Sole Trader Tax GuideUpdated 2026-10-10HMRC 2026/27

What to send your bookkeeper before 31 January

The file a sole trader should hand a bookkeeper before the 31 January Self Assessment deadline.

✓ VerifiedFact-checked against HMRC Business Income Manual (BIM45000), EIM31240, and statutory sole-trader record rules.

The 31 January deadline is for the tax year that ended the previous 5 April. In January 2027 that is 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026, for people still on the ordinary Self Assessment return.

The pack

A list of income, which usually comes from your invoices or bank, not from receipts. A list of expenses with the date, supplier, amount, and VAT if it was charged. The image of each receipt. A mileage log if you use your own vehicle. Anything your bookkeeper asked for last year and did not get.

Receipts Dock’s paid pack is the expense half: a CSV mapped to Self Assessment-style boxes, a mileage CSV, and the images. It is not the return.

Statutory Record-Keeping Notice: Under Section 12B of the Taxes Management Act 1970, UK sole traders must keep and preserve all records needed to deliver a correct and complete return. Receipts Dock preserves your photos and CSV ledgers for 6 full years. This guide is for record-keeping purposes and is not formal tax advice.

🔍 SA103 Box FinderSearch materials and tools to find their exact HMRC tax box.🚗 55p Mileage CalculatorWork out 55p & 25p tax allowance on business journeys.

Keep your receipts audit-ready

Photograph the receipt on the web, email it, or message Telegram. We extract the year for your bookkeeper. 5 free scans lifetime.

Snap a receipt now

Related Sole Trader Guides

How long to keep receipts as a sole traderHow long a UK sole trader should keep receipts, mileage logs, and the digital copies that replace a shoebox.

→

What a sole trader can claim: tools, fuel, phone, subsistenceA plain list of common sole trader expenses — tools, fuel, phone, and meals — and what this app will not decide for you.

→

Mileage at 55p, and the log HMRC expectsThe 2026/27 simplified mileage rate is 55p for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p after that. Here is the log to keep.

→