Course description

Dreading your first tax return? Not sure what counts as an expense, why your bill is bigger than you expected, or what a payment on account is? This course walks you through Self Assessment step by step, in plain English, so you can send your own return on time and understand every number on it.

It's a full course, not a few quick tips. There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, each with worked examples and a practical task. Every section has a practice pack with checklists, trackers, calculators and a printable cheat sheet. Throughout the course you follow Elif, a mobile dog groomer in Leeds with a part-time job, as she prepares and sends her first return.

What you'll learn

• The basics: who has to send a return, registering, your UTR and every key date.
• How the tax works: the Personal Allowance, income tax bands, and Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance, including what's different in Scotland.
• Records: what to keep, the cash basis, a simple tracker and what Making Tax Digital means for you.
• Income and expenses: what counts, the trading allowance, allowable expenses, mileage and working from home.
• The online return: what to have ready, each section explained, and checking the calculation before you submit.
• Paying: balancing payments, payments on account, how to pay and how to put money aside.
• Staying safe: penalties and interest, correcting mistakes, HMRC letters and spotting scams.

Who this course is for

• New sole traders sending their first Self Assessment return.
• People with a side business alongside a job.
• Anyone who has used an accountant and wants to understand their own return.

The course explains the return for the 2025 to 2026 tax year, due online by 31 January 2027, and points out what changes from April 2026. It's for sole traders, not limited companies. It gives general guidance, not personal tax advice, and shows you where to check the official rules on GOV.UK.

What will i learn?

• Know whether you need to send a tax return and every deadline that applies
• Understand how income tax, the Personal Allowance and Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance work
• Keep simple records that make your return quick to fill in
• Work out your profit, including allowable expenses, mileage and working from home
• Fill in and check the online return step by step
• Understand payments on account and plan for your tax bill
• Avoid penalties, fix mistakes and spot HMRC scams
• Know what changes with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Frequently asked question