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Guide
Self Assessment for tutors
A self-employed tutor registers for Self Assessment by 5 October after the tax year their tutoring income first passes £1,000, then files the return online and pays the tax by 31 January after each tax year ends. For the year to 5 April 2026, that is 31 January 2027. Under £1,000 of tutoring income in a year, the trading allowance means you need not tell HMRC at all.
Updated 24 October 2026. The rules are HMRC's, checked against GOV.UK on 24 October 2026, each with its source; this is a guide, not tax advice.
The dates for the 2025 to 2026 tax year
| By | What |
|---|---|
| 5 October 2026 | Register, if this was your first year of tutoring income over £1,000 |
| 31 October 2026 | A paper return, if you send one |
| 30 December 2026 | The online return, if you want what you owe collected through your tax code |
| 31 January 2027 | The online return, and the tax owed, with the first payment on account for the next year if you make them |
| 31 July 2027 | The second payment on account |
Sources: GOV.UK, Self Assessment deadlines; registering when you are self-employed; payments on account.
The £1,000 trading allowance
The first £1,000 of self-employment income in a tax year is tax-free, so a few lessons on the side need nothing from you. Past £1,000, you register and file, and on the return you take off either the £1,000 allowance or your actual expenses, never both. If your costs (a tablet bought for teaching, your whiteboard subscription, travel to a student) come to more than £1,000, claiming them is usually the better choice. Source: GOV.UK, tax-free allowances on property and trading income.
Payments on account
Once a year's bill passes £1,000, HMRC usually asks for next year's in advance: two payments, each half of last year's tax, by 31 January and 31 July. You skip them if last year's bill was under £1,000, or more than 80% of it was paid another way, such as through the tax code of a job. The first year it applies can feel like paying a year and a half at once, so put money aside from the start.
Making Tax Digital
For self-employed income, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax means keeping digital records and sending HMRC an update every quarter, with software that works with it. It applies when your qualifying income (everything from self-employment and property, before expenses) is over the threshold for a year:
| Qualifying income in | Over | Start from |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 to 2025 | £50,000 | 6 April 2026 |
| 2025 to 2026 | £30,000 | 6 April 2027 |
| 2026 to 2027 | £20,000 | 6 April 2028 |
Source: GOV.UK, find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
The records to keep
Every invoice you send, every payment you receive (an agency's statement included), and a receipt for each expense you claim, for at least five years after the 31 January deadline of their tax year (GOV.UK). Our guide to invoicing tutoring clients says what each invoice needs.
Where Writeboard helps
On Tutor Plus, Writeboard turns the lessons you answer Done into the month's invoices and downloads them as a spreadsheet: what you invoiced, to whom and for which lessons, and whether it was paid. That is half of your income record, kept as you teach. It does not file your return or send anything to HMRC. See Pricing.
Questions tutors ask
When do I need to register for Self Assessment as a tutor?
By 5 October after the end of the tax year in which your tutoring income first went over £1,000. For a tutor who started between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, that is 5 October 2026. You need a National Insurance number, and you get a Unique Taxpayer Reference when you register.
When is the tax return due?
Online by 31 January after the tax year ends, and the tax is paid by the same day. For the 2025 to 2026 tax year that is 31 January 2027. A paper return is due earlier, by 31 October 2026.
Do I pay tax on a little tutoring on the side?
Not on the first £1,000. The trading allowance covers up to £1,000 of self-employment income in a tax year; under it you need not tell HMRC. Over it, you can deduct the £1,000 instead of your actual expenses, but not both.
What are payments on account?
Advance payments towards next year's bill, each usually half of last year's tax, due by 31 January and 31 July. You make them unless last year's bill was under £1,000, or more than 80% of it was already paid another way, such as through your tax code.
Does Making Tax Digital apply to tutors?
Yes, once your qualifying income (the total from self-employment and property, before expenses) is over the threshold: £50,000 in 2024 to 2025 meant starting from 6 April 2026, £30,000 in 2025 to 2026 means 6 April 2027, and £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 means 6 April 2028. You then keep digital records and send quarterly updates.
How long do I keep my records?
At least five years after the 31 January deadline for the tax year they belong to: your invoices, what you were paid, and receipts for anything you claim as an expense.