New Tax Year, Fresh Start: What Every Self-Employed Person Needs to Do Right Now!

The clock has just reset. 6 April marks the start of the new tax year, and the smartest business owners aren't waiting until January to get organised. Here's your practical guide to the 2025/26 tax year, the deadlines that matter, and why now is the best time to get ahead.

Every 6th of April, the UK tax year quietly ticks over. For millions of sole traders, freelancers, landlords, and small business owners, it's the moment the annual financial sprint unofficially begins, even if most people won't start running until mid-January, when panic sets in.

At Time to Delegate, we work with business owners every day who tell us the same thing: "I wish I'd sorted my books earlier." So this year, let's change that. Here's everything you need to know, and do, right now.

📅 Key date to know: Your 2025/26 self assessment tax return covers income earned between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026. The online filing deadline is 31 January 2027. Filing earlier can help you understand your potential tax position well in advance.

Your 2025/26 Tax Deadlines at a Glance

Missing a deadline doesn't just mean a fine, it means stress, scrambling for records, and potential errors. Pin these dates somewhere visible:

Date	What It Is	Who It Affects
5 Oct 2026	Deadline to register for self assessment (first-timers)	Anyone newly self-employed from May 2025 onwards
31 Oct 2026	Paper tax return deadline	Anyone filing by post
30 Dec 2026	Deadline to submit your return if you want HMRC to collect eligible tax (typically under £3,000) through your PAYE tax code	Employees with small self-employed income
31 Jan 2027	Online tax return deadline AND tax payment due	All self assessment filers
31 Jul 2027	Second payment on account	Anyone whose tax bill exceeded £1,000

⚠️ First-time filer? If you became self-employed during the 2025/26 tax year and haven’t yet registered with HMRC, you’ll usually need to do so by 5 October 2026.

Why You Should File Your Self Assessment NOW (Not in January)

Every January, HMRC's servers groan under the weight of last-minute submissions. Over 700,000 people filed on deadline day last year alone, with the peak hour hitting between 4pm and 5pm. Over 30,000 waited until the final hour of the night.

Don't be one of them. Filing early gives you real, tangible advantages:

• You’ll have a clearer view of your likely tax liability earlier in the year - no nasty surprises in January when cash is tight after Christmas.

• You can plan your finances properly - whether that's setting money aside, adjusting your payment on account, or making a pension contribution before the deadline.

• You have time to query anything unusual with HMRC - trying to resolve a discrepancy on 30th January is not a fun experience.

• You avoid the automatic £100 penalty - which applies even if you don't actually owe any tax.

• Payments on account can be easier to plan for, especially if you’re filing for the first time - first-timers are often stunned to discover they owe 150% of what they expected in January (their actual bill plus a payment on account for the following year). Knowing early means you can plan.

What to Gather Right Now: Your Tax Year Checklist

The new tax year is the perfect moment to set up good habits. Start a new folder, physical or digital, and begin collecting the following as you go:

Income Records

• All invoices raised and payments received

• Bank statements for every business account

• PayPal, Stripe, or other payment platform summaries

• Rental income statements (if you're a landlord)

• Dividend certificates or statements (if you're a company director)

• P60 or P45 from any PAYE employment

Expenses to Claim (Don't Miss These)

Many self-employed people overpay tax simply because they forget to claim legitimate expenses. HMRC allows deductions for certain costs that are "wholly and exclusively" for business use. These commonly include:

• Home office costs (a proportion of your bills if you work from home)

• Business mileage (HMRC’s approved rate is currently 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p thereafter)

• Professional subscriptions, software, and tools

• Accountancy, bookkeeping, or admin support fees

• Marketing and advertising costs

• Training and professional development directly related to your trade

• Phone and broadband (business proportion)

💡 Time to Delegate tip: Keep a running note in your phone for small cash expenses. Receipts under £10 add up quickly, and they're easy to forget by the time January comes around.

The Big Change Coming: Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax

This is the one that's been talked about for years, and it's finally here.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for ITSA) is scheduled to begin from April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with total gross income over £50,000 from self-employment and/or property.

The rollout extends to those earning over £30,000 from April 2027, and over £20,000 from April 2028.

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Under MTD, you'll no longer submit just one annual self assessment return. Instead, you'll may need to be required to:

• Keep digital records of all income and expenses throughout the year

• Submit regular updates to HMRC (typically quarterly, with deadlines such as 7 August for the first period, depending on your start date)

• Complete a final end-of-year declaration confirming your totals

  
  

⚠️ Earning over £50,000? HMRC is expected to use your 2024/25 tax return to determine whether MTD applies from April 2026. Filing accurately and on time will be important in establishing whether you fall within scope.

