The rule
As a sole trader you pay tax on your profit: what customers paid you, minus your allowable expenses. GOV.UK says you can only claim for costs related to the business. If something is half business and half personal, like a phone or a van you also use at weekends, you claim the business part only.
Every pound you claim correctly comes off your profit, so it saves you the Income Tax and National Insurance you'd have paid on it. The self-employed tax calculator shows the difference.
What tradespeople usually claim
| GOV.UK category | On a trade job, that's |
|---|---|
| Things you buy to sell on, or raw materials | Materials and parts that go into the job: timber, pipe, cable, plaster, paint, tiles, the boiler you fit |
| Travel costs | Van fuel, insurance, repairs and servicing, road tax, breakdown cover, parking |
| Clothing | Safety boots, hard hats, hi-vis, overalls you only wear for work, a uniform with your logo |
| Office costs | The business share of your phone bill, invoice books, printer ink |
| Equipment | Tools, ladders, a tile cutter, a laptop (see below for how bigger items are treated) |
| Staff costs | Wages, and subcontractors you pay |
| Financial costs | Public liability insurance, bank charges on the business account |
| Premises | Rent, heating and lighting of a workshop or yard |
| Advertising | Your website, flyers, van signwriting, directory listings |
| Subscriptions | Trade body membership, trade journals |
| Training | Refresher courses for the trade you already do |
What you can't claim
- Everyday clothes. GOV.UK names suits, shirts, dresses and ordinary shoes, "even if you wear them for work". Workwear that protects you or your clothes is fine.
- Fines. Parking tickets and penalty charges aren't allowable, even on a job.
- Travel between home and work. GOV.UK lists it as not allowed, along with any driving that isn't for the business. If you're not sure which trips count, ask HMRC or an accountant.
- Anything for private use. Materials for your own house, or the personal share of the van and phone.
- Your own wages. What you take out of the business is profit, not an expense.
Vans and bigger tools
Things you'd normally use for less than 2 years, like drill bits, blades and small hand tools, are ordinary allowable expenses. Things you keep longer depend on how you do your accounts:
- Cash basis: equipment you keep is an allowable expense in the year you buy it. A van also goes in as an allowable expense; a car is claimed through capital allowances.
- Traditional accounting: equipment and vehicles are claimed through capital allowances instead.
Either way, you can't claim the van's purchase and then also use the mileage rate for it. Check GOV.UK's expenses guide for the details on your own setup.
The simpler flat rates
Instead of adding up every van bill, you can use HMRC's flat rate for each business mile. For 2026 to 2027 it's 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles in a car or van, then 25p, and 24p on a motorbike. You can't use it for a vehicle you've already claimed capital allowances on, or put through as an expense. The mileage allowance calculator works it out.
If you do your quotes and paperwork at home for 25 hours or more a month, there's a flat rate for that too: £10 a month for 25 to 50 hours, £18 for 51 to 100, and £26 for 101 or more. It doesn't cover your phone or internet, which you claim separately.
The £1,000 trading allowance
If your expenses are small, for example on a side job, you can take the £1,000 tax-free trading allowance instead. GOV.UK is clear that it's one or the other: "You cannot claim expenses if you use your £1,000 tax-free 'trading allowance'." For a full-time trade with a van, the real expenses are usually far bigger, so claiming them is worth more.
Keep the receipts
Keep a receipt or bill for every expense, with your invoices. GOV.UK says to keep business records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the tax year they're for. A photo of a paper receipt in a folder for each month does the job.
The money coming in
Knockround keeps the other half of the picture: every quote, job and numbered invoice, and which ones have been paid, with a Pay button for Apple Pay, Google Pay or card on each invoice. It doesn't track expenses, so keep your receipts as above. Try it on the electrical demo with made-up customers. It's free for 7 days with no card needed, then £19.99 a month.
Written by the Knockround team, 29 October 2026, from GOV.UK pages read the same day: expenses if you're self-employed, simplified expenses and the trading allowance. A guide, not tax advice.