How we research every entry

Tax Allowance Checker isn’t an opinion site. Every allowance is built from HMRC’s own published guidance, using the same method each time — and we show our working so you can check it yourself rather than take our word for it.

Where the answers come from

Every entry is based on primary sources: GOV.UK and HMRC’s own internal manuals — the Business Income Manual (BIM), Employment Income Manual (EIM), and Capital Allowances Manual (CA). These are the manuals HMRC’s own staff use. We don’t rely on second-hand blog summaries, and we don’t fill gaps with guesswork — where the guidance is unclear or doesn’t cover something, we say so rather than invent an answer.

What we show on every page

• A direct link to the HMRC source the entry is based on, so you can read the original.
• The date we last checked it against that source — visible on the page, not hidden.
• Separate answers for sole traders, limited companies, and employees, because the same cost is frequently treated differently depending on how you work. We don’t collapse those into one answer when HMRC treats them differently.

How we handle figures that change

Tax figures move — at Budgets, at the start of each tax year, and when HMRC updates a manual. For anything a Budget can change (mileage rates, capital allowances, National Insurance thresholds), we check the current HMRC figure, note the tax year it applies to, and date it. When a figure changes, we update the affected pages and refresh the “last checked” date.

What this site is not

We’re not accountants, and this isn’t personal tax advice. We organise public information into a format that’s faster to navigate — think of it as a well-indexed map of HMRC’s guidance. For a decision that affects your tax, the right next step is always a qualified accountant or HMRC directly. Every page links back to the HMRC source precisely so you can verify, and go further, yourself.

Spotted something wrong?

Tax guidance is detailed and it changes. If an entry looks out of date or incorrect, [tell us / use the contact link] and we’ll check it against the current HMRC source and correct it.

Affiliate disclosure

Some outbound links on this site — including links to accountants and accounting software — are affiliate links. If you click one and sign up, we may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you. This never affects the guidance: our allowance information is based on HMRC’s published rules, not on any commercial relationship. We disclose this in line with ASA and CMA guidance.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.