MTD is a significant shift in how the self-employed report tax. The good news? It's actually much easier to manage when your books are kept up to date throughout the year, which is exactly what working with a professional bookkeeper or admin support service enables.

Why More Business Owners Are Outsourcing Their Bookkeeping and Admin

Here's a question worth asking yourself: How many hours last month did you spend on things that weren't growing your business?

Chasing invoices. Reconciling bank statements. Digging out receipts. Logging mileage. Filing VAT. These are necessary tasks, but they don't have to be your tasks.

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Reclaim your time

Many business owners find outsourcing bookkeeping helps them reclaim valuable time each month

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Reduce costly mistakes

Missed expenses, late VAT returns, and HMRC penalties cost far more than professional support.

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Real-time visibility

When your books are kept regularly, you always know where you stand — not just at year end.

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Focus on what you're good at

You started your business to do something you love, not to spend your evenings on spreadsheets.

Outsourced bookkeeping in the UK typically costs between £50 and £500 per month depending on your transaction volume and needs. Compare that to the cost of an in-house bookkeeper, salary, holiday cover, software licences, and management time and the numbers make sense for most small businesses.

How Time to Delegate Can Help This Tax Year

At Time to Delegate, we specialise in taking the administrative weight off busy business owners and sole traders. We understand that your time is your most valuable resource, and that admin, however necessary, shouldn't be consuming it.

Here's what we can take off your plate:

• Bookkeeping & expense tracking - keeping your records clean, categorised, and MTD-ready throughout the year

• Invoicing & accounts payable support - chasing unpaid invoices and managing outgoing payments

• Self assessment preparation support - helping you gather and organise everything your accountant needs, so filing is quick and painless

• VAT return preparation - collating your figures ahead of each quarterly deadline

• General business admin - emails, scheduling, document management, and anything else that's eating into your working day

  
  

You don't need a full-time employee to get full-time support. Time to Delegate offers flexible packages designed around your business, scale up when it's busy, scale back when it's not.

10 Things to Do at the Start of Every New Tax Year

• Open a dedicated business bank account if you haven't already, mixing personal and business finances is the number one bookkeeping headache

• Set up a digital folder (or cloud accounting software) for the new tax year right now

• Check whether you'll be caught by MTD from April 2026, review your 2024/25 income

• Review your ISA allowance, the annual £20,000 allowance resets every April

• Check your pension contributions. Pension contributions may reduce your overall tax liability, depending on your circumstances.

• Review your previous year's expenses, are there categories you regularly miss?

• Set up automated bank transaction exports to your bookkeeping software

• Confirm your UTR number is still active if you haven't filed in a while

• Speak to your accountant (or bookkeeper) about any expected income changes, they can adjust your payments on account

• Consider delegating your bookkeeping and admin, the new tax year is the cleanest time to start fresh with professional support

Quick FAQs: What People Are Searching Right Now

Do I need to file a self assessment for 2025/26?

You may need to file a self assessment tax return if, for example, you:

• were self-employed and earned more than the £1,000 trading allowance

• received income from property

• had total income over £100,000

• received Child Benefit and your income exceeded £60,000

• or had other untaxed income

  Not sure? HMRC has an online checker, or we can help you work it out.

What's the self assessment deadline for 2025/26?

The online deadline is 31 January 2027. The paper return deadline is 31 October 2026. If this is your first time filing, you must register by 5 October 2026.

What happens if I miss the deadline?

An initial £100 penalty may apply if you miss the deadline, even if no tax is owed. Additional penalties can apply over time if the return remains outstanding.

Is Making Tax Digital compulsory for me?

If your self-employment or property income exceeded £50,000 in the 2024/25 tax year, MTD for Income Tax applies to you from April 2026. The threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028.

Is outsourcing my bookkeeping tax-deductible?

Yes - accountancy, bookkeeping, and professional admin fees are allowable business expenses and reduce your taxable profit. In many cases, the cost of professional support more than pays for itself through avoided penalties, reclaimed expenses, and time savings.

Ready to make this your most organised tax year yet?

Time to Delegate helps UK sole traders, freelancers, and small business owners take back their time, from bookkeeping and invoicing to all the admin in between.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Tax rules can change and depend on individual circumstances. For advice specific to your situation, please consult a qualified accountant or HMRC.