Travel, books, subscriptions — tracked in one app
Drive to students or run online lessons. Buy textbooks. Pay for Zoom Pro, exam materials, DBS. All in one place.
Small expenses, every week — they add up to thousands
A typical self-employed tutor pays for textbooks, past papers, Zoom Pro or Google Meet, exam-board specifications, DBS renewals, professional membership and travel to in-person students. Each receipt is small. The annual total is usually £1,500–£3,000 in deductible expenses.
What PocketReceipt tracks for tutors
Books & teaching materials
Textbooks, past papers, workbooks, printer ink, laminated resources. All allowable CPD & materials.
Travel to students
Mileage to in-person tutees at HMRC 55p/25p, or train/bus fares for non-driver tutors. Auto-logged.
Online subscriptions
Zoom Pro, Google Workspace, Notion, exam-board logins. Categorised as software.
DBS & safeguarding
Initial DBS, renewal every 3 years, safeguarding training. Fully allowable when required for tutoring.
Professional membership
The Tutors' Association, CIfA, BSc subject bodies, teaching unions. Allowable as professional subs.
Working from home
Flat rate (£10–£26/month) or actual share of utilities. PocketReceipt's calculator picks the higher claim.
A typical tutor's week, tracked
- Monday — pay Zoom Pro monthly, receipt auto-forwarded
- Tuesday — buy 2 GCSE textbooks, scan receipt
- Wednesday — drive to in-person student, mileage auto-logged
- Thursday — pay DBS renewal fee, receipt scanned
- Friday — print past papers and resources, scan till receipt
- Sunday — export weekly summary to your accountant
Allowable expenses for self-employed tutors
HMRC lets you deduct any cost that is wholly and exclusively for your tutoring business. The table below maps a typical online or in-person tutor's spend — lesson software, exam-board resources, home-office costs, platform commissions — to the boxes on SA103F.
| Expense | Claim? | SA103F box | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment — laptop, second monitor, webcam, mic, ring light, drawing tablet | Yes | Box 49 — Annual Investment Allowance / cash basis expense | Under cash basis (default since 6 April 2024) include with other expenses. Under traditional accounting claim AIA, up to £1,000,000 a year. |
| Software subscriptions — Zoom Pro, Lessonspace, Bramble, Microsoft 365, Notion | Yes | Box 23 — Phone, fax, stationery and other office costs | Monthly subscriptions allowable in full. |
| Online whiteboard, exam-paper databases (Save My Exams Pro, MathsBot Pro) | Yes | Box 23 | Annual subscriptions allowable. |
| Textbooks, exam papers, revision guides, past papers | Yes | Box 17 — Cost of goods bought for resale or goods used | Materials used in delivering lessons. |
| Stationery — printer paper, ink, pens, ring binders | Yes | Box 23 | Day-to-day office consumables. |
| Home broadband — business proportion | Partly | Box 23 | Online tutors can usually defend 50–80% business use. Estimate honestly. |
| Mobile phone bill — business proportion | Partly | Box 23 | 30–60% is typical for a tutor running enquiries and reminders through the phone. |
| Working from home flat rate (the simplest method) | Yes | Box 21 — Rent, rates, power and insurance costs | £10 / £18 / £26 a month for 25–50 / 51–100 / 101+ hours business use. Full-time online tutors easily hit the 101+ tier. |
| Actual-cost home apportionment (heat, light, broadband, council tax) | Yes | Box 21 | Alternative to the flat rate. Apportion by number of rooms used + hours. Often beats the flat rate for full-time online tutors. |
| Mileage to students' homes (in-person tutoring) — simplified rate | Yes | Box 20 — Car, van and travel expenses | 55p first 10,000 business miles, 25p after. Cannot be combined with actual costs on the same vehicle. |
| Public liability + professional indemnity insurance | Yes | Box 21 | Annual premium fully allowable. Strongly recommended even for online-only tutors. |
| DBS Update Service annual subscription | Yes | Box 30 — Other business expenses | Tutoring under-18s makes DBS effectively mandatory. £13 a year for the Update Service. |
| Trade body — The Tutors' Association, Tutors' Council, Qualified Tutor | Yes | Box 30 | Listed by HMRC as an example of allowable trade subscriptions. |
| Subject-specific CPD — exam-board training (AQA / Edexcel / OCR), pedagogy courses | Yes | Box 30 | Refresher training in your existing trade is allowable. New-subject training to teach a brand-new subject is generally allowable as long as it stays within tutoring. |
| Platform commission — MyTutor, Tutorful, Superprof, Lessonspace (typically 15–25%) | Yes | Box 30 / Box 24 | Report GROSS earnings (before commission) as turnover, then claim commission as an expense — OR, if the platform reports net to HMRC under digital platforms reporting rules, report what reached your bank. |
| Advertising — Google Ads, Tutorful / Superprof boosted listings, leaflets, website | Yes | Box 24 | Client entertainment is not allowable. |
| Card terminal / Stripe / PayPal fees on direct-pay students | Yes | Box 26 — Bank, credit card and other financial charges | Easy to miss — fees are netted off before money reaches your bank. |
| Accountant or bookkeeper fee | Yes | Box 28 — Accountancy, legal and other professional fees | Including the cost of preparing your Self Assessment. |
| QTS, PGCE or initial teaching qualification | No | — | Initial teacher training is treated as preparing to enter a profession, not refresher CPD — not allowable. |
| Plain trousers, T-shirts, ordinary clothing | No | — | HMRC: "you cannot claim for everyday clothing (even if you wear it for work)." |
| Lunch and food on the working day | No | — | Subsistence is only allowable on overnight trips away from your normal area. |
| Your own children's resources (even if you also use them for tutoring) | No | — | Personal use disqualifies the "wholly and exclusively" test. |
| Speeding fines, parking penalties | No | — | Fines are never allowable. |
Box numbers from HMRC SA103F Notes 2026. SA103S (turnover under £90,000) maps to the same expense categories on boxes 11–19, with Box 23 for AIA.
