If you’re self-employed in the UK, the phrase “annual report” usually doesn’t mean glossy company accounts. For sole traders and partners, it almost always refers to your Self Assessment tax return – the yearly report you submit to HMRC showing your income, expenses and tax due for the 2024/25 tax year.
This guide explains who needs to file, the key deadlines for 2025, what information you must report, recent rule changes and how to get professional help if you’d rather not tackle it alone.
What the “Annual Report” Means for the Self-Employed
Most self-employed people don’t file Companies House accounts. Instead, your main annual obligation is to tell HMRC about your income and profits through a Self Assessment tax return.
For most individuals, that means:
- Completing the main SA100 tax return
- Adding self-employment pages (SA103) if you’re a sole trader
- Adding partnership pages (SA104) if you’re in a partnership
This is what accountants and HMRC often mean when they talk about your “self-employed annual report”. It’s the same document that determines your Income Tax and National Insurance bill for the year.
Who Must File a Self Assessment Return?
Not everyone in the UK has to complete Self Assessment, but you must file a return if any of the following apply:
- You’re a sole trader and your self-employed income is over £1,000 in the tax year
- You’re a partner in a business partnership
- You receive rental income from property that isn’t fully taxed through PAYE
- You earn significant untaxed income from dividends, investments or overseas sources
- You’re a company director (with some limited exceptions for unpaid roles)
- Your total income is over £150,000
- You need to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge
Even if your self-employment income is modest, some people choose to file a return anyway – for example, to claim tax reliefs, prove income to lenders, or build up National Insurance credits for state pension purposes.
If you’re not sure whether you need to file, HMRC provides an online checker tool that can help you decide.
Key Deadlines for the 2024/25 Tax Year
Missing deadlines is one of the most common – and most expensive – mistakes. For the 2024/25 tax year (income from 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025), the critical dates are:
- 5 October 2025 – Deadline to register for Self Assessment if you haven’t filed before
- 31 October 2025 – Deadline for submitting paper tax returns
- 31 January 2026 – Deadline for online tax returns and payment of any tax owed
Most self-employed people now file online. It’s faster, gives you an extra three months compared with paper, and the system calculates your tax bill automatically. HMRC reports that the overwhelming majority of Self Assessment returns are now submitted digitally.
What You Must Report in Your Annual Return
Your Self Assessment is a full picture of your taxable income, not just your freelance invoices. Typical items include:
- Self-employment income and business expenses
- Partnership profits
- Rental income from UK or overseas property
- Dividends from UK and foreign companies
- Capital gains from selling assets such as shares or second properties
- Any other untaxed income, including some overseas income or side hustles
Gathering this information early makes filing far less stressful. HMRC expects you to keep supporting records – invoices, receipts, bank statements, digital bookkeeping records and mileage logs – for at least five years after the filing deadline.
Many self-employed people now use cloud accounting software or apps to capture receipts on the go and link directly to their bank feeds. This not only reduces admin but also helps prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, which will require more frequent digital reporting from April 2026 for many landlords and sole traders.
A Quick Route to Professional Help
If you’d rather have an expert review your figures, complete the forms and deal with HMRC on your behalf, you can work with a specialist tax firm. Audit Consulting Group offers tailored help for UK self-employed professionals and landlords. You can learn more and request support through their personal tax filing service.
How to File: Online vs Paper
HMRC offers two main filing methods:
Online Filing
Online filing is now the default option for most taxpayers:
- You create or log in to your Government Gateway account
- You answer step-by-step questions about your income and expenses
- The system calculates your tax and National Insurance automatically
- You can save and return to the form before submitting
You can also use compatible commercial software instead of HMRC’s own portal, which is often smoother for people with multiple income streams or more complex expenses.
Paper Returns
Paper returns use form SA100 plus the relevant supplementary pages. However:
- The paper deadline is 31 October 2025 for the 2024/25 tax year
- You’ll need to do more of the calculations yourself
- Turnaround times can be longer
For these reasons, most self-employed people choose online filing unless they have a specific reason to stay with paper.
Changes for 2024/25: Tax Year Basis Rules
The 2024/25 tax year continues the “tax year basis” for reporting self-employment profits. Under the previous rules, you could choose an accounting year that didn’t match the tax year (for example, 1 January to 31 December) and then adjust the figures.
Now, profits must be reported according to the actual tax year (6 April to 5 April). This simplifies the system in the long run but has created transitional adjustments for some businesses, particularly those that used non-tax-year accounting dates.
If your business year end doesn’t line up with 5 April, you may have had a one-off “overlap” or “catch-up” adjustment in 2023/24. It’s worth checking how this affects your 2024/25 tax bill and whether any reliefs are available.
How Your Tax Bill Is Calculated
Once your return is complete, HMRC works out how much tax you owe based on:
- Your taxable profits, after allowable expenses
- The Personal Allowance – for most people, £12,570 of income is tax-free
- Income Tax bands (basic, higher and additional rate)
- Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance contributions for the self-employed
- Any extra charges (for example, the High Income Child Benefit Charge)
Many self-employed individuals also need to make payments on account – advance payments towards the next year’s bill. These are typically due on 31 January and 31 July and are based on the previous year’s liability. If your income falls or your circumstances change, you may be able to reduce these payments.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?
Late filing and late payment penalties can escalate quickly. Broadly:
- If you file one day late, you usually get an automatic £100 penalty
- After three months, daily penalties can apply
- Further penalties can be added after six and twelve months, and on late tax payments
HMRC does sometimes cancel penalties if you have a genuine “reasonable excuse” (for example, serious illness), but you’ll need to explain and evidence this. It’s safer and cheaper to file early, even if you’re not ready to pay immediately – knowing your bill in advance gives you time to plan.
Common Mistakes Self-Employed People Make
Some of the most frequent errors include:
- Forgetting small income streams – such as online marketplace sales, freelance gigs or overseas royalties
- Claiming non-allowable expenses, like personal clothing or purely personal travel
- Not separating personal and business accounts, making records harder to support
- Missing payments on account, leading to surprise tax demands
- Ignoring HMRC letters, which can turn simple issues into enforcement action
A good rule of thumb: if an expense is “wholly and exclusively” for business purposes, it’s more likely to be allowable. Grey areas are where professional advice really pays off.
Why Consider Using a Professional?
Handling your own Self Assessment is possible, and many self-employed people do it successfully. But professional support offers:
- Time savings – less time on admin, more time earning income
- Accuracy and compliance – lower risk of errors and penalties
- Tax-saving opportunities – identifying reliefs you might miss, such as capital allowances, home-office costs and pension contributions
- Forward planning – understanding how today’s decisions affect next year’s bill
Working with a firm familiar with self-employed tax issues can be especially valuable if you have several income streams, rental properties, or are affected by newer rules such as the tax year basis changes and upcoming Making Tax Digital requirements.
Final Thoughts
Your “annual report” as a self-employed person is your Self Assessment tax return. Done properly, it keeps you compliant, protects you from penalties and gives clear insight into how your business is really performing.
Start gathering records early, mark the key dates in your calendar, and decide whether you’ll file yourself or work with a specialist. With a bit of organisation – and, if needed, professional support – your 2025 tax return can be a planned task rather than a last-minute panic.