Tell us what you are worried about

The questions we are actually asked most

If one of these is what brought you here, the short answer is below and the full answer is a click away.

Do I need to file a tax return. Generally yes if your gross self employed or side income exceeded £1,000 in the tax year. The £3,000 figure you may have seen is announced but not in force, and even when it arrives it is a reporting change rather than a tax free amount.

I have missed a deadline, how bad is it. Filing late costs £100 immediately, even with no tax owing, then £10 a day from three months. Paying late is charged separately. The single best thing you can do is file now, using estimates if necessary, because the two penalties run independently.

Do I need to register for VAT. Once taxable turnover for the rolling last 12 months passes £90,000, or you expect to pass it in the next 30 days alone. Check monthly, not at your year end.

Should I be a limited company. It depends on profit, on how much you need to take out, and on whether you want limited liability. The gap narrowed in April 2026 when dividend rates rose by 2 percentage points.

Am I in Making Tax Digital. If your qualifying income is over £50,000, you have been since 6 April 2026. Over £30,000 joins in April 2027 and over £20,000 in April 2028. Qualifying income is turnover before expenses, not profit.

I took money out of my company, is that a problem. It might be. If it was not salary, a properly declared dividend or a reimbursed expense, it is a directors loan, and if still outstanding 9 months and 1 day after the year end the company pays 35.75% section 455 tax on it.

What to have ready when you get in touch

You do not need any of this to ask a question. It just makes the first answer more useful.

• Roughly what you turn over, and whether that is rising towards £90,000.
• Whether you are a sole trader, a partnership or a limited company.
• Your year end, if you have one.
• Whether you are VAT registered, and whether you have staff or subcontractors.
• Any letter from HMRC that prompted the question, and its date.

If a letter from HMRC brought you here

Two things are worth saying straight away. Do not ignore it, because almost every penalty regime treats coming forward voluntarily far more favourably than being found. And do not panic, because most letters are routine prompts rather than investigations.

Check the date and any deadline on it first. If it asks for a response within 30 days, that matters more than working out whether it is right. You can dispute the substance later, but a missed response window narrows your options.

What this costs

Asking costs nothing and we will tell you if you do not need us. If a question has a straightforward answer, you will get the straightforward answer rather than a sales call.

Where we do quote, it is a fixed fee agreed before any work starts, so you know what it costs before you commit. Most people are surprised by how many of these questions turn out to have a five minute answer.

Where to go next

If you would rather read than ask, the guides cover most of this in detail and the free tools will answer the numerical questions. If you would rather someone just looked at it, that is what we are here for.