How much does an accountant cost for a sole trader?

The short answer

We do not give a typical price or a range here. There is no GOV.UK source for accountancy fees, and we have no verified source for a UK market rate, so any figure we printed as "what accountants charge" would be a guess. What an accountant charges you depends on how much work your year needs, and GOV.UK does set out what that work is.

For a sole trader, the work turns on a few things GOV.UK names: whether you must send a Self Assessment tax return at all; the records of business income and expenses you must keep; whether your accounting dates match the tax year (6 April to 5 April); and whether you must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which from 6 April 2026 applies if you are an individual registered for Self Assessment, you get income from self-employment or property, or both, and your qualifying income is more than £50,000. It adds quarterly updates to HMRC on top of the yearly return.

The box further down this page is an advert for one named provider and shows that provider's own published monthly prices, with the date we checked them. It is one provider's price list, not the market. Whoever you ask, ask for a quote for your own year that says exactly which parts of the work it covers.

Last checked 23 October 2026 · GOV.UK sources

What to weigh

Do you need to send a return at all?

If you do not, there may be nothing to pay anyone for. GOV.UK says you must send a tax return if, in the last tax year (6 April to 5 April), you were self-employed as a 'sole trader' and earned more than £1,000 (before taking off anything you can claim tax relief on), or you were a partner in a business partnership, among other reasons. You may also need to send one if you have untaxed income, such as money from renting out property or land, savings interest or dividends. GOV.UK says you can check if you need to send a tax return if you're not sure.

Who will keep the records?

GOV.UK says that as a sole trader you must keep records of your business income and expenses for your Self Assessment tax return, and records of your personal income too. From the 2024 to 2025 tax year, cash basis is the default method of accounting: you only record income or expenses when you receive money or pay a bill. Whether you keep those records and hand them over, or pay the accountant to keep them, is one of the biggest things to settle when you ask for a quote, because it decides how much of the year's work you are buying.

Do your accounting dates match the tax year?

GOV.UK says it may be easier to complete your tax return if your accounting dates match the tax year (6 April to 5 April), because HMRC works out tax based on the tax year, and that if your accounts do not match it you will need to allocate profits to 2 different accounting periods. If you do not prepare accounts, you record your income and expenses for each tax year. Tell anyone quoting which of these applies to you.

Must you use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?

GOV.UK says you will need to use it from 6 April 2026 if you are an individual registered for Self Assessment, you get income from self-employment or property, or both, and your qualifying income is more than £50,000; HMRC explains what counts as qualifying income. You, or your agent if you have one, will then need software that works with it to create, store and correct digital records of your self-employment and property income and expenses, send your quarterly updates to HMRC, and submit your tax return and pay tax due by 31 January the following year. If it applies, the work runs through the year rather than once a year, so ask whether a quote covers the quarterly updates as well as the return.

The options, and who each is not for

No accountant: HMRC's own help

Suits:

Someone who mainly needs to understand the return. GOV.UK says there is help text throughout the online tax return, guidance on sections such as self-employment, property and capital gains, and HMRC email updates, videos and webinars, including for filling in your tax return for the first time, as well as HMRC's digital assistant.
Someone who wants a friend, relative or voluntary organisation alongside them: GOV.UK says you can authorise one to talk to HMRC and help you fill in forms, or ask a friend or relative to manage your tax online.

Not for:

Someone who must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and does not want to keep digital records and send quarterly updates themselves: GOV.UK says you, or your agent if you have one, use software that works with it for both.

An accountant for the return only

Suits:

Someone who keeps their own records through the year and wants the return prepared and sent. GOV.UK says that, depending on what you've authorised your agent to do, they'll be able to deal with your tax affairs, for example submitting your Self Assessment tax return.

Not for:

Someone in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax who wants the quarterly updates done too: those are sent through the year, separately from the return, so a return-only quote will not cover them.
Anyone expecting to claim the fee as a business expense: GOV.UK says the cost of preparing and submitting your Self Assessment tax return cannot be claimed.

