause stress, especially if you are not sure what you are doing.
With tax, it is easy to miss things. If you claim the wrong costs or miss deadlines, you could end up paying more than you need to, or face penalties.
Online tools like ChatGPT and guides can help with basic questions. However, there is real value in speaking to an accountant who understands courier drivers and can give clear, practical advice based on your situation.
For many drivers, the biggest benefit is peace of mind. Knowing everything has been done properly and on time makes it one less thing to worry about.
Using our simple app, you can register, create an account, and tell us a bit about yourself and your work.
From there, our accountants take care of the rest. We register you for tax, keep track of your deadlines, and file your tax returns for you.
Everything is managed in one easy to use app. And if you ever have a question, just send us a message and one of our accountants will be there to help.
Learn more here: https://taxflex.co.uk/courier/
Want us to register you?
We’ll register you for Self Assessment with HMRC, on your behalf.
All you need to do is create a Taxflex account and answer a few quick questions. We’ll take care of the rest and complete your Self Assessment registration for you.
If you ever need help, you can message us anytime and our friendly team of accountants will guide you.
Stress-free. Simple. Easy.
