Allergic to admin?

Not legally — but most self-employed people who try to do it themselves either overpay tax, miss deadlines, or get caught out by MTD when it lands. A decent accountant pays for themselves in tax saved, time back, and stress avoided. Halewood's sole trader accountancy starts at £225 a year for self-assessment only, scaling up if you want bookkeeping and quarterly reviews.

Yes — but it's different employed people. Most lenders want 2-3 years of account, instead of payslips or a contract. Some will look at one year if your figures are strong. The trick is knowing which lender to approach and how to package the application properly. Halewood's mortgage team handles self-employed applications every week — sole traders, freelancers, contractors, limited company directors. £399 flat fee for a purchase, £199 for a remortgage.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is HMRC's switch from one annual self-assessment to quarterly digital submissions. From April 2026, self-employed people and landlords with income over £50k have to comply. From April 2027, the threshold drops to £30k. You'll need to keep digital records and send updates to HMRC every three months. Halewood is fully MTD-ready — Xero-only, fully digital, no scramble when the deadline lands.

If you are self-employed and cannot work, your income will stop, as you are not eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). You may, however, be able to claim Universal Credit (if household income/savings are low) or New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) if you have paid enough National Insurance contributions. Income protection insurance pays you a monthly amount if you can't work due to illness or injury — typically up to 65-70% of your usual income, paid until you recover or retire. It's the most important policy most self-employed people don't have. Halewood arranges it as part of the connected financial setup.

There's no auto-enrolment for self-employed people, so unless you set one up yourself, nothing's happening. The state pension alone (currently around £11,500 a year) won't cover most people's retirement. A self-employed pension (SIPP or personal pension) gets you tax relief — for every £80 you put in, the government adds £20 (more if you're a higher-rate taxpayer). Halewood's financial planning team sets up self-employed pensions properly, including the tax relief most people miss.