An accountant for the records, any quarterly updates and the return

Suits:

Someone who would rather not keep the records themselves, or whose accounting dates do not match the tax year.
Someone in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax who would rather an agent handled the software and the quarterly updates: GOV.UK says you, or your agent if you have one, use it.

Not for:

Someone who may not need to send a return at all: check that first.
Someone with a simple year who is comfortable using HMRC's help text and guidance: this is the widest of the three, so it is the most work to pay someone for.

Frequently asked

Is there a standard fee for a sole trader's tax return?

Not one we can verify. GOV.UK publishes no fee scale for accountants, and we do not have a verified source for a typical UK rate, so we do not state one. Ask for a written quote for your own year that names what it covers: keeping the records, preparing and submitting the return, and, if Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you, the quarterly updates.

Can I claim my accountant's fee as a business expense?

Partly, and it depends on what the fee is for. GOV.UK says that if you're self-employed, accountancy fees can count as allowable business expenses, and you can claim for hiring accountants only for business reasons, but you cannot claim for the cost of preparing and submitting your Self Assessment tax return. HMRC's Business Income Manual says fees for preparing accounts for commercial reasons satisfy the 'wholly and exclusively' test, and that there is a longstanding practice of allowing normal recurring accountancy expenses incurred in preparing accounts or agreeing the tax liability on trading profits, but that this practice does not extend to other personal expenses such as the costs of completion of a tax return. GOV.UK also says you cannot claim expenses if you use your £1,000 tax-free 'trading allowance'. See our accountancy fees entry for the detail, and ask an accountant how it applies to your bill.

What has to happen before an accountant can deal with HMRC for me?

GOV.UK says a paid agent can be a professional accountant or tax adviser, they must meet HMRC's standard for agents, and you must authorise your agent before they can deal with HMRC on your behalf. They will tell you how to do this.

Will HMRC write to my accountant instead of me?

Mostly. GOV.UK says that if you have to fill in a Self Assessment tax return, HMRC will send all correspondence to the person you've authorised, except tax bills or refunds.

Is the price in the box on this page what accountants charge?

No. The box is an advert for one provider and shows that provider's own published prices, with the date we checked them. It is not an average, and we make no claim about what other accountants charge.

Want someone to check this for you?

Advertiser: The Accountancy Partnership

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Their standard published prices, monthly and excluding VAT, checked 2 November 2026. The discount above applies to these for your first 12 months:

Monthly price by annual turnover, excluding VAT
Turnover	Sole trader	Ltd / LLP
Up to £20,000	£24.50	£39.50
£20,001–£90,000	£29.50	£54.50
£90,001–£200,000	£44.50	£74.50
£200,001–£300,000	£59.50	£89.50
£300,001–£400,000	£74.50	£104.50
£400,001–£500,000	£89.50	£119.50

Above £500,000, add £15.00 a month per further £100,000. Charged separately, also monthly:

VAT returns £35.00
MTD Income Tax quarterly updates from £35.00
Bookkeeping £20.00 to 40 transactions, then 50p each
Payroll from £24.00 for up to four payslips
Self Assessment — included for a sole trader; £10.00 covers two directors (limited company or LLP) or one partner, then £10.00 each

So a business needing these pays more than the band price — get a quote for your own figure.

* The Accountancy Partnership’s own offer, taken off the standard monthly fee above, for readers arriving through this link. It is not on their public pricing pages. Checked 24 October 2026.

Worth saying: if your affairs are very simple, you may not need an accountant at all — this is for when you’d rather someone else handled it.

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Sources

Every deadline, penalty and rule on this page is taken from these GOV.UK pages, read on 23 October 2026.

This page is general information based on GOV.UK published guidance, not tax or legal advice. Your own position can differ. Check the GOV.UK sources above and speak to a qualified accountant before making decisions about your own tax affairs.