Self-Employed Tax Calculator. Income tax + NIC + monthly set-aside.
Drag the slider to your annual trading profit, we model income tax + Class 4 NIC + take-home + the % you should park each month so January doesn't bankrupt you. Compare it side-by-side with going limited too.
Revenue minus allowable expenses, what you'd put on the SA103 supplement.Use NET profit, not turnover. If you're not sure of expenses yet, drop in 30-40% of revenue as a rule of thumb for service businesses.
Scotland has its own income tax bands; Class 4 NIC is UK-wide.
- Trading profit£35,000
- Income tax−£4,486
- Class 4 NIC−£1,346
- Total tax & NIC£5,832
- Set aside / month£486
- Take-home£29,168
Park at least 17% of every invoice in a separate account, the figure above is the annual liability divided by 12. Doesn't include student loan repayments, payments on account, or pension contributions.
Sole trader vs limited company, where the line is.
Same £35K profit, different trading structures. The Ltd column models Corporation Tax + employer NIC + dividend tax for a true apples-to-apples view.
- Gross profit£35,000
- Income tax−£4,486
- Class 4 NIC−£1,346
- Net to you£29,168
- Director salary (PA)£12,570
- Employer's NIC−£1,136
- Corporation Tax−£4,046
- Dividends drawn£17,248
- Dividend tax−£1,800
- Net to you£28,018
- Assignment rate£35,000
- Employer's NIC + margin−£5,085
- Income tax−£3,469
- Class 1 NIC−£1,388
- Net to you£25,058
Rule of thumb: incorporation usually starts paying for itself around £35-45K profit. Below that the extra accountancy + Companies House cost outweighs the tax saving. Book a free Tax Health Check for the personalised number.