FREELANCERS & SOLE TRADERS
Freelancer or Sole Trader?
If you work for yourself, we take the tax and record-keeping off your plate – Self Assessment filed correctly and on time, Making Tax Digital handled, and your books kept in a state you never have to think about. Sadler Advisory works with self-employed people across every trade, so you can get on with the work that pays.
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We're Chartered Accountants, but our starting point is you: what you do, how you invoice, and where you want the business to go. From there we make sure the compliance is right and the numbers are working for you.
Freelancer, sole trader, subcontractor – which are you?
For most purposes these come down to the same thing: you're self-employed, you are the business, and you report your income and expenses to HMRC through Self Assessment each year. The specific term often varies by industry – "freelancer" for creative professionals, "subcontractor" on construction sites – but this doesn't alter your tax obligations.
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One exception worth knowing: if you work in construction, the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) usually means tax is deducted from your payments at source, which changes how your return and any refund work. If that's you, we'll factor it in.
What we handle for you
our Self Assessment. We prepare and file your annual return – income, allowable expenses, the lot – so it's accurate, on time, and claiming everything you're entitled to. No January panic.
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Getting you ready for Making Tax Digital. MTD for Income Tax is being phased in for the self-employed by income band – over £50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 from April 2027, and £20,000 from April 2028 (based on gross income, not profit). Once you're in scope you'll keep digital records and send HMRC quarterly updates.
We check when it applies to you, get you set up in good time, and make the first deadline a non-event.
Keeping your records clean. We put you on cloud accounting so your bookkeeping looks after itself through the year, rather than becoming a weekend job every spring.
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A simple habit that makes tax easier:
Three steps that save you hours later:
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Open a dedicated business bank account – keep it separate from personal spending.
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Run every business transaction through it – income in, costs out.
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Connect it to cloud accounting such as Xero.
​With cloud software you can attach receipts and invoices to each transaction online, so your records are complete, searchable and stored in one place – and you're already set up for MTD when it reaches you.
A simple habit that makes tax easier
​Three steps that save you hours later:
​​
-
Open a dedicated business bank account – keep it separate from personal spending.
-
Run every business transaction through it – income in, costs out.
-
Connect it to cloud accounting such as Xero.
​With cloud software you can attach receipts and invoices to each transaction online, so your records are complete, searchable and stored in one place – and you're already set up for MTD IT when it reaches you.
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Ready to grow beyond sole trader?
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Plenty of our clients start as sole traders and reach a point where a limited company makes more sense – for tax, for liability, or for how they want to be seen. If you're near that decision, we'll run the numbers and tell you straight whether it's worth it yet. And if property or personal tax is part of your picture, our property and individuals pages cover those too.