Tax & compliance
Do I need an accountant for self assessment?
By Kaiser Khan · Updated 13 August 2026
When can I file Self Assessment myself?
File yourself if you have one employment plus a small side income, tidy records, and will hit 31 January. HMRC’s online return is free and pre-fills what it already knows. Skip a monthly accountant if the whole return fits on one screen.
Straightforward dividends within the allowance and simple reliefs sit in this bucket. Budget an evening, not an invoice. Making Tax Digital from April 2026 can still pull qualifying sole traders and landlords into quarterly software even if this year’s return was easy.
When does a Self Assessment accountant earn the fee?
Hire one if you have rental property, capital gains, foreign income, the high-income child benefit charge, or an HMRC enquiry. Typical fees are £150–£600 per return. One missed relief or a payments-on-account surprise usually costs more than that.
The expensive mistakes cluster around repair versus improvement, share pools, the 60-day property CGT deadline, and first-time payments on account every July. If any of those apply, a review usually recovers more than it costs.
What does an accountant actually do on a tax return?
They check for missed reliefs, calculate payments on account, act as your authorised agent with HMRC, and keep working papers if HMRC asks questions. They do not just type your numbers in. You still sign off the figures.
For contractors and landlords the fee is routinely recovered in one properly claimed relief. Send records by October or November — January rush fees are real and the £100 late-filing penalty is automatic even if you owe nothing.
People also ask
How late can I leave it?
Accountants get booked up from November onwards; many charge rush fees in January. Sending records by October or November gets the best rates and avoids the 31 January penalty risk.
What does an accountant need from me?
Typically: your UTR number, P60/P45s, bank interest and dividend statements, income and expense records for self-employment or rentals, pension contributions, and Gift Aid donations.
Will Making Tax Digital change self assessment?
Yes — from April 2026 the self-employed and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 must keep digital records and file quarterly updates, with the threshold dropping to £30,000 in April 2027. Many people are appointing accountants ahead of that shift.
This article is general information for UK businesses, not tax, legal, or financial advice, and thresholds change — confirm current rules on GOV.UK or with a qualified accountant before acting. Fee figures are indicative benchmarks from ourmethodology.