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−£1,465
- Net to you£28,353
- 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.