Plain-English guides to UK tax from the people who file the returns: self assessment, CIS, corporation tax and capital allowances, each one checked against GOV.UK and dated.
The Tax Desk works out the number. Desk Notes explain the rule behind it. Each note takes one question about self assessment or company tax, gives the short answer first, works an example through with real figures, and is checked against GOV.UK on the date shown.
Self assessmentExpensesNewest
The short answer. Kit and editing software, yes. Your phone, car and home, for the share you use for work. Everyday clothes and ordinary meals, almost never, even when they appear on camera.
Company taxR&D relief
Self assessmentWho must file
10 notes
Self assessmentExpenses
Seven questions creators and influencers ask: a new camera, clothes for content, a new iPhone, travel, editing software, meals while filming and a home office, each answered with the GOV.UK rule, plus why gifts from brands count as income.
7 minute readPairs with the sole trader tax estimate on the Tax Desk
Company taxR&D relief
What counts as R&D for tax, the merged scheme and enhanced R&D intensive support, which costs qualify and at what rate, a £60,000 claim worked through both ways, the claim notification form, the additional information form and the deadlines, and what to have in place before you claim.
12 minute readPairs with the corporation tax calculator on the Tax Desk
Self assessmentWho must file
The five reasons that always mean a return, the lines for rent, savings interest and dividends, who does not need one, three people worked through, and what to do before 5 October.
8 minute readPairs with the sole trader tax estimate on the Tax Desk
Self assessmentRegistering
Who has to register and by when, the steps, what a UTR is and where to find it, a new sole trader’s first year as a timeline, what happens if you register late, and what to set up once you are in.
7 minute readPairs with the sole trader tax estimate on the Tax Desk
Self assessmentDeadlines
Every date for the 2025 to 2026 return in one table, the penalties for filing late and for paying late, a return filed six months late worked through, the new points-based penalties, appeals and payment plans.
9 minute readPairs with the sole trader tax estimate on the Tax Desk
Self assessmentAccountant fees
Our fixed fees and what each includes, what makes a return cost more or less, what to ask before you agree a fee, whether the fee can be claimed against tax, four people priced, and when doing it yourself is reasonable.
8 minute readPairs with the sole trader tax estimate on the Tax Desk
Self assessmentPaying your bill
What payments on account are and who has to make them, two years worked through in figures, how to reduce them when your income falls, how to budget for them, and what happens if you cannot pay.
7 minute readPairs with the sole trader tax estimate on the Tax Desk
CISSelf assessment
How the 20% and 30% deductions work, what your contractor may not deduct from, a worked refund, how a sole trader and a company each claim it back, gross payment status, and what changed in April 2026.
9 minute readPairs with the CIS refund estimate on the Tax Desk
Company taxClosing a company
The four ways a company ends, side by side. What a voluntary strike off needs, the final accounts and company tax return, the £25,000 rule that decides how shareholders are taxed, and what happens when Companies House or a creditor closes the company instead.
11 minute readPairs with the corporation tax calculator on the Tax Desk
Capital allowancesTax planning
Why the biggest claim is not always the best one. What to do when a claim would waste your personal allowance, what to do when your income is about to rise, how cash basis changes the answer, and the allowances available in 2026 to 2027.
10 minute readPairs with the sole trader tax estimate on the Tax Desk
No note covers that yet. Ask the desk and we will answer you, then write it up.
For people who file a tax return
Sole traders, landlords, CIS subcontractors and anyone with income HMRC has not already taxed.
Also on the site: Self assessment, in full and the sole trader tax estimate.
For people who run a company
Directors and shareholders of small limited companies, from the first year end to the last.
Also on the site: Taxation, Statutory filings and the corporation tax calculator.
Each note answers a single question, and gives the short answer in its first two lines.
Every figure is checked against GOV.UK or the legislation, and the note carries the date it was checked.
A rule is easier to follow with numbers in it, so each note carries a worked example.
When a Budget changes a rule, the note is changed, its date moves and it says what is different.
Desk Notes are general guidance for the UK and are not advice on your own situation. For that, ask us.
If you have a tax question and cannot find a straight answer to it, send it to us by the form, the chat or WhatsApp. You get a direct reply from a person first. If the answer would help other people, we write it up as a Desk Note, without your name or any of your details.
A free first call, a fixed quote within a working day, and no obligation either way. Tax returns from £150, sole traders and landlords from £300 a year, companies from £475.