Priya, a Leicester online maths tutor earning £32,000
The setup
Priya is 34, lives in Leicester and tutors KS3, GCSE and A-level Maths online from a spare bedroom. About 25 hours of teaching a week, mostly £30–£40 per hour, half through MyTutor and Tutorful (platform commission roughly 20%) and half direct private students. Annual income for 2025–26 is £32,000 (gross, before platform commission). Above the £30,000 MTD threshold from April 2027.
What she claims at year end
Tracked through PocketReceipt across the year:
The maths
Gross turnover £32,000 minus £6,949 of expenses leaves a taxable profit of £25,051. After the £12,570 personal allowance, £12,481 falls in the basic-rate band. Income Tax at 20% is £2,496. Class 4 NICs at 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 add £749. Total tax due: £3,245.
What it would have cost without the records
If Priya had only claimed the obvious — her laptop, accounting fee and visible software, around £2,200 — and missed the platform commissions, broadband apportionment and exam-board CPD, her taxable profit would be £29,800. Income Tax would be £3,446 and Class 4 NICs £1,034, total £4,480. The records save her £1,235 a year — most of the gap is platform commissions (£1,600) and broadband apportionment.
MTD ITSA — only if you're a full-time tutor
Many tutors do this part-time (evenings, weekends, alongside a day job or studies) and stay well below the MTD thresholds. If your tutoring + property income is below £20,000, MTD ITSA does not apply — the standard once-a-year Self Assessment cycle continues.
For full-time tutors like Priya in our example, things change. From April 2026, anyone with combined self-employment + property income over £50,000 must file 5 times a year instead of 1: four quarterly cumulative updates (due 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May) plus a Final Declaration on 31 January. The threshold drops to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 (catching Priya) and to £20,000 from 6 April 2028. The qualifying-income test uses the previous tax year's Self Assessment. Once in, you can only opt out again after 3 consecutive tax years below the threshold.
Common tax mistakes UK tutors make
- Reporting net (after-platform-commission) earnings as turnoverIf your platform (MyTutor, Tutorful, Superprof) reports your GROSS earnings to HMRC under the digital platforms reporting rules, your tax return turnover should match that gross figure — then claim the platform commission as a separate expense. If they report only what reached your bank (net), match that figure. Either way, gross and net must reconcile across the return.
- Missing platform commission as an expensePlatforms typically take 15–25% of bookings. If you report gross income but forget to claim commission, you're over-stating taxable profit by the full commission amount. On £8,000 of platform-sourced work that's £1,600+ of missed expense relief.
- Forgetting broadband apportionmentOnline tutors run on broadband. A reasonable business proportion (50–80% for full-time online) is allowable. Standard household broadband bills become £200–£300 of expense relief once you apportion them properly.
- Treating QTS or initial PGCE training as CPDThe qualifying step to become a teacher (PGCE, QTS, initial subject training) is treated as entering a profession — not allowable. Refresher CPD, exam-board updates, pedagogy courses once you're tutoring are allowable.
- Claiming family resources used for tutoringIf you also use textbooks, software or stationery for your own kids' homework, the personal-use portion disqualifies the claim. Buy a separate copy for tutoring and the whole cost is allowable.
- Plain clothes claimed as "professional attire"HMRC's rule is explicit: everyday clothing is never allowable, even if you only wear it for work.
- Daily lunch and coffee claimed as subsistenceSubsistence is only allowable on overnight trips away from your normal working area. A meal deal between lessons is not a business expense.
- Not declaring platform earnings — "they won't know"From January 2025 platforms must report your earnings directly to HMRC under the digital platforms reporting rules. Failing to declare is no longer invisible.
- Missing card-processor feesStripe, PayPal, GoCardless typically take 1.5% on direct-pay students. On £20,000 of direct work that's £300 a year of missed expense relief.
- Missing the 5 October registration deadlineIf you started tutoring in the 2025–26 tax year and earned over £1,000 you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October 2026. HMRC can charge a "failure to notify" penalty.
Year-end tax tips for tutors
- Buy equipment before 5 April if you need itA new laptop, drawing tablet, webcam or ring light bought before 5 April pulls the deduction into the current tax year. Under cash basis (default since April 2026) include with other expenses; under traditional accounting it goes through Annual Investment Allowance.
