Logistics accounting, handled.
Navigating Financial Roads Alone While Your Fleet Keeps Moving?
Looking for an accountant for logistics businesses who actually understands haulage, courier and freight operators rather than treating you like any other limited company? At Zmartly we speak the language of O-licences, night-out subsistence, international freight zero-rating and IR35 for agency drivers, the things a generalist gets wrong and HMRC notices. You get an ACCA-qualified, named accountant on fixed monthly pricing, so the tax side of running vehicles and margins stops being a worry.
What we get right for logistics.
- Night-out subsistence done correctly
- Lorry drivers staying away overnight can be paid a tax- and NIC-free allowance, currently up to £26.20 a night where they use the sleeper cab, or £34.90 where they don't. But HMRC only allows this without deductions if you hold a valid approval notice and run a checking system proving drivers were genuinely away and incurred costs. We set up the approval and the paperwork so the allowance survives a compliance check instead of becoming a back-tax bill.
- Your vehicles are not 'cars', claim the right relief
- Vans, lorries and tractor units are plant and machinery, not cars, for capital allowances. That means they typically qualify for the Annual Investment Allowance (up to £1,000,000 a year) or, for companies buying new, 100% full expensing, often full relief in year one rather than the slow main-pool writing-down allowance, which falls to 14% from April 2026. Getting this right can swing thousands in the year you re-fleet.
- International freight VAT, without the Brexit headaches
- Transport of goods into or out of the UK can be zero-rated under VAT Group 8, and B2B freight services are generally supplied where your business customer belongs, so a misjudged invoice can wrongly charge or omit VAT on cross-border work. We get your place-of-supply treatment, proof-of-export evidence and VAT Notice 744B position right, so neither you nor your customer ends up with an unexpected VAT cost.
- IR35 and your operator licence reputation
- Engaging drivers through their own limited companies isn't just a payroll question, Traffic Commissioners now treat mis-categorised workers as a matter of repute that can put your O-licence at risk, and medium/large operators face off-payroll (IR35) rules. We run proper status assessments (CEST and the underlying case law) so your driver arrangements stand up to both HMRC and the Commissioner.
The full picture.
01Haulage and HGV operators
For tipper, curtainsider and tramping operations we handle the night-out allowance approval, fuel and AdBlue records, tachograph-linked driver costs, vehicle finance (HP vs lease and how each is taxed), and the capital allowances on tractor units and trailers. We reconcile fuel-card spend, road-user and HGV levy costs, and toll/Dartford charges so nothing allowable slips through, and we keep an eye on Corporation Tax bands as profits move through the £50,000 and £250,000 marginal-relief zone.
02Couriers, owner-drivers and last-mile
For self-employed couriers and Amazon Flex / multi-drop drivers we work out whether simplified mileage (55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, then 25p) beats claiming actual running costs plus capital allowances on the van, they give very different answers depending on mileage and vehicle value. We also handle the £1,000 trading allowance for side-gig drivers, and flag when turnover is heading towards the £90,000 VAT registration threshold.
03Freight forwarding and international logistics
Place-of-supply rules, zero-rating of import/export transport, handling and ancillary services, and the documentary proof of export HMRC demands are where forwarders get caught. We make sure your invoicing reflects where your customer belongs, that disbursements and import VAT (postponed VAT accounting) are recorded correctly, and that your VAT returns reconcile to your customs and freight paperwork.
04VAT, MTD and digital records
We file your VAT returns through Making Tax Digital and keep the digital links HMRC requires. We also prepare you for MTD for Income Tax, which starts for sole-trader and landlord income over £50,000 from April 2026, over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028, directly relevant to owner-drivers and partners drawing income outside a company.
05Payroll, drivers and CIS edge cases
We run RTI payroll for employed drivers and warehouse staff, set up the night-out scale-rate payments correctly, and handle holiday pay and pension auto-enrolment. Where logistics overlaps with site work, plant movement or groundworks haulage that falls under the Construction Industry Scheme, we manage CIS deductions (20% registered, 30% unregistered, or 0% with gross status) so you're not over- or under-deducting.
06Profit extraction and tax planning for directors
If you run your haulage or courier business through a limited company, we plan the salary/dividend split around the £500 dividend allowance and dividend rates (10.75% / 35.75% / 39.35%), time vehicle purchases to use full expensing in the right year, and keep an eye on the 26.5% effective marginal Corporation Tax rate between £50,000 and £250,000. The aim is simple: keep more of what the wheels earn, legally.
First call to filed.
- 01
Discovery
Understanding your business needs.
- 02
Solution Design
Crafting your custom accounting strategy.
- 03
Onboarding
Quick and easy integration.
- 04
Regular Rhythm
Consistent monitoring and reporting.
Guides for logistics
Plain-English explainers, kept current with the latest HMRC rules.
Frequently asked questions.
Under HMRC's agreed industry scale rate, currently up to £26.20 a night where the driver uses the sleeper cab and up to £34.90 a night where they don't. To pay it free of Income Tax and NIC you need a valid HMRC approval notice and a checking system showing the driver was genuinely away from base and incurred costs. We set up the approval and the records so the payments hold up.
Usually yes. Vans, lorries and tractor units are treated as plant and machinery, not cars, so they generally qualify for the Annual Investment Allowance (up to £1,000,000 a year), and a company buying new vehicles can use 100% full expensing. That often gives full relief in the year of purchase rather than the slower main-pool writing-down allowance (falling to 14% from April 2026). We'll confirm the best route for your fleet and accounting period.
It depends on your mileage and vehicle. Simplified mileage is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p thereafter, and covers running costs. The alternative is claiming a proportion of actual fuel, insurance, repairs and capital allowances on the van. High-mileage, lower-value vans often do better on mileage; expensive vehicles may favour actual costs. We run both calculations for you.
Often it's zero-rated rather than standard-rated. Transport of goods into or out of the UK can be zero-rated under VAT Group 8, and B2B freight services are generally supplied where your business customer belongs, which can put them outside the scope of UK VAT. The catch is evidence, you must hold proper proof of export. We get the invoicing and documentation right so you don't wrongly charge or omit VAT.
They might be. Off-payroll (IR35) rules apply where a driver works through their own company but is effectively an employee, and medium and large operators carry the assessment responsibility. Crucially, Traffic Commissioners now treat mis-categorised workers as a matter of repute that can threaten your O-licence. We run proper status assessments using CEST and the underlying case law so your arrangements stand up to scrutiny.
You must register once your VAT-taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period (or you expect to breach it in the next 30 days). For owner-drivers and couriers approaching that level, timing matters, voluntary registration can sometimes help when most of your work is zero-rated international transport. We monitor your turnover and advise before you trip the threshold.
Fixed monthly pricing of £99, £199 or £499 depending on the support you need, on a rolling monthly basis with no long lock-in and a 30-day money-back guarantee. You get a qualified, named accountant who replies within 72 hours, and we work with Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage. No surprise bills for a quick question about a driver's expenses or a VAT query.
Stop overpaying tax. Start filing in 5 days.
Thirty minutes with an ACCA-qualified accountant. Most owners uncover £1,000-£3,000 in annual savings on the first call. If we are not the right fit, you walk away with a free tax review on the house.
