Updated March 2026 · 14 min read

Self-Employed Tax Year End Planning 2026: 12 Last-Minute Moves Before April 5

The 2025/26 tax year ends on 5 April 2026. That gives you less than a month to make moves that could save you hundreds — or even thousands — on your tax bill. Here's what to do now.

1. Round Up Every Business Expense

This is the single biggest thing most self-employed people miss. If you haven't been tracking expenses properly all year, now is the time to go through your bank statements and capture everything you've missed.

Common expenses freelancers forget to claim:

• Software subscriptions — Adobe, Canva, accounting software, project management tools
• Phone bills — the business-use portion of your mobile
• Internet — if you work from home, a proportion of your broadband
• Professional memberships — trade bodies, professional associations
• Insurance — professional indemnity, public liability, contents insurance for equipment
• Bank charges — business account fees, PayPal/Stripe transaction fees
• Client entertainment — while you can't claim tax relief on client entertainment for income tax, you should still track it for your records
• Marketing costs — website hosting, domain names, business cards, advertising
• Reference materials — books, journals, online courses related to your work

For the complete list, read our guide: Allowable Expenses for Self-Employed UK 2026.

2. Buy Equipment You Actually Need

If you've been putting off buying a new laptop, camera, printer, or other business equipment, buying before 5 April means you can claim it against this year's profits.

Under the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), you get 100% tax relief on qualifying capital expenditure up to £1 million per year. For most sole traders, this means you can deduct the full cost of equipment in the year you buy it.

Important: Only buy things you genuinely need. If a laptop costs £1,000 and you're a basic-rate taxpayer, the tax saving is £200. You're still £800 out of pocket. Don't buy things just for the write-off.

3. Make a Pension Contribution

This is one of the most powerful tax-reduction tools available to self-employed people, and most don't use it.

You can contribute up to £60,000 per year to a pension (or 100% of your earnings, whichever is lower) and get full tax relief. For a basic-rate taxpayer, that's effectively a 25% bonus from the government. For higher-rate, it's even better.

Carry forward: If you haven't used your full pension allowance in the last 3 years, you can carry it forward. That means you could potentially contribute well over £60,000 this year if you have unused allowances from 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25.

If you don't have a pension, you can open a SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) quickly through providers like Vanguard, AJ Bell, or Hargreaves Lansdown. Many can be opened and funded within days.

4. Use Your ISA Allowance

You can save up to £20,000 per tax year into ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts). This allowance doesn't roll over — if you don't use it by 5 April, it's gone.

While ISA contributions don't reduce your tax bill directly, all gains and income within the ISA are completely tax-free. If you have cash sitting in a taxable savings account, moving it to a Cash ISA or Stocks & Shares ISA before April 5 protects future interest from tax.

5. Claim Home Office Costs

If you work from home — even part of the time — you can claim a portion of your household costs.

You have two options:

• Simplified method: Flat rate based on hours worked from home per month — £10/month (25-50 hours), £18/month (51-100 hours), or £26/month (101+ hours)
• Actual costs method: Calculate the proportion of your home used for business and claim that percentage of your rent/mortgage interest, utilities, council tax, and insurance

The actual costs method usually gives a higher deduction but requires more record-keeping. Read the full breakdown: Working From Home Tax Relief for Self-Employed UK.

6. Log All Business Mileage

If you've been driving for business (client meetings, site visits, supply runs) and haven't been logging mileage, reconstruct what you can now.

The approved mileage rate is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p per mile after that. A freelancer who drives 5,000 business miles per year can claim £2,250 — that's a tax saving of £450 at basic rate.

Check your calendar, emails, and Google Maps timeline to reconstruct business journeys. For the full guide: Self-Employed Mileage Allowance UK.

7. Write Off Bad Debts

Got invoices from this tax year that you're never going to get paid? If you've made reasonable efforts to collect and the debt is genuinely irrecoverable, you can write it off as a bad debt and deduct it from your taxable profits.

You need to show you made genuine efforts to collect — sending reminders, following up, perhaps issuing a final demand letter. Keep copies of all your chase correspondence.

For the full process: Bad Debt Tax Relief for Freelancers UK.

8. Book Training or Courses

Training that maintains or updates your existing skills is tax-deductible. If there's a course, workshop, or conference you've been considering, booking and paying before 5 April lets you claim it this year.

Deductible: Training that updates skills you already use in your business (e.g. a web developer taking an advanced JavaScript course).

Not deductible: Training for entirely new skills unrelated to your current business (e.g. a web developer taking a plumbing course).

9. Review Professional Subscriptions

Annual subscriptions to professional bodies, trade associations, and industry journals are tax-deductible. If you're due to renew, paying before April 5 counts towards this year.

HMRC maintains a list of approved professional bodies whose subscriptions qualify for tax relief.

10. Check Your Payment on Account

If you're in your second or later year of self-employment, you're probably making payments on account — advance payments towards next year's tax bill. These are due on 31 January and 31 July.

If your income has dropped significantly this year compared to last year, your payments on account may be too high. You can apply to reduce them through your Self Assessment account. This frees up cash flow.

Warning: If you reduce them too much and end up owing more, HMRC will charge interest on the difference. Only reduce if you're reasonably confident your income is lower.

Full guide: Payment on Account for Self Assessment UK.

11. Prepare for Making Tax Digital

From 6 April 2026, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to self-employed individuals and landlords with gross income over £50,000. If that's you, you need to be ready in less than a month.

What you need:

• Compatible software — HMRC-approved software that can submit quarterly updates
• Digital records — your income and expenses must be kept digitally (spreadsheet with bridging software counts)
• HMRC sign-up — you need to register for MTD ITSA through your Government Gateway account

Don't panic if you haven't started — there's a penalty grace period for the first year. But getting set up now avoids stress later.

• Complete MTD Guide for 2026
• How to Sign Up for MTD: Step-by-Step
• Free MTD Readiness Checker Tool

12. Get Your Records in Order

Even if you're not filing your Self Assessment until January 2027, getting your records organised now — while everything is fresh — saves enormous pain later.

What to organise:

• Income records — all invoices sent, payments received, platform earnings (PayPal, Stripe, etc.)
• Expense receipts — digital copies of every receipt. Photograph paper receipts now before they fade
• Bank statements — download the full year's statements for your business account
• Mileage log — dates, destinations, purpose, and miles for all business travel
• Capital purchases — receipts for equipment, tools, and other capital items

If you use accounting software, reconcile everything now. If you use spreadsheets, make sure every transaction is captured and categorised.

Quick Reference: Key Dates