- Reconcile platform annual reports against your bankFrom January each year MyTutor, Tutorful, Superprof etc. must send HMRC a report of what they paid you. Request your copy from each platform and reconcile against your bank deposits and tax-return turnover before 31 January.
- Decide flat-rate vs actual home apportionmentFor very-online tutors working 101+ hours/month from home, actual-cost apportionment (broadband, heat/light, council tax) often beats the £26/month flat rate. Calculate both before filing.
- Pay exam-board CPD and trade subs before 5 AprilEdexcel / AQA / OCR CPD, The Tutors' Association membership, professional indemnity renewal — pay before 5 April so the deduction lands in the current tax year.
- Reconcile Stripe / PayPal totals against your bankPull the annual statement. Gross takings go into turnover; processing fees go into Box 26.
- Check your Class 4 NIC band crossingFor 2025–26 Class 4 NICs are 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above. Most full-time online tutors sit in the 6% band.
- If you're full-time, plan for MTD ITSAFrom 6 April 2027 tutors with combined self-employment + property income over £30,000 must file four quarterly cumulative updates plus a Final Declaration each year. From 6 April 2028 the £20,000 threshold catches more of you. Part-time tutors under £20,000 stay on the once-a-year Self Assessment cycle.
FAQ for tutors
Can I claim Zoom Pro and other online tools?
Yes. Software used to deliver lessons is 100% allowable. Apportion if there's also personal use (rare for Zoom Pro).
Are textbooks I buy for myself deductible?
Yes — if used for tutoring (subject knowledge, exam-spec familiarisation, resource creation). Keep the receipt or it's at risk in an HMRC enquiry.
How do I claim working from home?
Flat rate is easiest: £10–£26/month based on hours. Actual costs need utility-bill apportioning. Our simplified expenses guide shows the break-even.
Do I need to register for VAT?
Only if turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period. Many independent tutors stay under. Note: private tuition supplied by an individual teacher acting independently of an employer in a subject ordinarily taught in a school or university is VAT exempt — even if you cross £90k. See HMRC VAT Notice 701/30.
What does MTD ITSA mean for me as a tutor?
If you're a part-time tutor with combined self-employment + property income under £20,000, MTD ITSA does not apply — you continue the standard once-a-year Self Assessment cycle. If you're a full-time tutor, you'll be caught: £50,000 threshold from 6 April 2026, £30,000 from 6 April 2027, £20,000 from 6 April 2028. In scope means 5 filings a year, not 1: four quarterly cumulative updates (7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May) plus a Final Declaration on 31 January. Once in, you can only opt out after 3 consecutive tax years below the threshold.
When is my tax due?
Self Assessment for the 2025–26 tax year is due online by 31 January 2027. If your tax bill is more than £1,000 you also pay 50% as a first payment on account that day, and another 50% on 31 July 2027. Full-time tutors above MTD thresholds also file quarterly cumulative updates from their relevant start date.
Can I claim textbooks, past papers and online learning subscriptions?
Yes — any book, workbook, exam-board past paper or subscription (Quizlet, Twinkl, etc.) bought for teaching is allowable. Mixed-use items you also use for personal study need apportioning — keep a note of the split logic.
Tutoring through a platform that takes commission — what do I declare?
Declare the gross amount students paid via the platform. The platform's commission is a separate deductible expense — Box 11 (commissions) on SA103S, or Box 30 (other allowable expenses) on SA103F. Don't net them off; HMRC wants both lines.
Online vs in-person tuition — do the tax rules differ?
No, the tax treatment is identical. The expense mix differs: in-person tutors claim more mileage and venue costs; online tutors claim more for broadband, webcam, software (Zoom, Notability) and use of home.
HMRC and PocketReceipt references used on this page
- HMRC, Expenses if you're self-employed — overview
- HMRC, Clothing expenses
- HMRC, Simplified expenses — working from home (£10/£18/£26)
- HMRC, Simplified expenses — vehicles (55p / 25p / 24p flat rates)
- HMRC, Annual Investment Allowance
- HMRC, Cash basis accounting (default since April 2024)
- HMRC, Self-employed National Insurance rates
- HMRC, Self Assessment deadlines
- HMRC, Selling goods or services on a digital platform (platform reporting rules)
- HMRC, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- HMRC, Check if you're eligible for MTD for Income Tax
- HMRC, VAT Notice 701/30 — Education and vocational training (private tuition exemption)
- HMRC, SA103F Notes 2026 — Self-employment (full) (PDF)
- PocketReceipt, VAT threshold calculator · MTD Forecaster · Mileage calculator
- PocketReceipt, Sole-trader allowable expenses — full guide · MTD ITSA quarterly checklist
- PocketReceipt, Compare the best UK receipt scanner apps
Worked example figures are illustrative. Tax rates use 2025–26 thresholds: personal allowance £12,570; basic-rate Income Tax 20%; Class 4 NICs 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above. PocketReceipt is a record-keeping app, not a tax adviser — speak to an accountant for advice on your situation.